St. Adalbert's Church (Staten Island, New York)
| The Church St. Adalbert | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Town or city | Staten Island, New York |
| Country | United States of America |
| Client | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York |
The Church St. Adalbert is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located in Staten Island, New York City.
History
Prior to the establishment of St. Adalbert's Parish, the Poles living in Staten Island, attended St. Stanislaus Church in lower Manhattan, as most of them had resided there before settling on Staten Island.
In February 1901, a group met at Standard Hall, Elm Park, for the purpose of organizing the Polish Roman Catholic Church of St. Adalbert.[1] Land for the church was donated by Mr. John Mojecki. Rev. Michael Slupek was appointed the first resident Pastor. On the 20th of October 1901, Father Michael Slupek offered the first Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the Poles in Staten Island, in the basement of the parish hall of St. Mary's Church in Port Richmond.[2]
The cornerstone of the Church was laid on December 29, 1901. When Slupek left in November of 1902, Father J. Zaniewicz came from St. Stanislaus Church to celebrate Mass. Rev. Joseph Brzoziewski was subsequently appointed pastor. The church was dedicated On May 3, 1903. A couple of houses near the church for a rectory and convent to house the Felician Sisters. A parochial school was opened in the basement of the Church in the Fall of 1905. In the following years classes were conducted in a modest building attached to the Church. All of these buildings served the Parish needs up to the year 1921.[2]
About the year 1908, the mission Church of St. Anthony was established in Linoleumville (Travis).[2]In 1921, the school's bursting enrollment prompted a move to the new church-school building on Morningstar Road. The growth continued, and in 1962, Cardinal Francis Spellman dedicated a separate new school building on Morningstar Road.[3]
In 1978, a fire virtually destroyed the youth center, but soon a new parish center arose for St. Adalbert's sports program.[3]
By the 1960s the teaching of Polish was phased out, but St. Adalbert's has retained its original designation as a Polish national parish without boundaries. As of 2001, the ethnic heritage was about 40 percent Polish, 40 percent Italian and 20 percent others, including Filipino.
References
- ↑ Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women.. (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.394.
- 1 2 3 "A parish history", 1951 Golden Jubilee Book
- 1 2 Martin, Julia. "Do-It-Yourself Parish", Catholic New York, July 19, 2001
Coordinates: 40°37′48.13″N 74°8′48.8″W / 40.6300361°N 74.146889°W