A large, historic Catholic church in New York is on its way to becoming a mosque, following its purchase by a Muslim organization. 

On August 11, Fr. Ronald Vierling drew attention to the sale in a social media post: “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.”

According to one report, “St. Anne’s was built in 1886 by German immigrants. It had fallen into disrepair and become unusable for worshippers in recent years.”

Fr. Vierling’s post — which as of this writing had been viewed 12 million times — sparked a backlash on social media. 

“Muslims get a church for $250k but I can’t buy a house in a decent neighborhood for less than $500k,” one X user wrote. “Selling off Catholic Churches to Islam to convert it into a Mosque borders Blasphemy and Stupidity!” wrote another.