A historic Catholic Church located in the city of Buffalo, New York, was bought by a Muslim group that is going to desecrate it by transforming it into a mosque. This is a sad day for the Church. We’ve allowed religious zealots of a false faith who worship a blasphemous demonic entity to take over a church that was consecrated to Jesus Christ and set aside for the purpose of offering worship — The Eucharist — to the Father. Unbelievable.
According to Newsweek, the St. Anne complex sold for $250,000 after it was out of use since 2012 because of structural damage causing the building to be deemed a safety threat. It’s absolutely tragic that the Catholic Church was not able to fix up the building and ensure its usage for worship and service to the community. However, there’s no way a sale to an Islamic group should have been approved.
The report revealed the complex was sold to Buffalo Crescent Holdings, an organization affiliated with the Downtown Islamic Center. The sale of the church resulted in immediate backlash on social media after posts by well known priest, Father Ronald Vierling, made comments about the sale. The posts made by Vierling on social media have pulled in a whopping 2 million views at the time this article was penned.
“St. Anne’s Church, Buffalo, NY. Permanently closed. Sold to the Islamic community for $250,000 who are converting the historic church into a mosque,” Vierling stated.
Some critics took issue with the fact that it was being converted into a mosque, while others were surprised at the low sale price. “Terrible. I know a dozen Catholics who would have pulled together to buy the building instead of letting it get sold off…” one user wrote on X. “Selling off Catholic Churches to Islam to convert it into a Mosque borders Blasphemy and Stupidity!” another account wrote.
“Muslims get a church for $250k but I can’t buy a house in a decent neighborhood for less than $500k,” another X user wrote. The church was built in 1886 by German immigrants. It had fallen into disrepair and become unusable for worshippers in recent years. Former Bishop Richard J. Malone said in 2013 that the church would be demolished as repairs could cost as much as $12 million. However, he later said that it would not be demolished and that the new plan was to put the property up for sale instead.
The Downtown Islamic Center revealed they would be using millions of dollars to renovate the complex to transform it into a mosque for Islamic prayer.
"*" indicates required fields
“We’re looking to put several million dollars into this in the next year, in the church alone,” Talha Bakth, the president of the Downtown Islamic Center, said during an interview with the Buffalo News. Along with the complex, Buffalo Crescent Holdings is buying the former rectory located at the complex that has since been converted to apartments in a different transaction.
Bakth then said that the property will be able to be used for worship within 1-2 years. The main mission of the Downtown Islamic Center is to provide spaces for those of the Islamic faith to hold prayer.