Saint Brother Albert Chmielowski Polish Mission
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San Jose in California stands as an example of an entirely new religious center, which the Society of Christ had to build from the foundations up. In 1976, Archbishop Joseph T. McGucken of San Francisco established the Polish Mission of St. Adalbert. Its purpose was to provide permanent ministry in the native language to those Poles living in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Mission’s first priest was Fr. Wojciech Baryski, S.Chr., who was required to commute to San Jose. In 1981, his destination point in San Jose found itself within the new Diocese of San Jose, the result of a partitioning Archdiocese of San Francisco. During the eighties, the area was settled by a considerable number of Polish immigrants. The religious needs of this community required the creation of a separate pastoral mission, and the construction of a church. Land was purchased for this purpose. In 1986, the Polish Pastoral Mission was legally founded in San Jose, although it continued to be served by a commuting priest. In 1990, after the dividing of the Mission in San Francisco by the provincial authorities, the San Jose Mission received its own resident priest in the person of Fr. Andrzej Maslejak, S.Chr. That same year, the Mission was dedicated to St. Albert Chmielowski. Thanks to the sacrifice and patience of both the mission members and their priest, the new church was formally consecrated in 1998.
