Thank you to all our parishioners and friends for helping us to celebrate 90 years of ministry and service to the people of Frackville in 2013. May the dawning of the New Year 2014 and our 91st year bring you every blessing.
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From the Republican Herald: Frackville PNCC marks 90 years since founding
FRACKVILLE – The celebration of the 90th anniversary of St. John the Baptist Polish National Catholic Church on Sunday remembered the past, reveled in the present and looked toward the future with faith, hope and charity.
Members and friends of the parish gathered for the 3 p.m. Mass, with the Right Rev. Bernard J. Nowicki, bishop ordinary of the Central Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church, as the main celebrant. Concelebrants included the Rev. Robert P. Plichta, pastor; the Rev. Felix Pyzowski, a son of the parish; the Very Rev. Thaddeus J. Dymkowski, administrative senior of the Plymouth Seniorate; the Rev. Joseph Cyman, pastor of St. John’s from 1999 to 2003, when Plichta came to Frackville, and the Rev. Richard Wosiak. Deacon Michael Seward assisted at the altar.
An outdoor procession of clergy and laity walked from the parish hall along Oak Street and entered the church. Nowicki was greeted at the entrance by James Chistakoff, chairman of the parish committee, and Elizabeth Greenman, president of the Blessed Sacrament. They presented the traditional gifts of bread and salt. The procession entered the main church, with the bishop, Cyman and Seward standing at the altar. The opening prayer made reference to the anniversary.
“This is a place of awe; this is God’s house, the gate of Heaven, and it shall be called the royal court of God,” Nowicki said.
“Lord Jesus Christ, the faith community of St. John the Baptist Parish is celebrating 90 years of service and dedication to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,” he continued. “May all the departed organizers, faithful and clergy, come to rejoice with all the saints in Your presence. May Your truth grow in the hearts of the faithful and clergy who continue to spread the Good News to the people of Frackville and local environs. May we worship You always in Your holy temple.”
The first and second readings were presented by James Abicunas and Joanne Plaxa, respectively. After the Gospel reading by Seward, Nowicki gave the homily.
“Everyone who calls St. John the Baptist in Frackville his or her spiritual home, friends and sympathizers of this jubilee parish today, I greet you all in the name of our glorious risen savior, Jesus Christ,” Nowicki said.
The parish was organized in 1923 under the blessing and jurisdiction of the Right Rev. Bishop Francis Hodur, the prime (first) bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church in America. By 1921, about 60 families of Polish descent had settled in Frackville. Not happy as members of the Roman Catholic parish of St. Anne in Frackville, about 40 families approached the pastor of Holy Ghost Polish National Catholic Church in Shenandoah and after receiving permission from Hodur, St. John the Baptist Parish was organized. The parish currently has about 65 members.
Land was purchased at Oak and Second streets and a church was built. In 1968, a new church building was constructed on the site and the first Mass was celebrated on Easter Sunday that year.
In addition to Pyzowski, another parish son entered the priesthood, the Right Rev. Walter A. Slowakiewicz, a Shenandoah native who was consecrated bishop on June 26, 1968, and served as fourth bishop of the PNCC’s Eastern Diocese from 1972 until his death in 1978.
Plichta spoke to the congregation at the conclusion of Mass, thanking Nowicki and the clergy who participated in the liturgy.
“You made this event more spiritual and more meaningful to all of us,” Plichta said. “I also thank our choir and organist, to those people who read the Word of God for us, and also to those parishioners who participated in the general intercessions.”
Plichta’s youngest daughter, Veronica Kristina, 6, walked up the center aisle and gave a bouquet of flowers to the bishop.
After Mass, Cyman said he enjoyed coming back to Frackville for the special occasion.
“The parish is still vibrant and still has a lot to offer to the community,” he said. “It’s so nice to see folks that I remember when I was here. It is really great to be here seeing the people who I worked with for four years and it is good to see some new people, as well. It’s a great parish and a nice community.”
An anniversary dinner was served in the parish hall following the ceremony.
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From the Republican Herald: Polish church celebrates 9 decades in Frackville
FRACKVILLE – Marking its 90th anniversary this year, St. John the Baptist Polish National Catholic Church has reached the milestone with strong faith and a caring family community.
The motto of the Polish National Catholic Church is, “With truth, work and struggle, we will succeed,” and the Frackville parish has followed those words since its founding Jan. 1, 1923.
The parish will celebrate at 3 p.m. Sunday with an anniversary Holy Mass. The main celebrant will be the Right Rev. Bernard J. Nowicki, bishop ordinary of the Central Diocese. The clergy of the Plymouth Seniorate will concelebrate, and a dinner will follow the Mass in the church hall.
The Central Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church is the largest diocese of the denomination. The diocese has parishes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Colorado and California. The Cathedral of the diocese is St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Cathedral in Scranton.
The Rev. Robert P. Plitchta has been pastor of St. John the Baptist Polish National Catholic Church, Frackville, since Nov. 1, 2003. He was born in 1961 in Gdansk, Poland, and was ordained on June 4, 1988, in the Diocese of Gdansk. This year marks his 25th year as a priest. He is also the administrator of Holy Ghost Polish National Catholic Church, Shenandoah, and he speaks Polish, English, German and some Italian. He is married to the former Janina Zabrowski and the couple have two children, Victoria Maria, 9, and Veronica Kristina, 6.
“I missed the 80th anniversary but I’m looking forward to the 100th, God willing,” Plitchta said, adding that everything is ready for the 90th.
“We will have a procession from the hall to the church on Sunday, weather-permitting,” he said.
Plichta is the 13th pastor and has served the third-longest pastorate in the church’s history. The Rev. Louis Orzech served for 12 years, from 1936 to 1948, and the Rev. Edward Tomczyk served for 45 years, from 1954 to 1999.
According to the church’s history, the parish was organized in 1923 under the blessing and jurisdiction of the Right Rev. Bishop Francis Hodur, the prime bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church in America. By 1921, about 60 families of Polish descent had settled in Frackville. Since there was no Polish church in the borough, those people had to rely on other churches to meet their growing spiritual needs. Being unsatisfied and wanting a church of their own, they banded together and formed a Roman Catholic mission parish called St. Anne’s.
Many parishioners, however, were dissatisfied with the parish’s second administrator’s “iron hand.” They had heard about a new kind of church in Shenandoah and some parishioners visited that parish. They were impressed and appealed to the Shenandoah pastor, the Rev. Stanley Cybulski, to help them organize a similar parish in Frackville.
With the sanction and blessing of Hodur and with the help of Cybulski, the new parish was organized and the first Mass was celebrated in Bradley’s Hall, Spring and Lehigh streets, by Cybulski. Of the original 60 families that were part of the St. Anne mission, 40 joined the new parish of St. John the Baptist. The parish currently has about 65 members.
In 1923, land was bought at Second and Oak streets from the Stefanowicz and Zelonis families to build a church and rectory. A temporary church was built, with the first Mass celebrated on Christmas 1923.
Planning for a new church began in the 1950s and the plans became final in the 1960s, when funds were available. After meetings and conferences with architect Robert Bosak, the plans were drawn up for the new church. Ground was broken in April 1967 and the first Mass in the new church was celebrated Easter Sunday in 1968. The formal dedication and banquet was in June 1968.
When asked what has led to the parish’s longevity, parishioner Carolyn Boychak, Frackville, said, “We started out with good bones.”
“We can’t say it isn’t a struggle because it is a struggle in this day and age, but it’s the same in every church,” said parishioner Joann Plaxa, Auburn.
“In the frame of 10 days, I buried four people,” Plichta said.
According to information provided by Plichta, the Polish National Catholic Church came into being in 1897, when it broke ties with the Roman Catholic Church and “is a true Catholic Church, rooted in Holy Scripture, based on tradition and accepting as dogmatic the first Seven Councils of the undivided Christian church. We are an Apostolic church, having valid Apostolic succession, the unbroken line of bishops from the time of the Apostles of Jesus Christ to the present-day bishops, priests and deacons of the church. Both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches recognize our Holy Orders as valid.”
Church’s 90th Anniversary noted in the Press Read More »
This year our Parish celebrates the 90th Anniversary of its organizing (1923- 2013). A special Anniversary Holy Mass will take place in our church on Sunday, September 22nd at 3 PM. A reception will follow after the Mass. The Main Celebrant for our anniversary Holy Mass is the Rt. Rev. Bernard J. Nowicki, Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese. The Clergy of the Plymouth Seniorate will concelebrate the Mass together with the Bishop. All are invited to celebrate this special occasion and our service to the Frackville community.
90th Aniversary Celebration Read More »
