St Stans Church Photograph by Wild Thing

St Stans Church

by Wild Thing

Canvas Print

Framed Print

Art Print

Poster

Metal Print

Acrylic Print

Wood Print

Title

St Stans Church

Artist

Wild Thing

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

The Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka in Winona, Minnesota, referred to in Polish as Bazylika Świętego Stanisława Kostki, is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona, and a prominent fixture upon the city of Winona's skyline. Within the diocese, it is better known as Saint Stan's. It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and was designated as a Minor Basilica of the Roman Catholic Church on November 10, 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI.

The congregation dates back to April 2, 1871, when leaders of Winona's Kaszubian Polish community formally declared its intent to organize a parish under the patronage of St. Stanislaus Kostka. Prior to this they had been attending Mass at either the "Irish" (Saint Thomas) or the "German" (Saint Joseph) Catholic church, but they wished to worship in their own language and to be led by a Kashubian or Polish pastor. Accordingly, a small wooden sanctuary was constructed at the corner of Fourth and Carimona in 1872.

From its very beginning, the new Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish served as the religious and the civic center for Winona's Kaszubian Poles. The first permanent pastor was the Reverend Joseph Juskiewicz, who was succeeded in January 1875 by the Reverend Alexander Michnowski. In 1875 the Reverend Jan Romuald Byzewski (1842-1905), a Kaszubian-born Franciscan forced to emigrate from German Poland due to the Kulturkampf, arrived and served as pastor until 1890.

Winona grew rapidly during the 1880s and 1890s, and the continuation of the Kaszubian diaspora played a major part of this population boom. By 1893, Saint Stanislaus Kostka Parish had completely outgrown its old sanctuary. Creation of a satellite Polish parish on Winona's West End was considered; indeed, such a parish, Saint Casimir, would be established in 1906. But as a matter of religious and civic pride, the parishioners of Saint Stanislaus Kostka decided to build a larger, grander 1800-seat structure on the site of their present church.

The Basilica of Saint Stanislaus Kostka was designed during the winter of 1893-1894 in the Polish Cathedral Style (it has also been attributed to the Romanesque style) by the Winona architectural firm of C.G. Maybury and Son, which had also designed Sacred Heart-Saint Wenceslaus Church in nearby Pine Creek, Wisconsin. The old church was demolished in the spring of 1894, under the direction of then-pastor Reverend Antoni Klawiter. While the new one was built, the parishioners worshiped in the nearby Bohemian parish of Saint John Nepomucene. The foundation stone was laid by the new pastor, Reverend Jakub W.J. Pacholski on October 28, 1894. The Basilica was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day November 28, 1895, by the Most Reverend Joseph B. Cotter, Bishop of Winona. From the very beginning, the Basilica's great golden dome dominated the skyline of Winona, testifying to the piety and thrift of the Kaszubian Polish community which built it at the then-exorbitant cost of $86,000.

The Basilica's interior has undergone many changes over time. It is adorned with beautiful stained glass windows dedicated to various saints and devotions particularly cherished by Kaszubian Poles, with inscriptions in Polish. On Thanksgiving Day, 1920, the parish celebrated the Basilica's dedication by consecrating a massive marble altar with a canopy supported by four massive marble pillars. New sanctuary furniture, new confessionals, and a pipe organ were installed by Reverend Pacholski's successor as pastor, the Reverend Jozef Cieminski (a parishioner in his youth), along with landscaping of the entire church property. Some of the Basilica's original furnishings, along with many contemporary furnishings preserved from other diocese churches, can be viewed at the Polish Museum at Second and Liberty Streets.

At 7:40 pm on Sunday, June 5, 1966, lightning from a severe electrical storm struck the Basilica's dome. According to the parish's Centennial History, the dome turned bright red when the lightning bolt struck and flames burst out the windows from the wooden framework inside. After costly and expensive repairs were performed, the Basilica was re-opened on Sunday, December 11, 1966. The Basilica's exterior was once more washed and renovated in preparation for the parish's centennial anniversary celebration on May 15�16, 1971. In 1991-1992 another extensive renovation project resulted in the main dome and towers being covered in metal. The current seating capacity is now 1085 people, due to numerous renovations over the years.

Information above obtained from Wikipedia ...