Virtual Program for April 2025:

Fr. Leopold Moczygemba and Fr. Józef Dąbrowski:

Pioneers in Polish American Education

WHEN Thursday, April 24th, at 6:00 p.m. CST

John Radzilowski, Ph.D., Polish Institute of Culture and Research at Orchard Lake

By the middle of the 20th century, Polish Americans had created one of the largest Catholic education networks in the USA, consisting of seminaries, colleges, high schools, and hundreds of parochial schools. It had well defined bilingual curricula supported by teacher education programs, pedagogy, and textbook publishing. This achievement would not have been possible without the pioneering work of Fr. Leopold Moczygemba and Fr. Józef Dąbrowski. Fr. Moczygemba who helped found the first Polish community in Panna Maria, Texas, prepared the ground through his diplomatic leadership in Rome and the USA. Fr. Dąbrowski then founded the Polish Seminary, brought the first group of teaching sisters to America, and helped design the first curriculum for Polish American schools. The presentation will examine how these two priests helped galvanize a young, struggling immigrant community to create a comprehensive system of schools that educated hundreds of thousands of Polish Americans.

Zoom Link:  

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82308104993?pwd=Tuk7EKvriwpZ0FyDcz9Mv2HrmAJUuJ.1