Polish Catholic Mission

[1] The origins of pastoral care for displaced Poles in the British Isles go back to the 19th century historical insurrections that took place on the former territory of the Commonwealth of Two Nations in 1831, 1848, 1863 and 1905.

Emeryk Podolski, who led church services for Poles in a chapel on Sutton Street in London's Soho district.

From then on Polish services were regularly held in a chapel first in Globe Street, then in Cambridge Heath Road in Bethnal Green in the East End of London.

That same year the parish was visited by cardinal Aleksander Kakowski in the company of bishop Przeździeński from the diocese of Siedlce and Polish ambassador, Konstanty Skirmunt.

Władysław Staniszewski became chaplain to the mission, who until then had been Chef de Cabinet of the Polish primate, and who had volunteered to come to England for three years.

As he left for London, cardinal Hlond bid him farewell with these words: Following this great war, that we foresee, it is most likely that the Polish colony over there will swell and if we succeed in maintaining the legation till then, it may turn out to be fortuitous.

Around this time Archbishop Hlond had nominated Bishop Józef Gawlina, also a Divisional general and based in Rome, to be responsible overall for the Polish diaspora.

At the same time, a polish Catholic press came into being, including titles, like: Gazeta Niedzielna, Życie, Czyn Katolicki, Sodalis Marianus and Marianum w służbie.

In time, two secondary boarding schools were opened: "Holy Family of Nazareth Convent School" for girls in Pitsford, Northamptonshire (1947-1984) run by the Sisters of Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth, and "Divine Mercy College" for boys in Fawley Court (1953-1986), near Henley-on-Thames, run by the Marian Fathers.

On the pastoral front, the temporary Polish parish hosted in Central London by the fathers of Brompton Oratory was able to be moved westward in 1962 to the newly acquired building from the vacating Scottish Presbyterians.

[11] The oldest of all PMK European legations operates from its centre in Paris, already established in the 1830s by such national luminaries as Aleksander Jełowicki its first rector, Adam Mickiewicz, or Juliusz Słowacki all of whom were obliged to emigrate to France after the 1831 November Uprising.

As well as religious instruction, the parish offers Polish lessons for children and young people and various levels of French language teaching.