History of the Polish Mission

1831

Emigration from Poland to the British Isles begins. After unsuccessful uprisings in 1831, 1848, 1863, and 1905, Poles sought refuge here for political and economic reasons.

1853

Father Emeryk Podolski began conducting services for Poles in a chapel on Sutton Street in Soho, London.

1894

Pastoral care for Poles was formalized. Cardinal Herbert Vaughan, then Archbishop of Westminster, invited Mother Francis Siedliska, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, and their spiritual director, Father Lechert, to establish a permanent Polish mission and care for the Poles. Two sisters arrived with Mother Siedliska and established the first Polish school. From then on, Polish services were held regularly in a chapel on Globe Road, later on Cambridge Heath Road, in the east London suburb of Bethnal Green.

1905

The Poles leased a disused sailors' house on Mercer Street. The hall was converted into a chapel, and apartments for the rector, a library, and a Saturday school were installed. Efforts to purchase their own church began, but were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I.

1918

During World War I, the Mission established the "Polish Charity Committee" and the Polish Catholic Association "White Eagle." After the war ended, the funds raised for the church's construction were devalued, and many people interested in and supporting the cause of the Polish Church left for a free Poland. These associations faded away.

1928

After an arduous search, a church was found for sale on Devonia Road in London for £4,000. This church, with apartments on either side and a hall, could easily be adapted to the needs of the Polish Catholic Mission and religious use, as well as to the needs of a Polish Saturday school.

1930

Consecration of the first Polish church in the British Isles by Cardinal August Hlond, Primate of Poland, in the presence of Cardinal Archbishop Bourne.

1947

"Gazeta Niedzielna" is founded. Other Catholic periodicals are published, such as "Życie," "Czyn Katolicki," "Sodalis Marianus," and "Marianum w Służba." At the initiative of the Rector and with the Mission's extensive financial support, two Polish secondary schools are established: one for girls in Pitsford and one for boys in Fawley Court.

1948

Archbishop Griffin's decree appointing the Rector of the Polish Catholic Mission, Fr. Władysław Staniszewski, as Vicar Delegate for Polish civilians in England and Wales with the authority of an Ordinary, signifies the creation of a personal Polish diocese in England and Wales.

1952

In order for the PMK to acquire legal personality, Rector Father Staniszewski created the Polish Catholic Mission Trust – Polish Charity Fund (PBF).

2004

Poland's accession to Europe marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Polish pastoral ministry in the British Isles. Polish churches were once again filled to capacity, provincial parishes dying due to a lack of Poles were revived, and new Polish pastoral centers were established.

2020

Brexit - new challenges