St. Stanislaus Church (Cleveland, Ohio)

Infobox_nrhp | name =St. Stanislaus Church
nrhp_type =

---

caption = Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus
location= Cleveland, Ohio
lat_degrees = 41
lat_minutes = 27
lat_seconds = 33
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 81
long_minutes = 38
long_seconds = 41
long_direction = W
locmapin = Ohio
area =
built =1886
architect= Dunn, William H.
architecture= Gothic
added = June 22, 1976
governing_body = Private
refnum=76001404cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

St. Stanislaus Church was established in 1873 by Polish Americans immigrants from Poland. They established a church and school for the growing Pol-Am or Polish American Community of Cleveland. The Alliance of Poles on Broadway Avenue was allied with the St. Stanislaus Parish Community. As St. Stanislaus Church grew they decided build a new church.

St. Stanislaus Church built in 1886, is an historic Roman Catholic church located at 3649 East 65th Street in the historic Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. Operated by the Franciscan Friars, it is also known as the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus. It is in European Gothic style with flying butteress. At the time of the church's construction, it cost the parish $250,000 to build the beautiful church.

In 1894, Cleveland's Pol-Am community established Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish on Lansing Avenue, this led to a schism between Polish Catholics in Cleveland.

A tornado on April 21, 1909 destroyed the twin spires at the front of the church. They were rebuilt within the year. [cite web |url=http://www.ststanislaus.org/history.html |title=History of St. Stanislaus Church |accessdate=2008-06-08] On June 22, 1976, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1962, St. Stanislaus built a new parish social center and gym complex across the street. In 1969, Cleveland Central Catholic was established at St. Stanislaus Parish. Cleveland Central Catholic and St. Stanislaus School have masses in the church. In 1969 Cardinal Karol Woltya or the future Pope John Paul II visited the parish.

In 2002, Fr. William Gulas O.F.M. was killed by Brother Daniel Montgomery O.F.M and to hide the crime, Montgomery set the parish rectory and offices on fire. Montgomery was sentenced to life in jail in 2005. Fr. Gulas was succeeded by Fr. Michael Surufka O.F.M. Fr. Surufka has formed the Fransican Development Corporation to help develop new residences in the neighborhood. In 2004, St. Stanislaus completed a $1.4 million dollar renovation of the church's interior. In 2006, it became a shrine church.

ee also

*List of Registered Historic Places in Cleveland, Ohio

References

External links

* [http://www.ststanislaus.org/ Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus website]