[5][6] The congregation dates back to April 2, 1871, when leaders of Winona's Kashubian Polish community formally declared its intent to organize a parish under the patronage of St. Stanislaus Kostka.

From its very beginning, the new Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish served as the religious and the civic center for Winona's Kashubian Poles.

In 1875, the Reverend Jan Romuald Byzewski (1842–1905), a Kashubian-born Franciscan forced to emigrate from German Poland due to the Kulturkampf, arrived and served as pastor until 1890.

Winona grew rapidly during the 1880s and 1890s, and the continuation of the Kashubian diaspora played a major part of this population boom.

[7] But as a matter of religious and civic pride, the parishioners of Saint Stanislaus Kostka decided to build a larger, grander 1800-seat structure on the site of their present church.

From the very beginning, the Basilica's great golden dome dominated the skyline of Winona, testifying to the piety and thrift of the Kashubian Polish community which built it at the then-exorbitant cost of $86,000.

It is adorned with beautiful stained glass windows dedicated to various saints and devotions particularly cherished by Kashubian Poles, with inscriptions in Polish.

According to the parish's Centennial History,[8] the dome turned bright red when the lightning bolt struck and flames burst out the windows from the wooden framework inside.

Founded in the early 1880s by Reverend Byzewski, the first Saint Stanislaus Kostka School was a one-room frame building.