This issue of Poland is devoted entirely to two seminaries - in Orchard Lake, Michigan, and in Erie, Pennsylvania. The origins of both of these seminaries in the United States are mentioned, profiles of the most important lecturers are given, and the influence of these seminaries on the clergy and the lay state in the USA in the context of the Polish community is presented. The text is accompanied by illustrations and photographs, including the memorial plaque in Orchard Lake, the seminary chapel or the library (Source: 'Polska', Warsaw 1938, R: 4, no. 4, after: Jagiellonian Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text

Two Polish seminars in the U.S.A..

"Hey, colleagues, hey, alumni of the Polish Seminary!
Let us all be proud that we are of Our Family!
Let us help Mater Alma until our last breath!
May the Spirit of Father Dabrowski embrace us all.
Let the chain of camaraderie bedevil us solidly,
For our Society's work the spirit doubles!
Let us not be weakened, strained by foreign forces!
We must make a breakthrough and overcome difficulties!
We must win the rights and respect of strangers:
This is important for us and a condition of existence!
Therefore, stand together to work for our Nation,
As conscious Poles from the Piast tribe!
And strive for my goal prudently and persistently,
Until I have won honour and glory for our name.
So, colleagues, so Alumni of the Polish Seminary!
Let us always be proud that we are of Our Family!".

Near Detroit, in Orchard Lake, Michigan, there is a famous Polish college. It already has a serious page of history behind it. In 1935, it celebrated its 50th anniversary. It is not only well-known among the Polish American community, but is its and our pride. It grew out of the spiritual needs of our exile. Over the 50 years of its existence, it has fulfilled its noble task, providing the Polish intelligentsia in America with 12,000 pupils, prepared for the secular professions as well as for the clerical state.

What is the genesis of this distinguished Polish university? In the second half of the nineteenth century, Poles began arriving in the United States in large numbers, especially from Silesia and Kashubia. They first settled in the Texas wilderness. In 1866, Father Adolf Bakanowski founded the first Polish school in the state, in the settlement of Panna Maria. A second was established in Milwaukee, Wisc. in 1867, and a third soon followed in Chicago. By 1870, Poles already had about 30 parochial schools.

As a nation traditionally attached to the Church and religion, our emigrants felt from the very beginning the lack of a Polish priest to be their adviser and leader in a foreign country, to encourage their spirits in their pioneering efforts and to help bring up their children in the spirit of national traditions and customs. It was around 1870, when they found themselves in increasing numbers on American soil, that they began to write letters themselves and through the American bishops to Cardinal Ledóchowski in Rome, asking for Polish priests.

Then Cardinal Ledóchowski, unable to satisfy these requests, put forward the project of founding a Polish university in America, at which his own Polish seminary could be established. This idea was praised by Pope Leo XIII.

The task was entrusted to Father Moczygemba, who, however, due to his advanced age, entrusted the task to Father Jozef Dabrowski. Thanks to the unheard-of generosity of our compatriots, in 1885 the seminary already had its own building. Initially, it was located in Detroit itself. Later, as the number of students increased, the seminary was moved to an occasional building in nearby Orchard Lake.

It is highly significant that the clerical authority at the very beginning ensured the Polish character of this university, whose educators and managers were and are only Poles. Namely, the then Bishop of Detroit wrote in a letter to Fr Dabrowski: "Considering that there are now already half a million Polish Catholics in the United States of America, and that the influx of them is increasing every day, that for this reason it is becoming increasingly difficult for us to supply Polish parishes with good and zealous pastors who would be able to provide clerical assistance to the Poles in their mother tongue; following your advice, and taking advantage of your earnest endeavours to erect a Polish Seminary in our city of Detroit, which will doubtless be gladly welcomed by all lovers of the clerical welfare of Polish Catholics, we authorize you to carry out this important work in our diocese, and we ask you also to submit it to the consideration of the bishops of other dioceses, that they may be pleased to think of an appropriate share in so useful an undertaking for the public."

The arduous task of maintaining and expanding the newly founded Polish university began.

At the same time, in order to remedy the lack of Polish schools in exile, and especially the lack of teachers, Father J. Dąbrowski brought the Polish Felician Sisters from Kraków in 1877 - teachers who had made a valuable contribution to the education of the young Polish generation abroad.

He entrusted the teaching at the Seminary to trusted professors, duly qualified, clerical and lay. He sought them out personally, travelling to Rome and Krakow for that purpose time and again.

The Polish Seminary was intended to provide Polish émigrés not only with Polish priests, but also with other professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors, business managers and so on. To this end, its teaching was also appropriately oriented. Namely, the Seminary has two main faculties: secular and clerical. The secular faculty is the High School and the two-year college. The theological faculty comprises further studies at the college and a theological course.

The secular faculty of the Polish Seminary is accredited by the state university and a number of other universities, so that it not only grants degrees legally, but also opens wide the doors to all top American special schools. The spirit of Polishness has been taken over by this Polish university from its founder.
In works, national celebrations and patriotic deeds, Fr Dabrowski did not let anyone get ahead of him. The year 1883 marked the bicentenary of Jan Sobieski's victory at Vienna. This commemoration was also celebrated solemnly here. The city of Detroit publicly manifested the triumph of the Polish arms over the crescent moon. The soul of the patriotic celebration was almost none other than Father Dabrowski. He moved the entire Detroit Polish community of the time, and aroused interest and patriotic fervour among the Polish parish societies. The success of the memorable day was complete.

He enlisted Polish youth in the celebration of national anniversaries, which, though slowly but steadily grew in number from year to year. At the end of the first decade, we find 123 students within the walls of the Polish Seminary in the so-called Gymnasium, Philosophy and Theology faculties, i.e. the three programme faculties.

From 1891 the Polish Seminary started to publish an illustrated weekly called 'Niedziela'. It was the first periodical of that kind for the Polish people in Michigan, and it was widely distributed in all Polish settlements in America at that time. The publisher was the Polish Seminary and the editors were professors, at first priests and later laymen.

The establishment of a Polish periodical was an important move by Father Dąbrowski among his pious, fruitful and happy endeavours. For in this way a bridge and link was built between the academic institution and the Polish community of the time. How important this factor was is best demonstrated by the growing interest of the Polish community in this Polish scientific institution.

The Polish college in Orchard Lake has expanded extensively during its 50 years of existence. It now has the most up-to-date internal facilities, modern teaching aids, an enormous library, well-chosen and excellent lay and clerical professors, experienced management - in short, everything to maintain the scientific level of the institution.

Special mention should be made here of the fact that, for many years now, the Polish Seminary has been running summer courses for Sister Teachers, who work usefully in Polish parochial schools in America. These summer courses are attended by 70, 80, 100 or more religious Sisters from various congregations. During the summer college courses, the nuns supplement their knowledge and acquire the necessary degrees required by school curricula.

Lectures, talks and readings, organised sporadically in Polish settlements by individual members of the professorial staff of the Polish Seminary, on the occasion of national celebrations or other occasions, are a further creative factor linking this Polish college with our compatriots.

It will not be out of place to draw attention to the action of the Polish Seminary for Polish Army Veterans in the humanitarian field. This assistance - spiritual and material - was provided for several years by two prominent priests from the Polish Seminary.

A real treasure among our exiles is a good Polish book. And in this respect, the bookshop of popular works at the Polish Seminary supplies the outgoing centres with good books at cost prices, and sometimes even lower. Paintings with a patriotic content, imported from Poland, often travel to various settlements and parochial schools to help the Teaching Sisters promote the national spirit and Polish culture. This abundant screen material has also served excellently as an educational tool in Polish schools, showing Polish youth what their motherland, Poland, was and is.

As can be seen from the above, the Polish establishment in Orchard Lake is the only Polish university of its kind in the entire United States. It has produced hundreds of brave priests for the Polish emigration, as well as no less hundreds of outstanding leaders of the Polish American community. Lay alumni of the Institution today occupy positions as doctors, attorneys, engineers, technicians, etc., and are usually at the head of various great Polish exodus teams.

Extremely vital and justified among the authorities of the Polish Seminary and many enlightened managers of the organisational life of the Polish community is the idea of turning this university into a school of Polish education in the United States. The school in Orchard Lake has all the conditions to become a university. Even today, there is a great need for a Polish college in America. Whereas only a dozen or so years ago, the ideal of Polish parents was to send their children, immediately after completing elementary school, to factories to earn a living, these notions have now fundamentally changed for the better. Today, Polish parents are beginning to understand more and more that the best future for their offspring is to provide them with a higher education in their mother tongue Polish, because only in this way will the young Polish generation be able to take up higher and responsible positions in the future in the four-million-strong Polish society in America.

Today, we already have up to 5,000 Polish youth throughout America attending various universities and other American colleges. And at least a quarter of these young people could attend a Polish university. In fact, our Polish community in America can already afford to maintain its own university. The idea needs to be popularised in the conviction that it is a point of honour, national pride and Polish ambition to embark on this momentous project.

The Polish Seminary in Orchard Lake, having educated twelve thousand Polish young men born on American soil, has rendered immense services to Polish exile. For this reason, both the Polish community abroad and the Polish Motherland are anxious that this glorious focal point of Polishness in America should develop ever more powerfully for the glory of the Polish spirit and name abroad.

The dignity of the Rector is currently held by the Revd Dr A. Syski.

Among the few Polish cultural institutions in exile in the United States, a prominent position is held by St. Kante's College in Erie, Pa., founded by the Congregation of Missionary Fathers of Cracow. Founded in 1912, it celebrated its 25th anniversary last June. It was founded in 1912 and celebrated its 25th anniversary last June.

The College is located in a suburb of Erie, two kilometres south of the town of Wesleyville, Pennsylvania. The initiative for the founding of the College of St. John Cantius was given by the late Monsignor Andrzej Ignasiak, pastor of St. Stanislaus, the oldest Polish parish in Erie. The work began in June 1909 with the incorporation of the Saint John Kanty College Association corporation.

Two years after the incorporation of the corporation, on May 30, 1911, the cornerstone dedication took place, and the following year, in September 1912, the doors of the monumental edifice - built by Polish builder Pawel Rys - were opened for the use of Polish youth.

From December 1937, the rectorship was assumed by the former superior of the Basilica of St. Vincent a Paulo in Bydgoszcz, Rev. Dr. Ludwik Moska.

The College of St John Cante has official recognition (Charter) from the School Department of the State of Pennsylvania, as well as from the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools in the East Central States and Maryland.

It is divided into two divisions: A 4-year High School Division and a 2-year Collegiate Division. The latter has two faculties: Humanities and Pre-Medicine.

The curriculum of the Secondary Faculty includes the following subjects: Polish, English, French, German, Latin, religion, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, physics (laboratory), natural sciences, social sciences, music and singing.

In the collegiate course, Polish, English, German, Latin, Greek, religion, higher mathematics, physics (laboratory), chemistry (laboratory), biology (laboratory), economics, psychology and philosophy are taught.

The faculty includes nine priest professors and four lay professors.

The college has five libraries: the main library, with 4,200 volumes; the reference library, with 3,300 volumes; the handbook library for priests, with 2,200 volumes; and the handbook library for the secondary faculty, with 950 volumes. It is safe to say that this is one of the largest and most valuable book collections in exile. It was created mainly by donations and is stocked with the latest works, both scientific and fiction.

The work of the Missionary Fathers on young people is not limited to giving them a secular, soulless and sterile education. To do so would be a waste of effort and would defeat the purpose of the establishment.

In the diary, published by this College, we read on this subject, among other things:

"There have been instances when a student arriving at the College could not write his name (correctly) in Polish, but came out with equal knowledge of Polish and English; he spoke Polish correctly, both in word and writing. Today, we have to content ourselves with ensuring that those pupils who arrive without knowing a word of Polish learn to read and write, and to converse as much as possible; that those who bring a sometimes high level of knowledge of the subject from their parish schools maintain it - and that both of them broaden their knowledge of Poland and deepen their native spirit, which is most important if we are to preserve these boys for Poland in the future. One never hears of any case in which a student, having left our school, has succumbed to the influence of the local culture, which has so many beautiful but also easy and enticing pages for the minds of the young, that he has succumbed to them to such an extent that he has forgotten his less brilliant but older and great culture, that he has ceased to feel Polish. On the contrary, we know of cases where, even with a slight knowledge of the Polish language, not a few read Polish works after leaving school, taking an ever greater interest in Polish affairs in their homeland or here in exile. This task of arousing and raising the Polish spirit can and does take place in our school in a broader and much freer way, as it is not constrained by official programmes - in life outside the classroom, by creating an appropriate atmosphere, and in particular by making use of all the means which are abundant for this purpose, such as reading, associations, clubs, the stage and singing...".

The example of the two Polish institutions of higher education in the United States shows that our schools in America are in no way inferior to those in the United States, whether in terms of academics, technical equipment or teaching aids.

In spite of the excellent educational achievements of Poland abroad, however, we must remember that 100 000 Polish children abroad are not yet attending a Polish school. This should be remembered especially now that the "Year of the Polish Book" is being organised in America, and the Polish Aid Society of the World Union of Poles Abroad is currently organising a month-long collection for the Polish School Abroad Fund from 15 January to 10 February.