Parafia NSPJ w New Britain i jej duszpasterze na łamach „Dziennika Chicagoskiego” w latach 1894-1920
Sacred Heart Parish in New Britain and Its Pastors in “Chicago Daily News” in the Years 1894–1920

Summary/Abstract: The parish in New Britain had a national and personal character, it was a community of about 7.5 thousand believers. This is how it was presented in “Chicago Daily News.” Its first parish priest, Fr. Lucjan Bójnowski, held this position for 62 years (1895–1957). At that time, a wooden church was built, after 1902 a brick one, and later a school and a nursery, the parish published a newspaper. Various religious, cultural and national societies were affiliated with the parish, and their aim was to maintain the Polish national consciousness among the emigrants, the ties with the old homeland and to deepen religious life. In addition to spiritual assistance and religious services, the Polish parish in New Britain provided the Blue Army with many recruits as well as thousands of dollars in material assistance to Poland. The Polish army in France was joined by 290 volunteers from that Polish parish. A total of 965 Poles joined the Polish and American armies; of these, 123 lost their lives.The Polish parish played a huge role primarily in the matters of the rebirth of national feeling and the independent Polish State. The bond of Polish emigrants with the Church outside their homeland shaped the sense of religious and national identity.

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