Background
He grew up in a noble family in Świerzbutów, Poland from which he gained a strong sense of public service for the less fortunate.
He grew up in a noble family in Świerzbutów, Poland from which he gained a strong sense of public service for the less fortunate.
He arrived in the United States in 1888 and studied at Saints Cyril and Methodius Seminary at Orchard Lake, Michigan, a highly-Polish settlement at the time.
He escaped Poland under Russian occupation to avoid conscription. He became an ordained priest and led the construction of Sacred Heart Parish in New Britain, Connecticut. He drew many parishioners and Polish immigrants flocked to his growing church, expanding its construction and design.
A Polish bank, printing operation, and newspaper were started within his church.
He was very active in Polish issues nationally and recruited Polish parishioners for World War I and World World War World War II His influence among Polonia had decreased by the time of World World War II, according to historian James South. Pula, who wrote, "his often unbecoming rhetoric helped to drive further wedges in Polonia at the expense of unity in support of Poland."
He expressed dismay and pessimism about a Polish identity in America, saying that the immigration restrictions of the 1920s had "cut off the branch from its trunk", a metaphor for the separation Poles in America experienced from their ancestral homeland. He was active in the Polish American Congress, but Buczek identified that his sermons and political speeches degenerated into polemics against his political adversaries, and his divisive rhetoric drew away many parishioners.
A new church, Holy Cross Parish in New Britain, Connecticut, is identified as being built as a direct result of his conflict and authoritarian positions later in life. In 1946, he was elevated to monsignor in recognition of his past work building the parish and its cathedral.
At the time of his death, he had served 65 years as pastor.
In a biography of his life, Immigrant Pastor by Buczek, there is a suggestion that the failed at the endeavor most important to him, preserving Polish identity among his parish.
