Paweł Piotr Rhode - a Bishop and a Polish-American Leader of Kashubian Origin (1870-1945)

Abstract

The article presents P. P. Rhode (1870-1945) the first Polish-American bishop. At the beginning of the 20th century Polish-Americans (in number of around 2,5 million) urgently needed their own bishop in the hierarchy of the Roman-Catholic Church in the USA. They finally achieved it when the Polish National Catholic Church came to existence as a result of a great conflict between Polish immigrants and the American hierarchy.

Bishop Rhode was an ordinary of the American diocese of Green Bay. Being of Polish origin he actively participated in the life of Polonia and contributed a lot to maintaining Polish and Catholic national values.

Besides, Bishop Rhode was deeply engaged in help for Poland during World War I and in the post-war period. He was a distinguished leader of the majority of North-American Polonia.