Page 269 - ROCHESTER

St. StaniSlauS koStka cHurcH
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church stood originally as a small, wooden chapel built in 1890 to serve Polish immigrant families in northeast Rochester.
267
Father Theophilus Szadzinski served as the rst pastor. He arrived in Rochester in Aug. 8, 1890 as a deacon from Poland, and Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid ordained him as a priest the
following month.
On Aug. 3, 1890, Bishop McQuaid laid the cornerstone for the original church at the corner of Salmon Street and Hudson Avenue in Rochester and consecrated it on Nov. 16 of that year. The current St. Stanislaus Kostka Church at 34 St. Stanislaus St. was completed in the summer of 1909 and consecrated by Bishop Thomas F. Hickey and Bishop Paul Rhode of the Archdiocese of Chicago who was the only Polish bishop in the United States at that time.
Immigrant families who lived in nearby neigh- borhoods had raised the funds for the new church, and the cornerstone of the original church stands today in the rectory yard facing St. Stanislaus Street.
A pipe organ was installed in 1924. A parish festival began in 1973 and remains popular to this day for its cultural dances and traditional foods.
In 1998, the parish launched a campaign to restore the church, which was widely recognized for its architectural and historic signi cance. Donations exceeded the $500,000 goal by 60 percent. The work was completed in 2004 and included repair of the cupola, replacement of four copper mini-domes and restoration of the interior nave ceiling.
Bishop Matthew H. Clark dedicated a new shrine to Our Lady of Czestochowa in November 2008. The shrine features a commissioned portrait of Pope John Paul II.
The parish continues to celebrate Masses in both Polish and English.