St. Joseph's Polish Catholic Church

St. Joseph Polish Catholic Church, which opened in 1914, stands together with the 1895 school and the 1901 rectory, which have anchored the Polish enclave located in South Camden since the parish's creation more than 125 years ago. Churches and their associated institutions in urban areas routinely provided a place where European immigrants, including Poles, could enjoy a sense of comfort and familiarity. For Poles, the Roman Catholic Church and schools served as the cornerstone of the enclave, offering them a place to speak their native tongue, teach their children, and organize community services. After establishing a Catholic parish, communities grew to include banks, housing, and social centers; the South Camden area anchored by St. Joseph's garnered the nickname "Polishtown." 

One consistent aspect of Poland involved its ties to Rome; the nation formed in 966 under a Catholic prince. However, stronger neighboring countries created many challenges for the Polish people in their European homeland, especially by the eighteenth century. Austria, Prussia, and Russia each controlled portions of Poland by 1772. A failed attempt to regain its sovereignty in 1791 was followed by the 1815 defeat of Napoleon -- Poland's ally -- which led to Poland's dissolution. Consequently, the three countries occupying Poland forced men to join their armies, pushed many into poverty, and attempted to eradicate the Polish culture, notably its language. As a result, 3.6 million people fled Poland for political or economic reasons between 1870 and 1914.

The earliest Polish immigrants in the Philidelphia region (before 1870), notably in Camden, were scattered across the area. Most of the immigrants worked as farmers or in factories in Poland, so they lacked much in the way of formal education. Thus, they lacked the community bonding and the skills necessary to form a church. Moreover, it would have been challenging to find a Polish-speaking priest. As a result, for much of the nineteenth century, Poles in the area had to travel to Philidelphia by ferry to attend one of the two Polish Catholic churches or attend a non-Polish church in Camden. Finally, by the 1870s, a more cohesive Polish community emerged, and the Catholic Church granted the immigrants permission to establish a parish. However, that plan took several decades to come to fruition.  

The establishment of St. Joseph parish (St. Joseph's Society) came in early 1891 when a group of Polish immigrants met in a private home. By autumn of 1892, the group received its papers from the Trenton Diocese and formally founded St. Joseph Parish in Camden. The new parish moved their services from the private residence to a rented one-story structure, which they used until moving into their first structure -- a school and church -- in 1895; the rectory arrived a few years later. The parishioners had purchased extensive land, far more than was needed for the combination church and school. The extra land allowed the Poles to develop the entire lot by constructing dwellings. The Polish population steadily increased and became known as "Polshtown."

Though the Polish American community and local church struggled financially during its first years, the 1910 opening of the Kazimir Pulaski Building and Loan Association helped the community's overall economic situation. The increased family contributions coupled with the bank's presence allowed the church to address its overcrowding issue -- the first church proved too small by 1910 -- and plan to construct a new church. Additionally, the church paid for much of the residential construction near the church to encourage Polish Americans and new Polish immigrants to settle in Polishtown. 

Poles' desire to hold on to the culture they seemingly lost in their European home is further demonstrated by the church design, which mimicked Catholic Churches in Poland. The design reflects the Baroque influence, commonly found in Poland, and consists of a traditional basilica form, with a nave, side aisles, transept, apse, side altars, and sacristies. The Baroque style was an outgrowth of the new ideas about architecture during the sixteenth-century Italian Renaissance. They were affected by the religious upheaval created by the Counter-Reformation (the mid-1700s to mid-1800s), the Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation. Church designs during the Counter-Reformation promoted its spiritual values via paintings, statues, buildings, and oratories. 

Construction of the new church started in 1913, and the dedication ceremony took place in May 1914. The church also built a new school in 1919, followed by a convent to accommodate the Felician Sisters of Lodi, a Polish order, who taught at the school. By the 1930s, the parish comprised more than 10,000 people. The parish continued to strongly encourage the maintenance and teaching of Polish customs, language, and overall culture, mainly through the Polish American Congress organization. However, there also existed a move by the 1920s to help Poles achieve American citizenship, primarily via classes taught by the Polish American Citizens' Club. 

The 1919 school and convent were demolished in 2000, but the St. Joseph's Catholic Church building remains a lasting symbol of an expansive Polish American community. Like most urban immigrant communities, immigrants and their descendants disperse, intermarry, or become Americanized, leaving only a few reminders of the former enclave. Still, the church continues to honor Polish customs and offer bilingual masses. The church building and its traditions speak to Polish American history and the associated history of Poland. 

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Koehler, Sheila. "Nomination Form: St. Joseph Polish Catholic Church." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. November 22, 2002. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/c9830372-3f6d-44ad-a250-4710737f4e13/

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