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St. Hedwig And The Pepper Riots In The Chicago Polish Culture

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The problems within the community are seen in the lines “When the individual torment surrounding the elementary decision as to whether one was to identify himself as a Polish Catholic or a Catholic Pole spread, collectively speaking, throughout the lay community, the permanency of the schism was all but guaranteed” (Parot 96). At the time, the Polish people were confused about whether or not to assimilate 100% into American Anglo-Saxon culture, and this caused great strife among the Chicago Polish community. The community itself was divided between choosing to be a more Nationalist Pole and being a practicing Catholic who observed Rome’s decrees with the utmost amount of effort. The Resurrectionists believed that people needed to put their …show more content…

Soon though, the protest got out of hand, and police became involved in a scuffle with protesters. Protesters then decided to attack the policeman by throwing pepper at them, which resulted in the officers firing shots from their firearms. This protest came to be known as “the Pepper riots” due to the use of pepper by protesting parishioners, and it only led to increased division at St. Hedwig’s and throughout the Polish community of Chicago. As a result of the scuffle with both St. Hedwig’s and the police force, the protesting parishioners then made the decision to build their own parish, which would end up being joining the Polish National Catholic Church as All Saints Cathedral. This event is important because it summed up the problems that were occurring not only at St. Hedwig’s, but within the city of Chicago as well. This problem concerned the debate between Americanization and the retainment of a Polish national identity, which gradually became more pronounced as more national immigrant Polish nobles came to the community (McNamara …show more content…

It’s important to note that not only did the church aim for Polish immigrants to be devout Catholics, but it also aimed to keep the community’s ties to Poland and it’s culture strong. It held the Polish identity in high regard, and it took steps to make sure that parishioners kept their ties to the motherland alive. For example, according to a PNCC priest, one of the major principles of the PNCC was the idea of religious rites being performed in Polish. It is stated in an article that “All religious rites in the Polish Church and Polish home should be conducted in the Polish language; since they are the outward signs of the relation of the Polish soul and Polish people to God” (Konicki). While there are many similarities between the Roman Catholic view on Catholicism and the PNCC viewpoint, the PNCC originally placed a bit more emphasis on immigrants retaining their ethnic identity. The tenth general synod held in 1958 in Chicago later allowed parishes to hold masses in both English and in Polish, which demonstrates the PNCC’s gradual shift from being Polish-oriented to accepting more than just Polish

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