1907-1909
The Call Goes Out
Disappointed with the results of all their efforts to gain some voice in the administrative affairs of the parish, the protesters decided at a special meeting in January, 1907, to investigate the possibility of forming their own parish. A decision was made to contact the Rev. Francis Hodur in Scranton, Pa., who was leading a movement of independent Polish Catholic parishes known as the Polish National Catholic Church.
At a rented hall on the corner of Willard and Hallet streets, about 500 displeased members of St. Michael’s gathered to hear Bishop-elect Francis Hodur on Feb. 18, 1907. He explained the principles of the P.N.C.C. and offered them much hope and encouragement. As reported by the “Bridgeport Evening Post,” he told them that, “They could handle their own money, select the priest they wanted and keep him as long as they desired and all the church property would be in their own name. They would not be under the rule of the Vatican, but in all other aspects of their religion they would be the same.”
Realizing that the very things they had sought through their appeals to the Roman Catholic Church were available to them in the Polish National Catholic Church, the body took little time in deciding to organize an independent Polish Catholic parish in Bridgeport. That very night, a committee was appointed to raise funds and to file the necessary documents to establish a parish by the name of St. Joseph’s Polish Independent Catholic Church.
After a meeting on Feb. 28, 1907, Sniadecki, Kobus and Anthony Wolski completed a certificate of organization with the state of Connecticut naming the new parish St. Joseph Polish National Church. It was received and filed on March 5, 1907.
The Dream Takes Hold
The first parish committee selected by St. Joseph’s parish included: Sniadecki, chairman; Ksawery Januskiewicz, vice chairman; Kobus, secretary; John Tatarzycki, financial secretary; Wolski, treasurer; and Vincent Czerwonka, Marcin Buczer, Joseph Dymkowski, Anthony Dombrowski, Francis Paul and Kuszaj, trustees. The first pastor assigned was the Rev. Anthony Plucinski, who arrived in the spring of 1907.
Plans were made for the construction of a wooden church on a lot that was purchased on California Street in the Bridgeport Harbor area. The site included two houses, one which was used by the pastor, and the other by the custodian. Also during that first year, six acres were purchased on Aug. 15, 1907 in the Lordship section of Stratford for use as a cemetary. The site now includes the present church complex.
The California Street church was completed in 1909 and was dedicated on July 18. A new pastor, the Rev. Alexander Sosnowski, celebrated the first Holy Mass in the church. By the parish’s 25th anniversary, all debts were paid off and the parish had begin to save money to purchase a new site for a larger church to accommodate an increasing membership. Intending to be nearer to the homes of the members, the parish looked to the Upper East Side for relocating.