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The broad ethnicity
of parishioners that we rejoice in today, emanated from the Polish
people who began to settle in Danbury in the late 1800's. Families
from Massachusetts and New Jersey began to join them and by 1920,
there were well over one hundred families. Pressed by the need to
educate their children, they opened a school in 1924. Realizing that
it would be very difficult to manage the school without the support
of the Church, these families obtained permission from the Bishop
of Hartford to organize a Church for the Polish community. Their first
masses were held in the basement of what was then the town's city
hall. In the spring of 1925 the property where the church now stands
was purchased for one dollar and other valuable considerations. Within
four months over twenty thousand dollars was collected and construction
of the new church began almost immediately. On October 18, 1925, two
thousand people witnessed the laying of the corner stone. On April
8 1926 the dedication of the church was celebrated. The same drive,
desire, sacrifice and religious fervor to serve The Lord that our
founders displayed has not waned through the years. It was noted at
the parish's silver anniversary, which coincided with the completion
of church renovations, that the parish was debt free. With the parish
on sound financial footing, the then pastor undertook building a convent
for the sisters and a school for the children who had been meeting
in the basement of the church. During the mid 1970's a new floor,
new pews and a confessional were added. In 1982, the men of the parish
came together, painted the church and along with other improvements,
air conditioning was installed. In October and November of 1996, the
tired pipe organ was removed, the choir loft renovated and a new digital
organ was set in place. We continued to repair and upgrade our church
with roof work, canopies over the front doors to protect the entries
from rain and proceeded to put a kitchen in the basement to support
church functions. During these past 75 years various religious organizations
flourished with an emphasis on spirituality. Each time a Franciscan
Friar came to us as a pastor, they brought with them their vision
for parish revitalization.
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