Society of Christ Fathers

The Society of Christ Fathers
for Poles Living Abroad
Abbreviation Order of the Society Christ Fathers (SChr)
Motto Wszystko dla Boga i Polonii Zagranicznej
Formation 1932
Type Catholic religious order
Legal status Congregation
Headquarters 786 West Sunset Avenue
Lombard, IL 60148-1488
Region served Worldwide
Superior General Fr. Tomasz Sielicki TChr
Website Official web site
Remarks Serve Polish communities abroad

The Society of Christ Fathers for Poles Living Abroad (SChr) (Latin: Societas Christi pro Emigrantibus Polonis; Polish: Towarzystwo Chrystusowe dla Polonii Zagranicznej) - Roman Catholic Society of Apostolic Life founded by the then Primate of Poland, Cardinal August Hlond, in cooperation with Fr. Ignacy Posadzy, September 8, 1932.[1]

Contents

History

After Poland regained independence in 1918, church and civil authorities made efforts to provide Poles living in other countries with every manner of assistance, especially spiritual care. Church leaders in Poland could not ignore the requests for Polish priests raised by Poles in all corners of the world. As guardian of the Polish emigrants abroad, Primate Cardinal A. Hlond consulted with the Holy See how to meet this demand. After receiving a directive from Pope Pius XI, he established the Religious Order of the Society of Christ to Polish Migrants in 1932. Hlond charged Fr. Ignacy Posadzy, a priest of the Archdiocese of Gniezno-Poznan, with the execution of this task and he is considered the co-founder of the Society of Christ.

Because of changes brought about after the Polish October, 1956 was a watershed moment in the realizing the mission of the Society. The first priests began to travel to the territories of their mission work. They are present in a number of countries including New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, Canada, the United States.

On 22 April 1950, the Holy See issued Decretum Laudis recognizing the presence of The Society of Christ Fathers in the Universal Church.[2]

Congregation structure

The Order, and the realization of its mission, is directed by the Superior General and General Council. It is divided into provinces, which are the overseen by the Provincials and Provincial Councils.

Provinces

Australian Province - Australia
Australian Province - New Zealand


French Province - France
French Province - Spain


Great Britain Province - Iceland
Great Britain Province - England
Great Britain Province - South Africa


German Province - Germany
German Province - Holland
German Province - Italy


Polish Province - North-Western region of Poland


South American Province - Argentina
South American Province - Brazil
South American Province - Uruguay


North American Province - US
Lombard, IL Divine Mercy Polish Mission Provincial House
Phoenix, AR Our Lady of Czestochowa Church
Los Angeles, CA Our Lady of Bright Mount Parish
San Diego,CA St. Maximilian Kolbe Polish Mission
San Francisco, CA Nativity Church
San Jose, CA St. Brother Albert Chmielowski Polish Roman Catholic Pastoral Mission
Denver, CO St. Joseph Polish Parish
Pompano Beach, FL Our Lady of Czestochowa Church
Lawrenceville, GA Polish Catholic Apostolate
Joliet, IL Holy Cross Church (Associate Pastor)
Chicago,IL Holy Trinity Polish Mission
Chicago-Argo,IL St. Blase Parish (Associate Pastor)
Palatine, IL St. Theresa Parish (Associate Pastor)
Baltimore, MD Holy Rosary Parish (Associate Pastor)
Silver Spring, MD Our Lady Queen of Poland and St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish
Hamtramck, MI Saint Florian Roman Catholic Parish
Minneapolis, MN Holy Cross Parish (Associate Pastor)
Las Vegas, NV Our Lady of Las Vegas (Associate Pastor)
Poughkeepsie, NY St. Joseph Parish
Toledo, OH SS. Adalbert and Hedwig Parish
Portland, OR St. Stanislaus Catholic Church
Dallas, TX St. Peter The Apostle Roman Catholic Parish
Houston, TX Our Lady of Czestochowa Parish
Seattle, WA St. Margaret of Scotland Parish
Tacoma, WA SS. Peter and Paul Parish
Milwaukee, WI St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish
North American Province - Canada
Calgary, AB Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish
Chatham, ON Our Lady of Victory Parish
Guelph, ON Sacred Heart Parish
Oshawa, ON St. Hedwig's Parish
Regina, SK St. Anthony's Church
Toronto, ON Our Lady Queen of Poland Parish


References

  1. ^ "About the Society". Society of Christ. 2009. http://www.tchr.us/?id=33. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 
  2. ^ Rev. Tadeusz Winnicki, SChr, Superior General (22 December 1998). "Ministry of the Society of Christ Fathers to Polish Migrants". Society of Christ Fathers. http://www.tchr.org/schr/socang.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-06. 

Bibliography

External links