Monday Morning with Saint Adalbert Basilica and the Neighborhood on my Mind

Last week I was on vacation recharging my batteries in the Finger Lakes.  But now I am back and it is time to get down to BFA business again.

Even though I was on vacation, the neighborhood is never far away because of technology.  Something I received while on vacation was a letter and decree Bishop Kmiec issued on the status of Saint Adalbert Basilica.

(Here is a copy of it—> pdf)

The essence of the letter and decree explains changes to Saint Adalbert Basilica’s designation of oratory to that of a church part of Saint John Kanty parish.  Beyond that, it really doesn’t change the role of Saint Adalbert’s in its merger with Saint John Kanty.

For whatever reason, the letter got me thinking about a Letter to the Editor sent to both the Buffalo News and Am-Pol Eagle a few weeks ago by James L. Lawicki, Board Member, Polish-American Congress, WNY Division entitled Bring sense of pride back to the East Side.

In the letter, Lawicki writes this:

Like so many Poles who fervently fought to bring back Poland after 123 years of being wiped off the face of the map, it is now time for all Polish-Americans residing in Western New York, in a similar fashion, to join hands together and vigorously fight to resurrect the place where it all began.

When it was announced that Saint Adalbert’s was to cease as a parish and merge with Saint John Kanty, I was disappointed by the response of the Western New York Polish-American community.  Don’t get me wrong, there were people who got involved.  But the response was underwhelming to say the least.  What should have happened is an overwhelming outpouring of support from people and organizations whose roots are deeply planted in neighborhood or at the basilica.

In his letter, Lawicki also takes aim at the city for the condition of the neighborhood.  I often think city leadership is an easy target to blame for what has happened.  What is hard is for the local Polish-American community to do is look in the mirror and accept responsibility, responsibility in letting places like Saint Adalbert’s fade away.

It is easy to come to neighborhood for Dyngus Day or during the Easter season to the Broadway Market.  The hard part is making a commitment to support our heritage sites more year-round.  Imagine our historic churches with a few hundred extra people in the pews each week or the Broadway Market with a few extra thousand people shopping there each week. Each of us has the power to change and reverse the course the neighborhood has taken by simply supporting the places our ancestors built in the here and now.

It is easy to make excuses like the neighborhood isn’t safe. etc.  It is easy to find ways to place the blame elsewhere.  If you keep making excuses, sooner or later more of Historic Polonia will disappear.

The neighborhood will never be like it was in its hay day, but there are enough places still left to make sure our history has a place in its future.

There are a lot of us who very hard to keep the neighborhood ALIVE, but we need more of you.

And speaking of my vacation, I had my Saint Adalbert Basilica mug along with me on the sunny shores of Cayuga Lake.