St. Constance Parish is a prayerful, caring, and welcoming Roman Catholic community. Originally founded in 1916 as an outreach church for Polish immigrants, it is now culturally diverse...". So begins the Mission Statement of St. Constance parish. When ninety Polish families gathered together over eighty years ago on Chicago´s northwest side as the faith community of St. Constance, they couldn´t have imagined the distant fruits of their labor. The new parishioners quickly outgrew their first home - a small, renovated Protestant church at Central and Lawrence Avenues in Chicago - and on November 1, 1916, they broke ground for a combination church-school at the current parish location a few blocks to the east. Continued growth, renovation, and building initiatives ensued, and in the 1950´s and 60´s, the current convent, elementary school, and church buildings were completed.
Today, St. Constance parish is home to about 2,800 families, and with eight weekend Masses (four in English and four in Polish), it is a very active place. Over fifty parish organizations and lay ministries - along with the pastoral staff - trend to the spiritual, social, and educational needs of the ushers, acolytes, and choir members. Others work behind the scenes on art and environment, liturgy preparation, as collection counters, or in other capacities. Beyond the central core of the worship, the parish offers community participation through numerous social organizations including the Polonia Club, the Holy Name Society, the Women´s Club, the Young-at-Hearts, the Rosary Sodality, the Teen Club, the Sports Association, the Home and School Association, and the School Board.
Cardinal Francis George recently appointed Fr. Tadeusz Dzieszko - formerly an associate pastor St. Constance and most recently the pastor of St. Mary of Czestochowa parish in Cicero, IL as the new pastor of St. Constance, effective July 1, 2003. Dzieszko replaces Bishop Thomas Paprocki as pastor. Paprocki, who served St. Constance for two and a half years, was ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop on March 19, 2003 and will now be devoting time to his new responsibilities as Episcopal Vicar of the Archdiocese of Chicago´s Vicariate IV, and as the Cardinal´s Liaison to the Polish community.
The St. Constance Mission Statement ends with the words, "Through the celebration of the liturgy, sacraments, and our ministries we bring the Father´s love, Christ´s peace, and the Holy Spirit´s inspiration to one another. Our furure lies with tradition, vision, and change. By embracing the Good News and our world of all that we believe". The St. Constance community established in 1916 by ninety Polish families is still thriving, and even as they grow into the future, they know that they are well-grounded in the past.