The Buffalo Religious Arts Center
Welcome. Please join us in our effort to create a space that preserves and celebrates the religious art of the immigrant, ethnic heritage of Buffalo.
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News
May 15th, 2009 - Don't forget that the concert of great choral music is this Sunday, May 17th, at 3:30pm at the former Saint Francis Xavier Church. Tickets are $10 ($7 for seniors and students), and can be purchased at the door. Come hear fantastic music in the magnificent space that it was meant to be sung in. See you there.
Great Clean Up Last Week
May 10th, 2009 - Thank you to all our volunteers that came out to help clean up the center, and get it ready for tour groups. The nave, pews, altars and artifacts look great. A special thank you to Joyce DiChristina, our volunteer coordinator. We can't put on these evenst without her!
And don't forget, we're open each Saturday and Sunday now for tours, plus other special events, including the WNY Chorale concert this coming Sunday at 3:30pm.
Reminder: Tours Start Tomorrow!
May 1st, 2009 - Don't forget: the 2009 tour season at the Religious Arts Center starts tomorrow. Architectural tours of the former St. Francis Xavier Church, and growing collection of the Buffalo Religious Arts Center, are Saturdays at 12:00, and Sunday at 1:00pm. Admission is $8, with Member's getting their first tour free. Hope to see you there!
WNY Chorale Concert Announced
April 29th, 2009 - The Religious Arts Center is pleased to announce our first full concert event in the former St. Francis Xavier Church. And the best part: you don't have to wait long to experience it.
On Sunday May 17th, at 3:30 pm, the Western New York Chorale will be performing a selection of Medieval and Renaissance Choral Music, with Easter and the Ascension as the main theme. The main work: Missa de Bomba a 4, by Pedro Bermudez, a sixteeth century Spanish composer and chapel master who wrote Latin works meant to be sung in churches. There will also be performances of works by Hassler, Hildegard, and others, plus the ancient plainsong Te Deum.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, children and students, and may be purchased at the door. Proceeds benefit both the Buffalo Religious Arts Center and the WNY Chorale.
Come hear sacred music sung in the space it was meant to be performed in. And don't forget our weekly architectural tours start this Saturday, at noon. See you there!
Spring Clean Up!
April 21st, 2009 – As we gear up for the summer tour season, its time to clean up the place a bit. Our first organized clean up of the year is this Saturday, starting at 10:00 am. We'll be doing yard work outside, and sprucing up Xavier Hall inside. You can email us to let us you are coming, or simply show up Saturday morning at Xavier Hall. We'll have some cleaning supplies, but please bring your own yard gloves or anything else you think will be helpful. Hope to see you there!
Arts Center Wins Award from the University at Buffalo
April 20th, 2009 – When we started our internship program, our goals were simple: receive high quality assistance with our tough projects, and hopefully provide different kind of learning experience for the students. Receiving an award for our program was never a thought.
But that's just what happened last week, when the Buffalo Religious Arts Center was named the Outstanding Non-Profit Internship Site for 2009 by the UB School of Management. It was a surprising honor, but a great testament to our wonderful interns, who have done marketing research, started our accounting books, and putting us on FaceBook, among many other projects.
Thank you to Carrie Gardner, the Director of the program, for this recognition. With the help of our interns, volunteers, members, and friends, the Religious Arts Center is growing every day.
New Bus Tours
April 11th, 2009 – The Buffalo Religious Arts Center is pleased to announce even more ways to experience spectacular religious art this summer.
On May 7th, June 3rd and July 7th, Fox Run of Orchard Park is co-sponsoring tours leaving thier campus. The cost is $40, and includes entrance to three magnificent churches, bus transportation to each site, a docent led tour, and lunch at a Buffalo landmark.
All the details are in the Visiting section of our website.
Tour Schedule for 2009 Announced
March 24th, 2009 – The Buffalo Religious Arts Center is starting up its weekly tour program once again, beginning May 2nd.
And what's more, its just one of several ways to visit the growing Religious Arts Center.
Starting on May 2nd, tours will be held every Saturday, at 12:00 noon, and Sunday's, at 1:00pm. This architecural tour of the former St. Francis Xavier Church covers both the history and architecture of the church, as well as the growing collection of religious art. Admission is $8, but member's get their first visit free. For more info, go to our Visiting page.
There are other tour packages available as well. Take a walking tour of Black Rock, and the Religious Arts Center, in one day. Those tours happen the first Saturday of each month, and are co-sponsored by Buffalo Tours.
Or take a bus tour of St. Francis Xavier and three other churches. Those tours, co-sponsored by Fox Run, will be starting soon as well.
As always, check back for more information, as our summer tour season gets in full swing.
Arts Center Teaming up with Quiet Waters
March 5th, 2009 – The next time you see a Quiet Waters Production, see if you recognize some of the windows displayed in their visual presentations.
The Buffalo Religious Arts Center is proud to be partnering with Quiet Waters, and aid them in their performances of the Stations of the Cross during this Lenten season.
Quiet Waters is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to help Catholics grow in their faith. This is accomplished through elaborate audio-visual performances of the Rosary through music, the Stations of the Cross, and other events. Their mix of faith and art (along with their purchase of a closed church in North Collins), makes them perfect partners for our group.
In their performance of the Stations of the Cross, Quiet Waters will use photos of the windows in the former St. Francis Xavier Church, the church we are currently transforming into a gallery. While other art glass representations of the Staions of the Cross exist in WNY, the Zettler windows in St. Francis Xavier are unique for their realistic portrayal of Jesus' last moments in the Munich tradition of stained glass.
This Lenten season, go see a Quiet Waters Production at one of their performances throughout WNY. And join us again to see the windows in person as our tour season starts up again this May.
New Acquisition: Nativity Set from St. Gerard's Church