Heritage, church intertwined for
Polish-Americans
Heritage and church are so intertwined for Jerome Biedny that he often does not know where ethnicity stops and faith begins, he said. “I grew up in a neighborhood whose parish church’s high Mass was always celebrated in Polish. The liturgical seasons peppered the secular calendar with
memorable feasts,” Biedny said. “Whatever happened at the parish also happened in civil society. Religious and civil holidays were tied together.” Biedny has done genealogical research on he and his wife’s ancestors and found that in European countries, 100 years ago, a person who had been confirmed was eligible to marry, demonstrating how closely civil society followed church law.
The difference between modern Americans and ethnic societies, he said, is that Americans tend to block faith into just one corner of their lives. Biedny said he has noticed a recent trend to reverse compartmentalization. He has read articles that contend that Americans are not whole. Many of the
magazine and newspaper articles stress that one way to become whole or integrated is through spirituality. As a result, Biedny said that he has noticed more people gathering for prayer — at home, work and other places. Churches, like his parish, Pax Christi in Eden Prairie, are introducing rituals that are popular with ethnic groups, Biedny said. Each Easter, Pax Christi has a blessing of the baskets, like those in Eastern European countries, where families bring baskets of traditional Easter foods to be blessed. Traditional fare includes sausages, breads, and for the Biedny’s, butter carved in the shape of a lamb. The music and prayer event is becoming so popular that families are bringing non-traditional foods they will serve for Easter dinner. Biedny, 39, grew up in Cheekpowaga, N.Y., where he attended Catholic school taught by Felician Sisters from Poland.
His parish, St. Josphat, incorporated May and October Mary devotions and neighborhood
religious processions into the curriculum. Before Lent, the family emptied cupboards of fats and oils by making doughnuts (paczki). On Christmas Eve, each family ate a meatless dinner (wigilia)
where each dish had a meaning and every person had a part to play. During the sharing of flat bread (oplatki) at the beginning of the meal, all faults and failures were set aside so a new year could
be started fresh and unburdened. After dinner, they attended midnight Mass. “These and dozens more examples, such as visiting churches on Corpus Christi, show the special way in which
Poles celebrate our faith,” he said. “But these are much more than rituals — these events hold deep meaning as a reflection of our faith.” Nothing was more special than being the youngest child in the family on Christmas Eve, he said. That child watched for the first star of the night. When the star appeared, the child announced it to the family, and the Christmas Eve celebration began.
Biedny is passing on those traditions to his children. His daughter watches for the first star; his son prepares a shrimp cocktail, and the family enjoys oplatki. His wife, of Norwegian descent, prepares
wild rice mushroom soup, a variation on the traditional Polish mushroom soup. “All my stories are only one-half of my children’s story. They have a whole other side to their heritage,” he said. “It’s
not just their heritage; it’s their faith.”
Gert Gerold’s mother would be more than 100 years old today. She is deceased, yet her spirit lives on through the traditions that she passed on to her children, who in turn have passed the traditions on to their children. Gerold’s grandparents emigrated from Poland to Minnesota in the 1880s, and her mother grew up in a home whereonly Polish was spoken. Family activities focused on the parish church, she said. “[Mom] always talked about being Catholic and said that all of us belonged to God,” Gerold said. “She used to say that knowing we were Polish was not as important as looking ahead and knowing where you’re going and what God wants from you.” Faith in God, education and developing and using one’s gifts from God, shaped the lives of Gerold and her children, she said. Although her mother did not speak English until she started school, she fiercely wanted to be American, Gerold said. When Gerold and her siblings came along, their mother taught them the importance of being American, and that one of the country’s important freedoms was the gift of a good education. “My parents saw both formal and
informal education as a way to be a good citizen and live the American dream,” Gerold said.
Gerold, 55, and a member of Our Lady of the Lake in Mound, said she tried to teach her two sons that prayer is joyful and can be fun. She told them that it is even more fun when one participates. The boys became active participants, bringing food for the poor and becoming altar servers, she said. “I have a college education, and I’m a daycare provider,” she said. “I consider my work a vocation. I provide a safe place for children to be nurtured. This
Is God’s work.” Judith Blanchard drives a little farther to church so she can participate in traditional
Polish rituals and celebrations — and being at Holy Cross in Minneapolis feels like being at home to her.
“Up until about 10 years ago, I was a pretty average Polish American. I loved Polish food and was proud of our Polish pope,” Blanchard said. “I started taking Polish lessons with Chester Rog. Along with the language, he taught about Polish culture including the lovely kolenda [Christmas carols]. I wanted to learn more, so I approached Elizabeth Lewica-Schaefer, director of the Polish choir at Holy Cross, and asked her if I could join the choir for the holiday season.” That was more than four years ago, and Blanchard has been at Holy Cross ever since. The faith of the people and the worship keeps her there, she said. “The service I find the most moving is Boze Cialo [Body of Christ] held on June 13 this year. In Poland, three shrines are set up all over the town, but here the celebration
takes place on the church grounds, where three shrines are erected,” she said. The priest, under a canopy
supported by parishioners, walks from shrine to shrine and blesses each of them with the monstrance he is carrying. A procession, led by young girls throwing rose petals, follows the priest, praying and singing hymns.
“It is during this procession that I feel the closest to my grandparents — because they participated in this same
ceremony in Poland,” Blanchard said. Blanchard corresponds with cousins in Poland, who talk about the religious
celebrations there, such as celebrating the feast of All Souls at the cemetery. “They seem to have a calendar of rituals from month to month, which influences their lives, and seem to be closer to their religion than many people in this country,” she said. “I find that at Holy Cross, where there’s a feeling of community and I can learn about my heritage.”
Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
In Polish tradition, families fill Easter baskets
with food and bring them to church on
Holy Saturday for a blessing from the priest.