St. Joseph the Worker Polish Mass Schedule St. Margaret Mary Polish Mass Schedule Under the direction of Fr. Dariusz Garbaciak, SVD, the Chicago Province is building a new parish ministry to Polish immigrants in Wheeling and Algonquin, Illinois, just west of Techny. A team of Divine Word missionaries began in September, 2000 with weekend Masses in Polish, sacramental preparation and catechetical programs as well as other kinds of pastoral work needed by this large group of immigrant Catholics. The number of people attending the weekly Masses in Wheeling grew from 650 to 1400, and in Algonquin from 300 to 600. Masses are often preceded by baptisms. Frs. Casimir Garbacz and Chester Nowicki, SVD help with Masses and confessions. The ministry publishes a monthly bulletin in Polish in both parishes. Fr. Joseph Weclawik SVD, from Siberia, gave a three-day Lenten Mission in both parishes. About 1100 people attended the Holy Saturday Mass in Polish, and 2500 came to church at St. Joseph the Worker in Wheeling for the traditional blessing of the Easter baskets. On April 28, Bishop Viktor Skworc, SVD, from Tarnow, Poland, confirmed a class of 37 at St. Joseph the Worker. On May 12, we had a First Holy Communion celebration for 72 children. Sixteen lectors and four communion ministers have been trained for the two parishes. The Polish Ministry is financially self-supporting.
In February 2002 the Polish ministry at St. Joseph the Worker parish in Wheeling, Illinois decided to do something for our Polish parishioners in Wheeling and the rapidly growing population of Polish immigrants in the northern suburbs. The ministry has a regular Sunday Mass and confessions. In addition, they wanted to provide an opportunity for children from Polish families to learn the Polish language, history, geography and religious formation—to expose those children to their roots. The Juliusz Slowacki School was initiated by Dariusz Garbaciak and some parishioners from St. Joseph the Worker. The school was officially registered in May 2002 and opened Saturday, September 7 following a Mass at 9:30 a.m. Present at the opening ceremony were Mr. Edward Moskal, the President of the Polish National Alliance in USA with his Treasurer and Mr. Mariusz Brymuda, deputy Consul General of the Republic of Poland. After the Mass teachers and children went to classrooms and parents had the opportunity to attend the first class. The school’s namesake, Juliusz Slowacki, was a nineteenth-century Polish poet living in exile in France. His poetry was filled with longing for Poland and its culture. |
