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Hedwig, born in 1174, was the daughter of Berthold III, Duke of Karinthia and Agnes, Duchess of Rakus. At age 12 she married Henry the Bearded, Duke of Silesia; together they had six children. Hedwig fasted every day except Sundays and feast days, slept on the hard ground, and passed long hours before the Blessed Sacrament. In 1233 Henry became Duke of Poland. After her husband died in 1238, Hedwig retired to the convent at Treibnitz where her daughter Gertrude was the Superior. She continued to distribute alms to the poor and provide nursing duties. Hedwig died on October 15, 1243 at the convent. In 1267, she was canonized by Pope Clement IV, making her the first canonized saint of Central Europe. Her feast day is October 16. For more information, visit her Wikipedia page.
Saint Hedwig Parish and School On August 3rd, 1902, a meeting was held in Alex Sokolowski's hall in Union City, Connecticut, for the express purpose of organizing a Roman Catholic parish for the growing number of Polish-speaking people in the area. Bishop Michael Tierney of the Hartford Diocese appointed Fr. Ignacy Maciejewski pastor of the new parish of St. Hedwig, and on February 18, 1906, the first mass was celebrated in the same Sokolowski Hall. By the end of that year a new church building was erected on Golden Hill Street. In 1912 Fr. Paul Piechocki was named pastor. Two years later Fr. Piechocki invited the Felician Sisters to establish the parish school. In 1921 the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters took over the administration of the school and continued to staff it until the 1970s. In 1967, a new church and school building were dedicated. The Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception staffed the school for a few years until the change was made to the all-lay staff which now serves the parish school. St. Hedwig Church celebrated its centennial year in 2006 with a special Mass celebrated by Archbishop Henry Mansell. In June, 2007, St. Hedwig Church was linked with our Union City neighbor, St. Mary Church. |
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