[2] The church building itself is considered to be the best example of the opulent Polish Cathedral style of architecture west of the Mississippi River[citation needed].

In 1878, the Archdiocese of St. Louis authorized the construction of a parish to serve the city's growing Polish Catholic community, which up until then attended St. Patrick's at Sixth and Biddle Streets.

The church was built just north of Downtown St. Louis, in a neighborhood that was home to a large number of Polish immigrants.

In 1969, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, Archbishop of Kraków (later Pope John Paul II), visited the church.

Archbishop Robert James Carlson endeavored to find an adequate compromise that would satisfy canon law and all concerned parties, but the breakaway members rejected his proposal.

In the bylaws as amended, the authority of the pastor was revoked, putting the lay board in full control of the parish.

In response, not long after his appointment, Burke demanded that the structure of the parish once again conform to current canon law norms for the United States.

[5] In August 2004, Burke removed both priests from the parish and transferred the Polish ministry to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Church, located across from St. Louis Union Station.

In January 2005 Burke threatened the members of the parish board of directors with an interdict if they did not comply with his instructions by February 4, 2005.

In December 2005, the lay board announced plans to hire a priest of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (in southern Missouri), the Rev.

In response to the action of the board, on December 16, 2005, Burke declared that Bozek and the lay board members, Dr. Joseph Rudawski, John Baras, William Bialczak, Edward Florek, Stanley Novak, and John Robert Zabielski, were guilty of the ecclesiastical crime, or delict, of schism from the Roman Catholic Church, an offense to which is automatically attached the penalty of excommunication.

In a letter to Catholics in the Archdiocese, he warned the faithful that they would be risking grave sin if they knowingly attempted to receive sacraments from a priest who is in formal schism.

[3] On December 29, 2005, Burke canonically suppressed St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, since it was operating independently of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

[8] The Archdiocese of St. Louis issued the following statement on July 23, 2008:[9] Mrs. Bernice Krauze, Mr. Stanley Rozanski, and Mr. Robert Zabielski, members of the previous Board of Directors of Saint Stanislaus Parish Corporation, met last month (June 10) with Archbishop Raymond L. Burke to be reconciled fully with the Catholic Church.

The excommunicated priest, Marek Bozek, whose liberal views had become an issue to conservative Archbishop Burke, would have been required to depart.

[10] On March 15, 2012, a St. Louis circuit court judge ruled that control of the church property and assets belonged to St. Stanislaus Parish Corporation, not the archdiocese.

The church shares grounds with the Polish Heritage Center, which will host a celebration reception following the service.On Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, The Episcopal News Service updated the article by Janis Greenbaum as follows.After this story was published online, leaders from St. Stanislaus Kostka Polish Catholic Parish announced the congregation had decided not to officially join the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, citing property rights as a key factor.