Organized Forms of Religious and Social Activity of Polish Emigrants in Chicago’s Holy Trinity Parish in the 1920s and 1930s

Abstract

The Holy Trinity Church in Chicago was built in 1873. Twenty years later, a parish was established where priests from the Congregation of the Holy Cross ministered. The parish was the most dynamically active in the first half of the 20th century. In the 1920s and 1930s, there were over 50 parish societies in the parish, which carried out religious, cultural and social activities. The societies operated in an orderly, structured way, and reported to a superior parish organization which coordinated all parish events. The societies jointly participated in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist, and organized parish picnics, bazaars, banquets, etc. The organization of national celebrations and charity activities were also subject to top-down management. The basic source of information was the parish bulletin, issued once a month.