Assimilating into American Life
Assimilating into American Life
Polish Americans established their own Catholic churches and parishes in the
United States. A general pattern whereby laymen joined a city and united with
other Poles to collect funds and develop representative leaders. When the
community's size became substantial, they would take the initiative of
petitioning a local bishop for permission to build a church with his commitment
to supply a priest.
When a church was to be built, devout Poles funded their construction
with absolute devotion. Some members mortgaged their homes to fund parishes,
others loaned monies that their church was never able to repay. Polish
parishioners attached great meaning to the successful completion of their
churches.
Roman Catholic churches were built in the Polish
cathedral style that includes high ornamentation, decorative columns and
buttresses, and many visual depictions of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Perceived mishandling of church funds was
not well-tolerated; stories of fistfights and physical assaults on priests
suspected of cheating their parishes were well-documented in American
newspapers.
Polish Americans were
encouraged to send their children to parochial schools, where Polish-born nuns were
often used.
Nearly every Polish parish in the American Catholic
Church had a school. In 1932 about 300,000 Polish Americans were enrolled in over 600
Polish grade schools in the United States. Very few of the Polish Americans
who graduated from grade school pursued high school or college at that time.
High School was not required. In 1911, only 38 men and 6 women of Polish descent studied at
institutions of higher learning.