Wacław Kruszka

Wacław (Wenceslaus) Kruszka was born in Polish Prussia in 1868 near Gessen in Pozen, one of 13 children. Kruszka's brother Simon, a Catholic Priest, had been imprisoned during Otto Von Bismark's Kulturkampf for protesting restrictions placed the church and Polish culture. Wacław decided to follow his brother into the ministry, and initially studied with the Jesuits. He was forced to leave the order following some disagreements with the clergy. Kruszka then decided to follow his half brother Michael to Milwaukee, WI in 1893 to avoid increasing political persecution and the Prussian military draft. Michael Kruszka was the editor of a successful Milwaukee newspaper, the Polski Kuryer,which was the first Polish language daily in the USA. Wacław Kruszka entered the St Francis Seminary and was ordained as a priest in June 16, 1895. His began assisting at St. Casimir on the east side and then became a teacher at the school at St. Josaphat.

Kruszka was suddenly transferred by the Archdiocese to a small Parish in Ripon after allegations were made that he had fathered an illegitimate child with his housekeeper. He vehemently denied the allegations, but did end up paying for the economic maintenance of the mother and child. Whether or not this was an admission of guilt will never be known. Father Kruszka shared his brother’s skills in journalism and writing, and while in Ripon he began writing articles for the Kuryer. He also found the time to learn 8 foreign languages.

Wacław Kruszka argued passionately for the appointment of a Polish Bishop for Milwaukee. Poles now were 22% of the population of Milwaukee, and the second largest ethnic group after Germans. But the Milwaukee church hierarchy was dominated by German and Irish factions, who saw little justification to include a Pole within its leadership. Father Kruzka's passionate position on this matter put him not only at odds with the Milwaukee Archdiocese but many fellow Polish priests as well, who agreed with Kruszka's goal but frowned on his confrontational and devisive tactics.

While in Ripon,Father Kruzska then began the monumental task of documenting the history of Poles in the USA. Called The History of Poles in the United States (Historya Polska w Ameryce)., it was first serialized in the Kuryer on September 5th, 1901. It was eventually released as a 13 volume bound work between 1905 and 1908. The History of Poles has been criticized in some circles for some inaccuracies and bias, but remains a landmark document for the history of immigration in America.

Father Kruzska travelled to Rome on a mission in 1903 to meet with Pope Pius X and present his arguments for a Polish Bishop in America. He was received cordially, and the Pope sent an emisary from the Vatican to investigate the situation.

After several setbacks, on July 29, 1908, the church finally relented and appointed the first Polish bishop, Paul Rhode, in Chicago. While this action brought some temporary peace to the situation, there still was tremendous pressure in Milwaukee for recognition of the 16 Polish churches within the local church leadership. The breakaway Polish National Catholic Church had established itself in Milwaukee and was attracting converts. Bishop Rhode travelled to Milwaukee and met with Archbishop Sebastian Messer in an attempt to try and defuse the tension.

As a result of these discussions, Father Kruszka was offered the pastorage of St. Adalbert's Parish in Milwaukee which effectively ended his "exile" in Ripon. Archbishop Messmer attempted to further placate the Polish community by appointing a Polish speaking Bohemian, Joseph Maria Koudelka, as auxiliary bishop in Milwaukee. Father Kruszka was stridently opposed to this decision, which he saw as tokenism and an insult to Poles. While visiting St. Casimir's Parish in Kenosha, Kruszka declared that Bishop Koudelka would have to "walk over my corpse" to enter St. Adalbert's for Mass. Father Kruszka was forced to apologize for this remark and sign a written alligence to the church.

Finally, in November of 1913, a Polish speaking bishop was appointed for Milwaukee. Father Edward Kozlowski had been born on November 21, 1860 in Tarnow, in the Austrian occupied part of Poland, and previously defused similar situations with angry Polish parishioners in Michigan. Father Kozlowski had the diplomatic skills sorely needed in Milwaukee to heal wounds between Archbishop Messmer and Father Kruszka.

Father Kruszka was elated by the decision, and the conflict between himself and the Archdiocese eventually subsided. His focus went back to his mission of ministering to Milwaukee's Polish community and he went on to serve at St. Adalbert's for many years, which grew and prospered.

Father Kruszka passed away on Thanksgiving in 1937 at the age of 69. He was much loved by his parishioners and nearly 10,000 attended his funeral. At his the service, Cardinal Stritch went on the record saying:

“The deceased had two aims in his life: Catholicism and Poland, and for these two goals, he worked unceasingly”. 64.74.109.53 21:52, 1 August 2007 (UTC)Polishchurch

Sources

Sources: Borun, Thaddeus, We, the Milwaukee Poles (Milwaukee: Nowiny Publishing Co. 1946) Skendzel, Eduard Adam Who Was Wenceslaus Kruszka? U.S. Catholic Historian pp. 61-62 Kuznewski, Anthony J. Faith and Fatherland (Notre Dame: Notre Dame Press 1980) Kruszka, Wacław “A History of Poles In America to 1908” (Washington D.C. 2001)

See Also

Michael Kruszka Edward Kozlowski St. Adalbert's Church Milwaukee, WI The Polish Churches of Milwaukee