[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 7, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2341-E2342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. ADALBERT PARISH IN TOLEDO, 
                                  OHIO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 7, 2007

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize St. Adalbert 
Parish. On October 28, 2007, Saint Adalbert Parish in Toledo, Ohio 
celebrated its naissance into the north Toledo Polish Community. This 
100th anniversary commemorates the formative role St. Adalbert's had in 
helping shape a vibrant Toledo, while centering an ethnic community of 
largely citizens of Polish descent. The celebration, commenced with 
Mass, reminded those attendees of their proud Polish heritage that 
molded north Toledo, but also northwest Ohio. For this celebration 
marked a day that spoke to the importance of commemorating important 
ethnic communities in America because these immigrant-based groups have 
enriched America's heritage.
  Approximately 170 years ago, the banks of the Maumee River welcomed 
the first Polish immigrant with the family name Vistula, a name shared 
with the central river of Poland. Following this initial arrival, 
Toledo attracted more Polish pioneers from Krakow, the medieval capital 
of Poland and from Warsaw, Poland's current capital in the Mazowsze 
region. However, during the 19th century, the overwhelming majority of 
Polish settlers came from the western territories. These western 
territories of Poland were controlled by the Germans. Poles longed to 
escape the religious and linguistic persecution of the infamous 
``Kulturkamt instituted by Otto von Bismarck, subsequently followed by 
the ``Ha-Ka-Ta'' program of colonization by buying up Polish lands.
  The specific origins of Poles fleeing German maltreatment are known. 
Most came from Poznan province, the seat of Poland's earliest Roman 
Catholic cathedral. Other Poles came from the Pa5uki region around the 
county of Znin. This region rests immediately to the northwest of the 
Kujawy region around Gniezno. Upon finding a sight of white eagles

[[Page E2342]]

here, Prince Lech established this as the capital and further, the 
white eagle became the national coat-of-arms.
  Additionally, Poles migrated to America at the beginning of the 20th 
Century through the First World War. They arrived from the Austrian-
held southern Poland, Zakopane with Gorale culture, Rzeszow, Lwow, 
Russian territories of Kujawy, and Wi5no, the modern capital of 
Lithuania.
  Regardless of their ancestral region, Polish immigrants contributed 
greatly to Toledo's growing labor forces. By 1920, people of Polish 
origin constituted the largest foreign-born group in Toledo and Lucas 
County. These settlers accounted for at least one quarter of the 
population of northwest Ohio, eventually spilling over into 
southeastern Michigan. Toledo was the largest city in northwest Ohio 
with a population of over 300,000 people. Residents of Polish ancestry 
now number over 60,000.
  Given Poland's special relationship with the Catholic Church, when 
Poles came to inhabit Toledo, naturally, the Catholic Church became the 
bastion of their communities. Indeed its establishment predated the 
formation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo itself. By 1879, the 
Lagrange street district (known as ``Lagrinka'' by Poles) hosted the 
first Polish parish under the patronage of Saint Hedwig, Queen of 
Poland. The Polish Lagrinka district rapidly expanded into the 
beginning of the 20th century. By 1907, Bishop Ignatius Horstmann of 
Cleveland established a second Polish parish in the Lagrange Street 
district as a division of St. Hedwig Parish. The bishop assigned Fr. 
Jozef Wachowski, a young priest who worked in Cleveland, to begin the 
new parish by October 18, 1907 with Park Street as the boundary line. 
The old church building of St. Hedwig housed the first parish meeting 
on February 23, 1908.
  By March 4, 1908, Bishop Horstmann approved the choice of St. 
Adalbert as the namesake and patron of the new parish. The official 
announcement of the parish patron saint was made on March 15, 1908. A 
nine-room cottage on the property was used as the pastor's house. By 
November of 1908, Fr. Wachowski signed a contract for a combination 
church/school building, and a pastoral residence. The first spade of 
ground for the new church was turned on December 1, 1908, at 12 o'clock 
noon.
  Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Kudelka laid the cornerstone on May 2, 1909. 
Representatives of all the Polish parishes in the Toledo and Rossford 
areas, and parishes from Ironville in east Toledo attended this 
ceremony. The church school was finished in October 1909. Work started 
on the rectory in February of 1909. A demonstration of Catholic Polish 
people which has never been equaled in Toledo took place Sunday, 
September 18, 1910 when the Right Reverend Bishop from Chicago 
dedicated St. Adalbert Church and School on Lagrange and Oakland 
Streets. The parade to follow showcased all societies, military and 
religious, of all the Polish churches. Bishop Paul P. Rhode was the 
first and only Polish bishop in the United States, leading nearly 
3,000,000 Catholic Poles and more than 800 churches. By October 1909, 
Fr. Wachowski moved into the new rectory, followed by a sister's 
convent in 1915.
  St. Adalbert Parish eventually became the largest parish in the 
diocese; thus, it was necessary to build a new, separate church to 
sustain the parish members. On April 19, 1927, parish supporters laid 
the cornerstone to the present magnificent church. This church, built 
between the church-school and the parish house in the Spanish Mission 
style, was 145 feet long and 75 feet wide with a 100-foot tower at one 
side. September 18, 1927 celebrated the first Mass of the new church. 
The new St. Adalbert Church was dedicated by Bishop Samuel A. Stritch 
on April 22, 1928, which also marked the 25th anniversary of Fr. 
Wachowski's ordination to the priesthood.
  After the new church was built, the Great Depression came. Father 
Czarnecki inherited the debt of the church building. However, Fr. 
Czarnecki introduced and distributed financial booklets to list all the 
contributions of each member during the year. Due to the priest's 
business acumen, the building debt was paid.
  Parishioners of Saint Adalbert have been involved in numerous 
organizations. These members of the parish organized a number of 
societies: St. Adalbert Society, St. Casmir's and St. Joseph's 
Societies, St. Michael Society (men), Altar-Rosary Society (women), and 
Young Ladies Society (girls), St. Theresa and Holy Rosary Sodalities, 
the Ladies' Guild, the Young People's Friendly Circle, the Catholic 
Order of Foresters, Court No. 1865, LCBA Branch No. 1434 and the Altar 
Boys' League. From these organizations and tight-knit community, Saint 
Adalbert was an anchor for the neighborhood.

  The church buttressed a parish school that became a site of 
advancement for young people for generations. The selfless 
contributions of the teachers, more notably, the Felician Sisters 
ensured the students received a top-notch education, but nurtured 
students who were dedicated and devoted to serve their fellow man, 
community and country. Rev. J.P. Wachowski requested the services of 
the Felician Sisters. The future welfare of the Polish pioneers lay in 
their education and training by a religious community of their own 
nationality. Retaining some ethnic identity was essential for those 
separated from their mother country by a force of circumstances. The 
Felician Sisters have taught in Toledo since 1883, nine years after 
five Sisters arrived in Polania, Wisconsin from Poland to establish the 
first U.S. Foundation. The religious community was founded in Warsaw, 
Poland in 1855 by Mother M. Angela, eventually being housed in Livonia, 
Michigan in 1936. The sisters became an integral part of the community, 
the elementary schools, high schools, religious education centers, 
parish religious programs, a college hospital, home for dependent 
children and a home for the aged. The Congregation of Sisters of Saint 
Felix has been teaching at the St. Adalbert Parish for 98 years.
  The original St. Adalbert Parish attracted about 150 families. Upon 
completion of the new parish, more than 1,000 families claimed Saint 
Adalbert as their parish. Presently, approximately 550 household 
families are registered at St. Adalbert Parish.
  In lieu of current trends of former vibrant Polish communities, two 
parishes were superfluous to meet the needs of the community. Thus, to 
keep alive the Polish churches of North Toledo, in July of 2005, St. 
Adalbert Parish and St. Hedwig Parish were twinned, staying separate 
parishes but one community. What once partitioned the north Toledo 
Polish neighborhood has now become united. In fact, the parish schools 
of Saint Hedwig and Saint Adalbert joined, creating Pope John Paul II 
School, tangibly representing this union.
  Indeed the story of 100 years of activity can never be told in its 
entirety; but the contributions of the Felicians, priests and laity, 
who served as lectors, ushers, Eucharistic ministers, choir members, 
musicians, youth athletic coaches, and skit, dance and musical 
choreographers nurtured the joy of community commemorated during its 
100th anniversary.
  October 2007 marks the 100th anniversary of St. Adalbert Parish. A 
year-long celebration begins with the blessing of the statue of our 
late Pope John Paul II. May God bless St. Adalbert Parish--all its 
founders and inheritors--and our beloved community, and city.

                          ____________________