St. Stanislaus Parish' history
On July 4th, 1907, the cornerstone was placed on the construction
site of a new church dedicated to St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr.
This new parish was founded to serve the pastoral needs of Polish
and other Slavic-speaking Catholic immigrants in the Portland area.
Until this time they had been worshiping in other parishes of the
surrounding area. This was to become the first and only Polish
church in Oregon and one of the very few in the Pacific Northwest.
The Polish Community (“Polonia”) dates back earlier to at least
1892, when the first organization, a lodge of Polish National
Alliance, was established. The site of the church was chosen in the
Overlook district, close to the location of jobs the early
immigrants had in the railroad yards, ports, and warehouses of the
Albina district.
The first pastor and founder, Fr. Charles (Karol) Seroski (Sieroczyński)
together with a dedicated committee walked miles between farms of
the Poles to solicit donations for the building of the church.
Within a year and a half construction of the church was finalized
and on December 6th, 1908 the Archbishop of Oregon City, Most Rev.
Alexander Christie, solemnly dedicated the church.
Fr. Seroski served the parish for several years and was succeeded by
Rev. Florian Matuszewski who had a 20-year pastorate. During this
time the rectory was remodeled, a sacristy was added, and the front
stairs were rebuilt. After Fr. Matuszewski’s death in 1932, a
non-Polish priest Rev. V.L. Moffenbeier was appointed pastor until a
Polish pastor could be found. In 1935 Polish pastor Rev. Stanislaus
Śmigiel became the pastor of St. Stanislaus and served until 1957.
In the early 50’s the parish’s Polish population was strengthened by
the arrival of persons displaced from Europe as a result of World
War II. However, the earlier immigration (pre World War I) was
beginning to demise and many younger families moved out of the
neighborhood near the church for other parts of the city and
suburbs. Some of them moved because of the construction of the
Interstate 5 freeway.
After Fr. Śmigiel’s death in 1957, Croatian Franciscan priests
served the parish: Fr. Milan Mikulich O.F.M. (1957-1962) and Fr.
Joseph Mikulich O.F.M. (1962-1982). During Fr. Milan’s pastorate the
church basement was excavated for a church hall and kitchen. During
father Joseph’s pastorate, the offering of Croatian masses began.
The Polish choir sang hymns on the first Sunday of each month. After
his 60th anniversary of ordination, Fr. Joseph Mikulich retired. At
that time there were only 30 families belonging to the parish and
the future of the church was uncertain.
In the late 70’s professor Adam Lis initiated negotiations with the
Archdiocese and Society of Christ for an appointment of a Polish
priest to St. Stanislaus. The Provincial of the Society of Christ
(Rev. Władysław Gowin, S. Ch.) was contacted and came for a visit
together with Bishop Stefan Weso³y (the delegate of the Primate of
Poland in Rome sent by John Paul II as a response to letters asking
for help) to meet with officials of the Archdiocese. At the same
time there was a new wave of Polish immigrants forced to leave their
homeland due to active membership in the Solidarity Party. These
circumstances led to the appointment of the first Polish priest in
25 years, Rev. Stanislaus Herba, S. Ch., and this initiated a period
of parish renewal. Polish dinners were organized as fundraisers to
help defray the cost of improvements. Fr. Herba served the parish
from 1982 to 1988 and was succeeded by Father Stanislaus Parol, S.
Ch. (1988), followed by the pastorate of Father Stanislaus Drza³, S.
Ch. (1989-1993). Each pastor in his own way contributed to various
improvements to the church and the parish life.
In 1993 the church was designated a historical landmark by the city
of Portland. In September 1993, Fr. Richard Philiposki, S. Ch., was
appointed as the 10th pastor of the St. Stanislaus church. The
parish grew in size as attendance at both Polish and English Masses
increased. In March 1994 an apostolate was begun for Croatian
speaking Catholics. In October 1994 the first Annual Polish Festival
was held in cooperation with the Polish Library Building Association
(PLBA). This festival has grown and made thousands of people aware
of St. Stanislaus parish and the Polish Community in Portland.
Additionally, a Polish School was opened to teach children and
adults the Polish language, culture, and traditions.
The next priest to serve the parish was Fr. Henryk Kociołek. He
continued the work started by Fr. Philiposki and the number of
parishioners continued to grow. The Polish Festival and Polish
School also continued to attract more and more people. In the summer
of 2004, the a new priest joined the parish, Rev. Tadeusz Rusnak, S.
Ch. Soon after his arrival, the church was repainted and the
interior was remodeled. There are still services in three languages:
Polish, English, and Croatian. During Fr. Tadeusz’s appointment, the
parish became well known in Portland again due to the death of Pope
John Paul II. There were beautiful services in memory of the Pope
that brought crowds of people together to give thanks and
remembrance to their beloved Polish Pope.