Edward Kozłowski was born on November 21, 1860, in Tarnów, in the Austrian portion of Poland. He came to the United States in 1885, first settling in Chicago and then studying for the priesthood at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee. After pacifying one violent Polish parish in Michigan, he was sent to an even more violent one in Manistee. Shots had been fired at the previous priest, and Kozlowski’s calming presence brought peace to a tense situation. Kozlowski showed the gift of not only working with combatant Poles but also maintaining good relations with the local German archbishop, who was often at odds with the parishioners.
A portrait of Bishop Kozlowski.
Father Kozlowski was then transferred to Milwaukee and named pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish in an attempt to calm an extremely tense situation there as well. There had been considerable strife between the local Polish parishes and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, which was run by German and Irishclergy. The local Polish language paper Kuryer Polski of Polish activist and politician Michał Kruszka had been agitating for greater representation within the local church hierarchy. As numerous Poles did not speak English and worked at the bottom of the social economic ladder, many within the Archdiocese felt that the Poles were not "American enough" to participate in the church leadership. This situation had eventually led to a split within the church, and a branch of the rival Polish National Catholic Church had been established in Milwaukee. It was thought that Father Kozlowski's skills as a mediator would find a solution to bring both parties together and heal the wounds.
On January 14, 1914, amid much celebration, Father Kozlowski was named as Milwaukee's first Polish bishop by Pope Pius X. He was only the second Polish-speaking Bishop appointed in America, following the appointment of Bishop Paul Peter Rhode in Chicago in 1908. A parade was organized at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, where Father Kozlowski had been consecrated, and passed along Milwaukee’s streets, which had been lit with torches. A carriage pulled by four horses took Bishop Kozlowski to St. Stanislaus, which was filled to capacity. An estimated 50,000 gathered at St. Stanislaus church just to catch a glimpse.
Bishop Kozlowski worked tirelessly to heal wounds among the parishioners in Milwaukee as well as to address grievances of Polish priests, who had lower salaries than their German and Irish brethren.
But only one year after his appointment, Bishop Kozlowski fell ill from blood poisoning and died on August 7, 1915. Some 30,000 mourners attended the funeral. Chicago Bishop Paul Rhode declared at the memorial service: "How difficult it was for us to obtain a second Polish bishop, and how easy to lose him".[2]
edward, kozłowski, edward, kozlowski, november, 1860, august, 1915, polish, american, prelate, roman, catholic, church, served, auxiliary, bishop, archdiocese, milwaukee, milwaukee, wisconsin, first, polish, bishop, milwaukee, most, reverendauxiliary, bishop, . Edward Kozlowski November 21 1860 August 7 1915 was a Polish American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in Milwaukee Wisconsin He was the first Polish bishop for Milwaukee 1 Most ReverendEdward KozlowskiAuxiliary Bishop of MilwaukeeIn officeJanuary 14 1914 August 17 1915Personal detailsBornEdward Kozlowski 1860 11 21 November 21 1860Tarnow Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Austrian Empire now Poland DiedAugust 7 1915 1915 08 07 aged 54 Milwaukee Wisconsin USDenominationCatholic ChurchAlma materSt Francis Seminary Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography editEdward Kozlowski was born on November 21 1860 in Tarnow in the Austrian portion of Poland He came to the United States in 1885 first settling in Chicago and then studying for the priesthood at St Francis Seminary in Milwaukee After pacifying one violent Polish parish in Michigan he was sent to an even more violent one in Manistee Shots had been fired at the previous priest and Kozlowski s calming presence brought peace to a tense situation Kozlowski showed the gift of not only working with combatant Poles but also maintaining good relations with the local German archbishop who was often at odds with the parishioners nbsp A portrait of Bishop Kozlowski Father Kozlowski was then transferred to Milwaukee and named pastor of St Stanislaus Parish in an attempt to calm an extremely tense situation there as well There had been considerable strife between the local Polish parishes and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee which was run by German and Irish clergy The local Polish language paper Kuryer Polski of Polish activist and politician Michal Kruszka had been agitating for greater representation within the local church hierarchy As numerous Poles did not speak English and worked at the bottom of the social economic ladder many within the Archdiocese felt that the Poles were not American enough to participate in the church leadership This situation had eventually led to a split within the church and a branch of the rival Polish National Catholic Church had been established in Milwaukee It was thought that Father Kozlowski s skills as a mediator would find a solution to bring both parties together and heal the wounds On January 14 1914 amid much celebration Father Kozlowski was named as Milwaukee s first Polish bishop by Pope Pius X He was only the second Polish speaking Bishop appointed in America following the appointment of Bishop Paul Peter Rhode in Chicago in 1908 A parade was organized at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist where Father Kozlowski had been consecrated and passed along Milwaukee s streets which had been lit with torches A carriage pulled by four horses took Bishop Kozlowski to St Stanislaus which was filled to capacity An estimated 50 000 gathered at St Stanislaus church just to catch a glimpse Bishop Kozlowski worked tirelessly to heal wounds among the parishioners in Milwaukee as well as to address grievances of Polish priests who had lower salaries than their German and Irish brethren But only one year after his appointment Bishop Kozlowski fell ill from blood poisoning and died on August 7 1915 Some 30 000 mourners attended the funeral Chicago Bishop Paul Rhode declared at the memorial service How difficult it was for us to obtain a second Polish bishop and how easy to lose him 2 See also editMichael Kruszka Waclaw KruszkaReferences edit Bishop Edward Kozlowski Catholic Hierarchy org David M Cheney Retrieved January 21 2015 Archdiocese of Milwaukee About Us History 1903 1945 Archived from the original on December 26 2009 Retrieved August 19 2008 Borun Thaddeus We the Milwaukee Poles Milwaukee Nowiny Publishing Co 1946 Kruszka Waclaw A History of Poles In America to 1908 Washington D C 2001 Avella Steven M In the Richness of the Earth Milwaukee Marquette University Press 2002 Kuznewski Anthony J Faith and Fatherland The Polish Church War in Wisconsin 1896 1918 Notre Dame Notre Dame Press 1980 JSTOR reviewExternal links editPolish Churches of Milwaukee dead link Catholic Church titles Preceded by Auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee1914 1915 Succeeded by Portals nbsp Biography nbsp Christianity nbsp United States Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Edward Kozlowski amp oldid 1173235189, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
