Edward Kozłowski (November 21, 1860 – August 7, 1915) was a Polish-born

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

for the

Archdiocese of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan s ...

, in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

from 1914 to 1915. He was the first Polish

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

for Milwaukee.

Biography

Early life

Edward Kozłowski was born on November 21, 1860, in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

, in what was then the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. He immigrated to the United States in 1885, first settling in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He then moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

to study for the priesthood at St. Francis Seminary in St. Francis, Wisconsin.

Priesthood

After pacifying one violent Polish parish in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, Kozłowski was sent to an even more violent one in Manistee. Shots had been fired at the previous priest, and Kozłowski’s calming presence brought peace to a tense situation. Kozłowski 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. Kozłowski 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 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Irish

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. The local

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

paper ''Kuryer Polski'' of Polish activist and politician

Michał Kruszka Michał Kruszka or Michael Kruszka (September 28, 1860December 2, 1918) was a Polish American immigrant, politician, and journalist. He served four years in the Wisconsin State Senate and two years in the State Assembly, representing Milwaukee's ...

had been agitating for greater representation within the local church hierarchy. As numerous Poles did not speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC; , PNKK) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish Americans that is part of the Union of Scranton. The PNCC is not in communion the Roman Catholic Church. S ...

had been established in Milwaukee. It was thought that Kozłowski's skills as a mediator would find a solution to bring both parties together and heal the wounds.

Auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee

On January 14, 1914, amid much celebration, Kozłowski was named as Milwaukee's first Polish bishop by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

. He was only the second Polish-speaking Bishop appointed in America, following the appointment of Bishop

Paul Peter Rhode Paul Peter Rhode (; September 18, 1871 – March 3, 1945) was a prelate of Western Slavic (German Empire, German) origin of the Roman Catholic Church in USA. He served as bishop (Catholic Church), bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gree ...

in 1908. A parade was organized at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, where Kozłowski had been consecrated, and passed along Milwaukee’s streets, which had been lit with torches. A carriage pulled by four horses took Kozłowski to St. Stanislaus, which was filled to capacity. An estimated 50,000 gathered at St. Stanislaus church just to catch a glimpse. Kozłowski 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

and Irish brethren.

Death and legacy

But only one year after his appointment, Kozłowski contracted

sepsis Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage of sepsis is followed by suppression of the immune system. Common signs and s ...

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".

References

* Borun, Thaddeus, We, the Milwaukee Poles (Milwaukee: Nowiny Publishing Co. 1946) * Kruszka, Wacław “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 review

External links

Polish Churches of Milwaukee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozlowski, Edward 1860 births 1915 deaths American people of Polish descent Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States History of Catholicism in the United States Clergy from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria People from Tarnów Religious leaders from Wisconsin 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee