THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY of AMERICA Bands of Brothers: The
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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Bands of Brothers: The Negotiation of Identity in the Congregation of the Mission’s Polish Vice-Province in the United States, 1903—1975. A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of History School of Arts and Sciences Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By Charles R. Kaczy ński Washington, D.C. 2010 Bands of Brothers: The Negotiation of Identity in the Congregation of the Mission’s Polish Vice-Province in the United States, 1903—1975. Charles R. Kaczy ński Director: Leslie Tentler, Ph.D. The historical literature on late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Polish Catholic immigration to the United States includes numerous studies of conflicts between the immigrant laity and members of the Catholic clergy, both Polish- and American-born. While scholars have closely studied the laity’s motivations and the conflicts’ outcomes, little attention has been given to the Polish immigrant clergy who came to the United States to minister to the spiritual needs of the laity and their perspective on these tensions. This dissertation fills a gap in this historical literature by examining the history of the Polish Vice-Province in the United States of the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentian Fathers) from the first Polish Missionaries’ arrival in 1903 to the reconstitution of the Polish Vice-Province as the autonomous New England Province in 1975. Drawing on theoretical frameworks developed by T. H. Breen and Benedict Anderson, this dissertation analyzes the role that competing ethnic and clerical identities played in the Polish Vice-Province’s ability to resolve conflicts with its Mother Province in Poland and the Eastern Province of the United States as well as with Polish secular priests serving in Catholic dioceses throughout the eastern half of the United States. While these conflicts were, in themselves, difficult to solve, negotiations between these different groups of priests were further complicated by global events, such as the First World War, the Great Depression, and the Second World War, as well as by the assimilation of later generations of Polish Americans. Utilizing materials collected from archives in the United States and Europe and oral interviews with members of the New England Province and alumni of the Polish Vice-Province’s former high school in Erie, Pennsylvania, this dissertation concludes that ethnic identity continued to be a significant factor in the history of the Polish Vice- Province in the United States well into the second half of the twentieth century. This dissertation by Charles R. Kaczy ński fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in United States Catholic History approved by Leslie Tentler, Ph.D., as Director, and by Christopher Kauffman, Ph.D., Timothy Meagher, Ph.D. & Father John Carven, C.M., Ph.D. as Readers. _______________________________________ Leslie Tentler, Ph.D., Director _______________________________________ Christopher Kauffman, Ph.D., Reader _______________________________________ Timothy Meagher, Ph.D., Reader _______________________________________ Father John Carven, C.M., Ph.D., Reader ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements — [iv]. Foreword — [vi]. Imagining a Community: The Origins of the Congregation of the Mission & Its History in Poland — [1] Casting Bread Upon the Water: The Zgromadzenie Misjonarzy in American Polonia — [61]. Working in the Harvest: The Zgromadzenie Misjonarzy in Pennsylvania — [128]. Syncretic Discord: The Formative Years of the Polish Vice-Province in the United States, 1914-1939 — [217]. Reimagining a Community: Becoming the New England Province of the Congregation of the Mission, 1939-1975 — [338]. Afterword — [490]. Bibliography — [510]. iii Acknowledgements Over the years I have worked on this dissertation, I often felt that I was alone, accompanied only by the memory of the deceased confreres of the Polish Vice-Province in the United States. But now, as I conclude this study, I turn to find a long line of individuals and institutions whose support and assistance were instrumental in its completion. It is with the deepest gratitude that I acknowledge them here. For their Job-like patience with the delays and difficulties brought on by distance and distractions, I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee at The Catholic University of America: Leslie Tentler, Ph.D. (chair), Christopher Kauffman, Ph.D. (emeritus), Timothy Meagher, Ph.D., and Father John W. Carven, C.M., Ph.D. It was Father Carven who suggested the topic of the history of the Congregation of the Mission’s Polish Vice-Province in the United States for this dissertation in an offhand comment he made to me while I was doing research in Germantown, Pennsylvania for a history of Saint John the Baptist Parish in Brooklyn, New York. For their willingness to share their heritage and history, I would like to thank the members the Congregation of the Mission. While conducting research at the DePaul Provincial Residence in Manchester, Connecticut, Father John Sledziona, C.M. and Father George D ąbrowski, C.M. kindly allowed me access to the archives of the New England Province and welcomed me at their dinner table. First as an Assistant at Saints Cyril & Methodius Parish and then as Pastor of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Father Rafał Kopysty ński, C.M. supported my research with kind words, keen interest, and a quick email to Kraków that gave me access to the Vincentian Fathers’ Stradom Seminary. Father Mitchell Wanat, C.M., Pastor of Saint Michael, the Archangel Parish in Derby, Connecticut kindly permitted me access to a variety of historical records at the parish. In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to Father George D ąbrowski, C.M., Father Edward P. Gicewicz, C.M., Father Joseph Lachowski, C.M., Father Julian Szumiło, C.M., and Father Ronald Wiktor, C.M., who generously gave of their time and allowed me to interview them for this dissertation. As the Archivist of the Eastern Province, Father John W. Carven, C.M. graciously granted me access to documents pertinent to the negotiations between the Eastern Province and the Polish Vice-Province and offered me warm hospitality on my trips to Germantown. Father John Nugent, C.M. amiably answered my questions over the telephone about his role in the negotiations during the mid-1970s. In Kraków, Poland, Father Wacław Umi ński, C.M., Archivist of the Polish Province, allowed me to read and copy the letters from which this dissertation drew much of its information. In Rome, Italy, Father Rolando DelaGoza, C.M., Archivist of the General Curia, patiently answered my questions and allowed me access to correspondence between the Polish Vincentians and the Superiors General and the members of their Councils. For adding a richness to this dissertation that could not be found in any written document, I would like to thank the following “Kanty Boys” for the opportunity to listen to the stories of their time at Saint John Kanty Prep in Erie, Pennsylvania: Joe Adkins iv (1960), Henry Jacek, Ph.D. (1959), Alan Jordano (1976), Bernie Lepkowski (1960), Mike Lombardo (1960), John Ptak (1949), John Srokosz (1928), and Edward Szemraj (1952). A very special thanks goes to Daniel Kij, Esq. (1948) for his myriad stories of Kanty, his hospitality, and the “Kanty-style” wake-up call I received during my research visit to Lackawanna, New York. For providing additional information on the Vincentian Fathers in Poland and the Polish Vice-Province in the United States, I would like to thank the staffs of the following archives: Archiwum Akt Nowych (Warsaw, Poland), Brother Bertrand Ducournau Archives of the Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission, De Andreis-Rosati Memorial Archives, DePaul University Library, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, New York. For their assistance in reading and translating a small mountain of documents over the years, I would like to thank: Aneta Cebic, Marta Curry, Marcin Niemiec, Anna Marie Podgórska, Janusz Rozyczka, Marcin Szoska, and Katarzyna Zari. A special thanks goes to Christina Gutt, whose translating skills and knowledge of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish and Greenpoint, Brooklyn are surpassed only by her warmth and kindness. For the editorial skills that saved my sanity, I would like to thank my sister, Victoria Kressler. I definitely owe you one! For their financial assistance during the time I researched and wrote this dissertation, I would like to thank: the department of history at The Catholic University of America, the American Council for Polish Culture, the Polish Falcons of America, and the Vincentian Studies Institute. For their laughter and smiles, I would like to thank my two nieces: Laura “Kid” and Allison “Sun” Kressler. And finally and most importantly, I would like to thank my parents, Raymond and Beverly Kaczy ński, whose love and support have seen me through a lifetime of education. Thanks again for the stars! It is to you that I dedicate this dissertation. Charles R. Kaczy ński Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York The Feast of Corpus Christi June 14, 2009 v Foreword Pentecost Sunday, May 30, 2004: As I walked toward it, a throng of people grew in front of Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Mixing with the crowd on the sidewalk, listening to the conclusion of the Polish-language Mass, was a second wave of people—also Poles, men in shirtsleeves and ties and women wearing spring dresses. The usual card table with Polish-language religious periodicals stood opposite the church portal, its owner quietly taking money and making change.