AUBURN - St. Francis Church parishioners remember the Rev. John J. Nacca kneeling at the altar, the bottoms of his shoes almost worn through.

The shoes represented the Rev. Nacca's selflessness - that he would give to others before he gave to himself.

"Instead of buying a new pair, he would do without," said Lee Gaylo, secretary at St. Francis.

On Nacca's 90th birthday Sunday, parishioners dedicated the church hall as the Rev. John Nacca Parish Center. About 200 people attended to hear the Rev. Peter DeBellis pray that all those who entered would be imbued with the spirit of God.

"We ask you now to bless us all and bless everyone who uses this hall," the Rev. DeBellis told the crowd.

Nacca served St. Francis for nearly 40 years, from July 5, 1949 to June 25, 1985. He saw the church through the construction of the parish center, the building of a school across the street, construction of the Lady of Lourdes shrine in front of the church, the building of a new church in 1958 and the erection of the Christopher Columbus memorial across from the church.

The church has had a lot of Italian immigrants as parishioners, and Nacca served them with dedication.

"He helped them out a lot," said parishioner Mary Chirco. "He introduced them to people. He made them feel very comfortable here in the United States."

Nacca, who lives at St. Ann's Community Center in Rochester, could not attend the dedication because he thought it would be too emotional for him.

Ordained on June 7, 1941, Nacca spent much of his time planning service trips for his parishioners. Many recall trips that he arranged. Driving a school bus, he took them to the Thousand Islands, Seabreeze amusement park and Niagara Falls.

Nacca also took parishioners on social service trips, including one in which parishioners helped build churches in India and South America.

"He held a chauffeur's license," explained parishioner Paul Saltarello. "He took the elderly people all over, including Washington, D.C., Toronto and New York City."

At the church, he especially loved children, parishioners said. He would pick them up and take them to religious education classes at the parish center.

"He was very good to the children here," Gaylo said. "He liked to pinch their cheeks. He was a wonderful priest. He was good to everybody."

Nacca also has a sense of humor. On a trip to Niagara Falls, he played a joke on his parishioners. "He joked that we were trustees (prisoners) out for the day and he was the chaplain," Saltarello said. "That's what he told people."

But it is Nacca's selflessness that parishioners remember the most.

"He didn't take care of himself," Chirco said. "He took care of his parishioners. The church was No. 1."