St. John of Rochester Parish was established in June 1962 by James E. Kearney, Bishop of the Rochester Diocese. In 1935, prior to being elevated to the Bishop’s seat, he had attended the canonization of St. John Fisher in Rome. Fisher had been the Bishop of Rochester, England, during the 16th century, having been appointed to that office during the reign of King Henry VII, the father of Henry VIII.
In 1961, Pope John XXIII, at Bishop Kearney’s request, named John Fisher as the Patron of the Rochester Diocese. In 1962, after having previously purchased 11 ½ acres of farmland from Basil Savard, Kearney established a new parish called St. John of Rochester. The parish was given that name because John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr of Rochester, England, always signed his pastoral letters, “John of Rochester” (in Latin, Jo. Roffensis). Further, it would distinguish the new parish from its neighbor, St. John Fisher College.
In October 1962 the new parish of St. John of Rochester broke ground for a combination of School-Church building which still exists but in an altered and enlarged form. In 1988-1989 a basketball court, a kitchen and four meeting rooms were added. Today the building serves multiple purposes and is known as the Parish Center.
Our current Church building was built as the result of a study conducted by a Long Range Planning Committee and several sub-committees in late 1980. That study confirmed the wide-spread feeling of the parishioners that the school-church building was no longer adequate to serve our needs. Over the next two years, working with an architectural firm and other consultants, the present building was designed. Ground was broken on October 31, 1982, and on October 31, 1983, the new Church was dedicated.
In February 1993, the Parish Pastoral Council approved a plan to begin the construction of an addition to the campus which would provide much-needed administrative office and meeting space. Named the Ministry Building, it houses the Parish and Staff Offices, a multi-purpose Gathering Room with fireplace, several conference rooms and storage areas. The building provides space for ministries such as Project Hunger, Prayer Shawl Ministry, Perinton Food Shelf, Stephen Ministry, Funeral Luncheons, Bible Study and other social, educational and spiritual endeavors. The Ministry Building is to the left of the main Church entrance. It was completed in March 1995 and dedicated on April 1, 1995. Most recently in 2013, there was a full interior Church and expanded Narthex renovation project done, which also included adding a new kitchen, several restrooms, music room, and a video control area. SJR continues to improve!
In the 50 years of its existence, the parish has had six pastors: Reverend John W. LeVeque (1962-1968), Reverend Vincent P. Collins (1968-1980), Reverend Bernard F. Dollen (1980-1990), Reverend Robert C. MacNamara (1990-1992), Reverend James E. Boyle (1992-2007) and currently Reverend Peter C. Clifford (2007-Present). During those same years, we have had the services of fifteen ordained priest assistants and parochial vicars, two permanent Deacons and their spouses, and four pastoral associates who were either Sisters of St. Joseph or Sisters of Mercy. Pastoral Associate Barbara Hesenius (2000 – 2020) was our first laywoman Pastoral Associate, and in 2008 Mrs. Amy Voll, who had served as parish Director of Music since 1997, was named Pastoral Associate for Worship, Amy retired in 2022.