Polish American Heritage Mural

Detroit's unique Polish American Heritage Mural, which is located at St. Hyacinth Parish, was painted by Dennis Orlowski in 2001 in celebration of Detroit’s Tricentennial.

The Polish American Heritage Mural consists of three separate sections:

Left Section

The left section of the mural recognizes the original six historic parish churches on Detroit's lower east side, once commonly referred to as "Poletown."

A map is shown depicting the original location of each of these parishes.

Portraits of Father Sylvester Kolkiewicz, the founding pastor of St. Hyacinth Parish and that of our longest serving pastor, Father Francis Skalski, are also depicted in this area.

THE PARISHES AND THEIR FOUNDING DATES

ST. ALBERTUS

Św. Wojciecha

Address: 4231 St. Aubin St., Detroit, MI 48207

Current Parish Status: Closed

The Polish American Historic Site Association is the official caretaker of the complex of buildings that once comprised St. Albertus Parish.

Website: https://www.stalbertusdetroit.org/

Year Parish Founded: 1871

Year Most Recent Church was Built: 1884-1885 

Year Parish Closed: 1990

First Pastor: Rev. Fr. Simon Wieczorek

Pastor when Parish Closed: Rev. Fr. Joseph J. Matlenga

Style: Gothic Revival

Architect: Henry Engelbert

SWEETEST HEART OF MARY

Najsłodszego Serca Marii

Address: 4440 Russell St., Detroit, MI 48207

Current Parish Status: Open

In 2013, Sweetest Heart of Mary became part of the newly established Mother of Divine Mercy Parish.

Website: https://www.motherofdivinemercy.org/sweetest-heart-of-mary

Year Parish Founded: 1888

Year Most Recent Church was Built: 1890-1893

First Pastor: Rev. Fr. Dominic H. Kolasinski

Current Pastor In Solidum:Rev. Fr. Grzegorz (Greg) Tokarski

Style: Gothic Revival

Architects:  Frederick H. Spier and William C. Rohns

ST. JOSAPHAT
Św. Józefata
Address: 715 East Canfield St., Detroit, MI 48201
Current Parish Status: Open
In 2013, St. Josaphat became part of the newly established Mother of Divine Mercy Parish.
Website:https://www.motherofdivinemercy.org/st-josaphat
Year Parish Founded: 1889
Year Most Recent Church was Built: 1899-1901
First Pastor: Rev. Fr. Casimir Rochowski
Current Pastor In Solidum: Rev. Fr. Grzegorz (Greg) Tokarski
Style: Late Victorian Romanesque
Architects: Joseph G. Kastler and William E. N. Hunter

  
ST. STANISLAUS, BISHOP and MARTYR

 Św. Stanisław Biskup i Męczennik 

Address: 5818 Dubois, Detroit, MI  48211

Current Parish Status: Closed

Year Parish Founded: 1898

Year Most Recent Church was Built: 1911-1913

Year Parish Closed: 1989

First Pastor: Rev. Fr. Francis Gzella

Pastor when Parish Closed: Rev. Fr. Waclaw Maciocha

Style: Baroque

Architect: Harry J. Rill

ST. HYACINTH

Św. Jacka

Address: 3151 Farnsworth, Detroit, MI 48211

Current Parish Status: Open

Website: https://www.sthyacinth.com

Year Parish Founded: 1907

Year Most Recent Church was Built: 1922-1924

First Pastor: Rev. Fr. Sylwester I. Kolkiewicz

Current Pastor In Solidum: Rev. Fr. Grzegorz (Greg) Tokarski

Style: Romanesque Revival

Architects:  Donaldson and Meier

St. Albertus - 1872

Sweetest Heart of Mary - 1889

St. Josaphat - 1889

St. Stanislaus - 1898

St. Hyacinth - 1907

Immaculate Conception - 1919

Center Section

Located over the central doorway is our beloved Polish Pope, St. John Paul II, who had visited the Detroit area on two occasions, once as a Cardinal in 1976 and once as our Pope in 1987.

Behind him is the image of the Patroness of Poland, Our Lady of Czestochowa, and a depiction of the Saint John Paul II Cultural Center located in Washington, D.C.

On his left side, the American flag and the official seal of the City of Detroit.

To his right is the Polish flag with an overlay of an American and Polish eagle.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Niepokalanego Poczecia Namswietszej Maryi Panny

Address: 3414 Trombly Avenue at Moran, Detroit, MI  48211

Current Parish Status: Closed

Buildings torn down July 14, 1981.

Year Parish Founded: 1919

Year Most Recent Church was Built: 1927

Year Parish Closed: 1981

First Pastor: Rev. Fr. Stanislaus Bortnowski

Pastor when Parish Closed: Rev. Fr. Joseph Karasiewicz

Style: Modern Romanesque

Architect: G. A. Mueller

Right Section

The right section of the mural presents significant people, places and events of the Poletown area. In the center, there are large paintings of two religiously significant Polish traditional customs that are still observed today.

The first painting depicts the meatless Christmas Eve Wigilia meal and the sharing of the blessed wafer (Oplatek)

The second painting depicts the blessing of Easter food baskets (Swieconka).

Both customs are still observed today by the descendants of the original Poletown residents.

At the top of the right section is a depiction of SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, both the original Polish seminary, once located at Garfield and St. Aubin Streets and the seminary at its present Orchard Lake location are shown. Father Joseph Dabrowski, the seminary's founder, is pictured alongside.

The bottom section is a view of the original location of the Felician Motherhouse, once located at Canfield and St. Aubin Streets and, in addition, depicts the present motherhouse, now located in Livonia. Also pictured in this section is the Felician Order 's Foundress, Blessed Angela Truszkowska.

The four medallions, in each corner of the right section of the mural denote notable Polish Americans.

The top left medallion depicts Bishop Stefan Woznicki, a former pastor of St. Hyacinth, the second Polish American Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and the founder of Liga Katolicka, the Catholic League for Religious Assistance to Poland and Polonia.

The top right medallion depicts our former Polish American Archbishop, Adam Cardinal Maida.

The bottom left medallion depicts Rev. Mr. Stanley Mazur, the first Polish American Deacon in the Archdiocese of Detroit and a former parishioner.

The bottom right medallion depicts Miss Clara Swieczkowska (Pani Klara). She helped recruit volunteers for the Polish Army in Detroit, wrote church, school and society news articles for the Polish language newspaper, the "Rekord Codzienny'' and was Detroit's first Polish social worker, which earned her recognition by Church, city and state government officials.

The mural, heralded by The Detroit News, The Detroit Free press, The Michigan Catholic and the Tygodnik Polski, has become a unique record of Detroit 's Polonia, its culture and its people.

Father Francis Skalski, Mr. Robert Giannini, and Mr. Donald Samull commissioned the mural as a gift from St. Hyacinth Parish to the Polish American community of metropolitan Detroit and in celebration of the 300th birthday of the City of Detroit.

Sabina Jagodzinska provided the necessary resources for the execution of the mural in loving memory of Walter Dolny, Stanley Gogolowski and Bruno Jagodzinski.

About the artist:

Noted Polish American artist, Dennis Orlowski, executed this historically accurate mural, which measures ten feet by thirty-six feet.

Dennis Orlowski has painted over 100 murals and it is no wonder that he was chosen by St. Hyacinth Parish to create a unique and fitting historical record of the once thriving area of the city known as “Poletown.”

He has been painting murals ever since returning from a two-year tour of duty in the U.S. Army during the 1960's. Born in the Poletown area, Dennis has deep roots in the community. His father was baptized at St. Josaphat Parish and his mother's parish was St. Albertus. His parents were married at Sweetest Heart of Mary Parish.

Dennis began studying painting at an early age with Cleta Popovich, a church artist and master craftsman, who was trained in Europe and later moved to the United States. He studied at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Wayne State University. He also completed a year of study at the University of Mexico where he studied fresco painting.