The history of the American Catholic Church seems to be first and foremost the history of the men who make up this church. They were the hierarchs, pastors and priests, they founded seminaries and schools. It was men who designed, constructed and furnished the churches. It is mostly men whose names are on the founders’ lists. Parish committees, societies and other organizations seem to be dominated by male parishioners. Women do appear, but marginally. They run the parishes, teach, care for the sick, but their everyday toil passes unnoticed, and their organizational achievements, even the really remarkable ones, go unrecorded. The socially accepted place and the roles that the church has assigned to the woman have prevented many women from going down in history. However, as documented in the history of the Church of the Sweetest Heart of Mary, they did play a significant, even if less appreciated role. The history of this church also shows the evolution of the American Church from a strongly divided assemblage of national churches to a relatively homogenous structure, but also the road of the laity to a position of importance within the church.

The beginning of this story is the construction of the brick church in the parish of St. Albertus. Fr. Dominik Kolasiński, who had carried it out, was dismissed by the bishop in November 1885 as a result of a conflict with the parish council. The priest was accused o f mismanagement of parish funds and sexual promiscuity. In fact, it is not entirely clear why the bishop dismissed him. Maybe he was hoping that this way he would be able to resolve the conflict, or maybe the priest had failed to submit the accounts on time. Not only did the bishop dismiss Fr. Kolasiński from the parish, but he also appointed as his replacement Fr. Józef Dąbrowski, the Felician Sisters’ chaplain, who was a distinguished priest but had been in direct competition with Fr. Kolasiński for the “government of the souls” of the parishioners. Both the priests in the parish and the faithful were strongly divided. The two sides differed in their perceptions of the relationship between the national church and the universal church. It is also worth remembering that not all immigrants from Poland identified with the church, although it was an overwhelming majority, as 95% described themselves as Catholics.

During the farewell Mass Fr. Kolasiński appealed to the faithful for his defense. Although he had handed over the parish, he refused to leave the presbytery. First, on December 1, the crowd threw the new parish priest out of the church, preventing him from celebrating the Mass. The next day there was an escalation. As early as before the first Mass at 6.00 a.m. a crowd started to gather in front of the church. It was quite hostile, and it mostly consisted of women. The priests entered the church under police escort and they managed to celebrate the Mass, even if slightly hurriedly, though they endured insults from the crowd. There were also some tussles with the police. The crowd prevented the celebration of the next Mass and threw mud at the priests. The next day the parish school was closed. The bishop’s response was prompt, he closed the church on December 4. The parishioners who did not rebel against the new priest attended the Masses in the Felician Sisters’ chapel. The tension continued, on Christmas Eve a crowd of several thousand people protested in front of the bishop’s residence, the shops owned by Fr. Kolasiński’s opponents were attacked. One person was killed during the riots. Despite the conflict Fr. Kolasiński and his supporters never denied the power of the bishop. Therefore the priest left Detroit in the spring, still maintaining contact with the parishioners and doing his best to be able to return. Further riots broke out in the summer following the news that the Church of St. Albertus would be reopened; the return of the banished priest was expected soon. His followers did not remain passive. They did not see room for themselves in the existing parish, so they started to organize their own. Their first step was setting up a school in spring 1886. There was no priest, and even though there had been no schism, the new community had no formal statute. On the advice of Fr. Kolasiński, who seems to have decided to inform the bishop after the fact, they purchased plots of land in order to build their own church and school. The statute of the parish was drawn up and it is significant that there were no women among the signatories of this document. Apparently, the women were considered useful in fighting a war, but taking decisions was seen as beyond their capacity. Nevertheless, the statute itself is very interesting. Among other things, the parish priest was to be elected by the council members. The bishop’s role would therefore only be to accept the decision. It is significant, though, that despite the formula they adopted and the uncertainty, and even threats of schism, the bishop’s superiority was never questioned, nor did the new community ever drift towards Protestantism.

In the subsequent months there were minor and major riots. The bishop closed St. Albertus church for several months. There was a split in the parish, the followers of the previous parish priest left to create their own parish and church of the Sweetest Heart of Mary. In June 1889 the new school building was completed. The new parish, however, had an unclear status. Although it was actually functioning, it had not been officially established, despite the fact that neither its leader nor the members had left the hierarchical church. The appearance of normality made new members join the parish; they were probably also attracted by the charismatic personality of the parish priest.

The aim was to erect a new, magnificent church which would overshadow other churches in Detroit, particularly St. Albertus. A plot was purchased for this purpose, but a significant problem arose. It was expected that the cornerstone would be blessed by a bishop, but it seemed impossible at the time. Fr. Kolasiński decided to use a stratagem. He “brought a bishop from Podolia” to consecrate the building, while in fact the bishop’s robe was worn by a former priest Władysław Dębski. The dedication of the church was performed by a bishop from the Old Catholic Church. All these efforts were aimed at convincing the faithful that despite the hostility of the local bishops the community was recognized by the Catholic Church. In the end Fr. Kolasiński decided to seek reconciliation with the bishop, which some clergy viewed with disfavor; however, the negotiations were successful and in February 1894 the official act of reconciliation was to take place. The condition was that the priest should read out a statement admitting to his mistake during the service in his church. He is said to have read it in such a way that most of the people present either did not understand or could not hear his words. In spite of this the conflict was finished, Fr. Kolasiński remained in the parish and its independence was preserved. A few months later Fr. Kolasiński died.

His legacy is one of the most magnificent churches in the city. It was designed by the Spier & Rohns architectural office, and was described – not without some exaggeration – as the largest and most magnificent Polish church in the USA. The stained glass windows were made by Detroit Stained Glass; reportedly they were awarded during the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, but there are no documents proving this fact.

Chronology

1886 - setting up the school

1889 - starting up the functioning of the parish (outside the ecclesiastical jurisdiction), construction of the first church and school

1891 - auction and repurchase of the church

1892 - laying the cornerstone for the new church

1893 - completion of the current church

1894 - dedication of the church and establishment of the parish

1974 - listing the church on the Michigan State Historic Site Register

1978 - listing the church on the National Register of Historic Places

1990 - Mother of Divine Mercy Parish was created, clustering the churches of St.Josaphat, Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Joseph

Text originally published in a book issued by the POLONIKA Institute.
Anna Sylwia Czyż, Bartłomiej Gutowski, Paweł Sieradzki, Polish Parishes and Churches in Milwaukke, Winsconsin and Massachusetts, Warszawa 2021, pp. 87-99.