By Nick Buglione
The Rev. Jozef Kamisinski, 34, emigrated from his native Poland in April, and has become the parish's full-time priest, its first in some three years. His predecessor, the Rev. Wieslaw Pietruszka, had split his time between the Harton Avenue house of worship and a parish in Brooklyn.
Kamisinski takes the helm of a 73-year-old church whose future has been very much in doubt over the last several years. Its membership, which once numbered scores of parishioners, has dwindled to about 20 congregants on any given Sunday. "Our goal now is to increase the growth of the parish," said Tom Kompa, a Merrick resident and a member of St. Francis, which is one of the few churches of its kind on Long Island, including Queens and Brooklyn. "We're pretty positive Father has it in him to get new people in."
In many ways, St. Francis is a microcosm of the Polish National Catholic Church as a whole. Having broken off from the Roman Catholic Church in 1897, the Polish National Catholics' ranks simply aren't what they once were. Based in Scranton, Pa., the church comprises roughly 140 parishes nationwide, with a membership hovering around 50,000 - a far cry from the 200,000 that once claimed association to the faith.
The Rev. Francis Hodur organized the first Polish National Catholic Church in Scranton over a century ago to cater to the needs of alienated Polish immigrants, many of who were anthracite coal miners. There the Catholic Church was geared largely to the more established Irish and Germans of the area.
Just 35 years after the faith's creation, the parish in East Meadow was established. St. Francis was built from the ground up by its parishioners, many of whom put up their own money for the mortgage. In East Meadow the church thrived, largely because of the sizable Polish population in the community at that time.
Running a parish is a dream come true for Kamisinski, who dreamed of becoming a priest ever since he was a young boy. "My parish had excellent priest, good man, good heart," said Kamisinski, who grew up in a Polish farming community not far from the German border and speaks with a strong accent. "I think maybe I be a priest."
Though he grew up a Roman Catholic, Kamisinski decided to become a Polish National Catholic priest because he wanted to marry and have a family. Theologically, the Polish National Catholic Church is closely akin to Roman Catholicism. It acknowledges the same seven sacraments, and its Mass is celebrated almost identically. The religions are so similar, in fact, that the Vatican ruled in 1993 that members of the Polish National Catholic Church of America could receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist and anointing of the sick from Roman Catholic priests.
Policy, however, is where the two differ most. Polish National Catholic priests are not required to remain celibate, and many marry. The church's position on birth control is also far more moderate: It is a personal matter between a husband, wife and their physician.
Ordained when he was 29, Kamisinski and his wife, Agnes, have an 11-month-old daughter, Alexandra. The family lives in a house that abuts the church.
Since Kamisinski took over on July 31, things have begun looking up at St. Francis. Two new families have joined, and the priest has re-started the church's religious education classes, which had been dormant for years. "He's very good with children," Kompa said, noting that Kamisinski is an accomplished musician, playing the organ, piano and guitar.
The priest is also on his way to becoming an active member of the community, recently joining East Meadow's interfaith clergy council. "It's a very good community," he said, noting that everyone has been friendly.
"We feel a lot more secure now that we'll be going in the right direction," Kompa said.
In an effort to draw congregants from Polish communities in the area, Kamisinski has begun celebrating Mass in Polish on Sundays at 8 a.m., though that service will likely move to Saturdays in the coming year. He stressed, however, that people don't have to be Polish to join the parish, which boasts Italian, German, Irish and Brazilian members. "Every human has special place inside that has to pray," Kamisinski said.
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
