The dynamic growth of the Polish diaspora created the need to build a new church near the oldest Polish temple in Chicago. In 1885 the society “Towarzystwo św. Jadwigi Śląskiej” (St. Hedwig Society) was established, and two years later it purchased land for the construction of a building intended to house a church, a school and rooms for the nuns from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, who were to run the school in the new parish, which was created that year. The cornerstone was consecrated in September 1888 by Archbishop Patrick Augustine Feehan. The church, or actually the chapel, was ready on Advent Sunday, December 4, when it was dedicated, and the first Mass was celebrated on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception a few days later. There were 125 Polish families living in the parish at that time.

Father Wincenty Barzyński’s brother Józef, who was also a member of the Resurrectionist Congregation, was appointed the first parish priest. Through his efforts the presbytery was erected in 1892. In 1894 the diocesan priest Antoni Kozłowski became the vicar; he won the hearts of the parishioners because of his unequivocally confrontational position in the long-lasting conflict between the Polish community and priests of Irish and German origin, arising from the differences of cultures and customs. His attachment to the specifically Polish variety of Catholicism, coupled with his desire to take over the parish of St. Hedwig Church resulted in the censure of suspension. On 15 October Father Kozłowski left the parish, but a large part of the inhabitants of Jadwigowo disagreed with that punishment. On February 7, 1895 a crowd of agitated people broke through the door of the parish in order to forcibly remove Father Józef Barzyński. The acts of violence resulted in a police intervention, and the archbishop closed the church. In June the church was reopened, and it was entrusted first to Father Eugeniusz Sedlaczek, and a few days later to Father Jan Piechowski, who, according to parish chronicles, “believing in the final victory of truth and good cause, armed with bravery and patience, set about his work willingly and with devotion”.

The two-story multifunctional building, erected in 1888, was constructed by a bricklayer and a carpenter: Teodor Ostrowski and Paweł Ratkowski, and their crews. Due to the growth of the community, in 1898 Fr. Piechowski started to build a new church and turned the old building into a school. The cornerstone for the church was consecrated by Archbishop Feehan on June 18, 1899, and on October 27, 1901 bishop Peter J. Muldoon dedicated the new church.

The three-nave temple was built on a cross plan with a chancel terminated with a semi-circle, enclosed by a sacristy and a utility room connected by a narrow corridor. Its designer, Adolphus Druiding, an immigrant from Hanover, planned a façade with a protruding portico enclosed with towers, which were not erected until 1925 and constructed one story lower than planned. They house three bells, cast in Baltimore, which have been preserved to this day; they are named after Our Lady (Regina Poloniae), St. Joseph and St. Hedwig. The church façade is very picturesque because of the contrast between the stone details (made from Bedford limestone) and the yellowish brown brickwork.

Inside the church there is a good quality, architectural, partly wood carved and gilded main altar. In 1913 the Daprato Statuary Company made two more (the Mother of God and the Heart of Jesus) using the polychrome mass technique. The stained-glass windows from 1915, made by Franz X. Zettler’s workshop in Munich, are very interesting. They contain scenes from the lives of saints, including the patron saints of Poland. The particularly interesting depictions among the latter include the farewell between St. Hedwig of Silesia and her son Henry II the Pious before the Battle of Legnica against the Mongols and the baptism of Lithuania in the presence of Ladislaus Jagiello and St. Hedwig the Queen. These two scenes emphasized Poland’s unique place in Europe as a bulwark and a country with a missionary responsibility. The paintings in the arms of the transept are the Resurrection of Christ, which was an emblematic representation of the Resurrectionist Congregation, and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The stained-glass windows, installed probably in 1925, were made by a lesser-known Polish-American company “L. H. BORUCKI & CO”.

However, the distinguishing feature of the church are the paintings made in 1938 by John A. Mallin from Bohemia, who was appreciated in the church environment for his classical style of painting. In St. Hedwig’s Church he created not only depictions of saints and angels, a narrative cycle of the Sacraments, representations connected with the Church heraldry, and in the presbytery a fresco modeled on Rafael’s Vatican work Dispute on the Eucharist, but he also painted the twin scenes: Christ blesses the Resurrectionist Congregation and Pope Pius XI blesses the Chicago Church. The former depicts the founders of the Congregation, Bohdan Jański as well as Hieronim Kajsiewicz and Piotr Semenenka, but also the resurrectionists serving in Chicago parishes as well as the local hierarchs, including Bishop Peter James Muldoon, who dedicated the temple.

The latter scene refers to the current history of the parish and the universal Church. Among the figures shown next to the papal throne are the parish priest Fr. Franciszek Uzdrowski, Archbishop of Chicago Georg William Mundelein, coadjutors Bernard J. Sheil and W. D. O’Brien, and Archbishop of Washington Michael J. Curley. The scene was probably an echo of the Eucharistic congress in Chicago from June 20-24, 1926, in the context of the subsequent one held in Budapest and the national one, both of which took place in 1938. The history of the parish is also referred to by the painting depicting the adoration of the Holy Family by the Nazareth sisters and the children from the parish school.

Chronology

1888 - erection of the parish of St. Hedwig and construction of a building housing a church, a school and rooms for the Nazareth sisters

1898 - commencement of works on the construction of a church

1899 - consecration of the cornerstone for the new church

1901 - dedication of the church

1913 - the foundation of two side altars

1915 - installation of stained-glass windows

1925 - construction of towers and completion of works on the façade

1938 - painting works by John A. Mallin

1946 - plaques dedicated to soldiers killed during World War II

2008 - fire followed by renovation works

Text originally published in a book issued by the POLONIKA Institute.
Katarzyna Chrudzimska-Uhera, Anna Sylwia Czyż, Jacek Gołębiowski, Bartłomiej Gutowski, Polish parishes and churches in Chicago, Warszawa 2019, pp. 141-149.