Mary Anne Zak
Suffield churches have created significant chapters of town history. First to do so was the First Church of Christ, Congregational, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony of which Suffield was part in 1670. When the colony authorized a westerly congregation, West Suffield came into being.
Anabaptist, Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian and Lutheran groups gradually appeared. Two Roman Catholic churches emerged: Sacred Heart on West Suffield (now Mountain) Road; a half-century later, St. Joseph’s. Local usage named them by national origin: Irish and Polish. As Catholics they were not welcome.
The Irish came to escape famine and poverty; the Polish to escape feudalism, poverty and subjugation. Their histories require volumes.
Directed by diocesan authorities, the Polish Church of St. Joseph is now merging with Sacred Heart Church. A century ago Suffield’s Polish gloried to move into their own Polish-speaking parish where they could practice religion in familiar language.
From 1905 to 1916, the fraternal society of St. Joseph struggled to gain its own parish. Hardworking farmers put up money to buy land for a church. Another group bought land.
The Society asked for Polish-speaking priests but none were available. It sent delegations to Hartford and Washington to appeal to the bishop and Apostolic Delegate. Refused several times, some Polish representatives advocated joining a schismatic church. The Apostolic Delegate intervened to make a Polish church a reality.
In 1916, St. Joseph’s Parish celebrated its first Mass in its own church, a refurbished barn on Main Street’s Morgan property.
The Polish now had a spiritual home. It connected them with families most would not see again. Acquiring the church home was both gratification and ordeal held in memory.
At the direction of diocesan officials, St. Joseph Church will no longer celebrate scheduled Masses. Pre-planned events such as weddings may be held as pastoral planning continues, considering new uses for the church.
In the Hartford Archdiocese 144 parishes are merging into 59 new ones. Smaller numbers of Catholics attending Church, the resulting decrease in financial support, and the shrinking numbers of priests available explain the changes. The archdiocese sent surveys about the issues several years ago asking all parishes and members throughout the state to respond. Few remember responding.
Many reactions have been occurring within the St. Joseph community: sadness, regret, hope, anger, resentment, guarded optimism. Some members would like to have St. Joseph Church open for one or two Masses each weekend and for funeral Masses of longtime parishioners.
The combined parish of Sacred Heart and St. Joseph will decide what to do with the St. Joseph property, according to Father James Shanley, Vicar of Pastoral Planning. The property, he said, will be a “…community asset, not a diocesan gain. Any proceeds will go to the community in a form the parish may decide, such as a community center or a senior housing base.”
The Reverend William Baldyga will retire from St. Joseph to Sacred Heart Church in New Britain. The St. Joseph Cemetery is not an issue in the merger because it is diocesan property. Some parishioners intend to go to Sacred Heart in Suffield and make the best of the change.