The Rev. Wojciech Mielcuszny constructed a wooden church at 318 Henry Street. It was here on December 6, 1875 that the first Polish Mass was said.  Soon the wooden church could not accommodate all the parishioners, and a former Presbyterian Church on Stanton Street was bought.  The first Mass at St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church was celebrated on July 14, 1878.  Following the Rev. Mielcuszny, were Rev. Franciszek Wayman, Rev. Aureliusz Bławczyîski , and other priests too numerous to mention.  In 1892 Rev. Jan Henryk Strzelecki took over the duties of pastor.  It was due to the efforts of Rev. Jan Strzelecki, that St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church stands here today.

On May 27, 1900, the cornerstone was laid, and less than a year later, Mass was celebrated on May 3, 1901.  The church was dedicated by Archbishop M.A. Corrigan and Bishop J.M. Farley on May 19, 1901, and has served the next generations for 98 years.  It has been the center of religious, as well as the national life of Polish Americans, and it still serves those goals.  The erection of the church on Seventh Street meant stabilization for the parish.  The changing pastors of previous years were replaced by the long tenure of Rev. Jan H. Strzelecki.  Rev. Jan H. Strzelecki served as pastor of St. Stanislaus for 27 years.  Donations for the church poured in from everywhere.  Electrical wiring was installed in the church 1913.  Due to the good management by Rev. Strzelecki, there were records of Marriages, Baptisms, Confirmations, Communions and Funerals.  The parishioners appreciated everything that Rev. Strzelecki did for them.  The parishioners celebrated his Tenth and Twentieth Anniversaries of Ordination as well as his twenty years as pastor.  His elevation to the rank of Prelate coincided with his 25^th Anniversary of Ordination.  On this occasion, as on others, the parishioners showed their gratitude, appreciation and respect for their pastor.  The church and the parish were the center of all Polish organizations in New York City.  These was true the beginnings of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church; it was true during Rev. Strzelecki’s tenure as pastor, as well as those who came after him.  Rev. Msgr. Jan Strzelecki died on December 7, 1918.  He left the parish well organized.  His departure closed the times of construction, building and setting up.  The Polish people had their church, their parish.  They were at home.

St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church was in a transitional period from 1918 till March 1924.  By the decision of Archbishop Patrick Hayes,   Rev. Feliks F. Burant was appointed pastor of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church in Manhattan. When he took over the parish, it had a $225,000.00 mortgage debt.  The debt was fully paid up 25 years later, on the 30^th Anniversary of his Ordination.  He showed that he was a good financial manager.  The Great Depression united the parishioners even more.  The pastor again made an effort to organize a committee to bring help to 3000 Polish families.  All the problems of everyday life – survival, making money to pay bills, sickness, death and weddings, centered around the parish.  It also served as a kind of information center.  Rev. Feliks Burant received many well-known and distinguished Polish personages in his parish.  Among them were Ignacy Paderewski, Gen. Józef Haller and Gen. Władysław Sikorski.  The pastor maintained constant contact with the homeland of his ancestors.  Trips to Poland were organized every other year.  Rev. Burant was constantly concerned about the religious life of his parishioners.  Realizing that many parishioners living uptown had problems getting to church, Rev. Burant bought property on 106 Street in 1932, which he remodeled and named St. Jadwiga’s Church.  The Rev. Józef Sieczek, vicar at St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church, administered it.  The church served the Polish people until 1951, when the city authorities ruled the demolition of the whole neighborhood, to make way for new construction.  During World War II, the pastor of St. Stanislaus volunteered to serve as a chaplain in the army.  Rev. Józef Grono, as vicar, was left to take care of the parish.  At the end of the war, Rev. Burant was promoted to Colonel-Chaplain of the Central America line.  But he developed a sub-tropical disease and was transferred stateside.  After a few months leave he was transferred to the reserve forces in Ft. Dix, NY. Upon returning from the war, Rev. Burant formed the Polish Immigration Committee.  Janina Węgrzynek, publisher of the newspaper Nowy Świat, vigorously supported him.  The activities of the Committee included a wide range of relief initiatives for so called displaced persons or persons who were outside of Poland when the war ended.  There was the well-known attempt made by the Committee to help one hundred Polish sailors of the S. Batory and Sobieski merchant ships, who defected in 1949.  The case ended successfully and made big headlines in the Polish and American press. Rev. Msgr. Feliks F. Burant was pastor of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church for 40 years, when he died on August 25, 1964.

In the short transitory period after the death of Rev. Msgr. Feliks Burant, Rev. Alexander J. Horembala administered the parish. In October 1964, Francis Cardinal Spellman appointed Rev. John J. Karpinski as the new pastor. Rev. John J. Karpinski was 53 years old when he became the pastor of St.Stanislaus.  He came with 27 years of experience as a priest.  But he still faced many problems.  Almost immediately the new pastor had to face very difficult problems that met his parish.  The 1960’s and 1970’s were not easy ones in the history of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Parish.  It was at the end of those periods that the baptismal and marriage records showed non-Polish names like Sanchez, Gonzalez and Rivera. They were getting married, baptizing their children in the ethnic, up to that time, Polish Church of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr.  Rev. John Karpinski was invited to the White House in 1966 to discuss the problems of Polish immigrants with President Lyndon B. Johnson.  This was Rev. Karpinski’s second meeting with the President; his first meeting took place in 1964, on Polish Day in the Vatican Pavilion during an exposition in Washington, D.C.  Meanwhile, the parish was in trouble.  The number of marriages in the parish dropped by half.  The same was also true of baptisms and funerals.  With Vatican II came liturgical and Catholic practice changes, which made life on Seventh Street even more difficult. St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church became bilingual; there were 4 Masses in Polish and 2 in English.  The altars were remodeled to fit in with the modern liturgy.  A committee was formed to prepare to celebrate the 100^th Anniversary of the Church’s founding.  The highlight of the 100^th Anniversary, was the presence of His Eminence, Terence Cardinal Cooke, who concelebrated the Mass along with 25 Polish and American priests. There were other events that are too numerous to mention.  After working tirelessly in the parish for over twenty years, Rev. Msgr. John J. Karpinski retired on June 30, 1986.  Two years later, Rev. Msgr. John Karpinski was called to his heavenly reward on December 17, 1988.

The Pauline Fathers took over the parish officially on July 1, 1986.  His Eminence, John Cardinal O’Connor appointed Fr. Lucjusz Tyrasiński, O.S.P. as the new pastor of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church.  Fr. Lucjusz was officially installed as pastor on September 14, 1986.  The Mass was concelebrated by the Rev. Kevin P. O’Brien (Vicar of Manhattan South), Fr. Gabriel Lorenc,OSP, Provincial of the Pauline Fathers, and Msgr. A. Rojek.

Fr. Lucjusz Tyrasiński, O.S.P., was the 13^th Pastor of St. Stanislaus B. & M. Church.  He was born in Częstochowa, Poland, the youngest of eight children.  On graduating from high school, he entered the Pauline Fathers and after seven years of studies, he was ordained on June 17, 1956.  Fr. Lucjusz left Poland on October 26, 1963, following the orders of the current Father General who assigned him to America.  The day of his arrival, November 8, 1963, was cloudy, cold and gray.  He spent twelve years in Częstochowa as either Prior or Director of the shrine.  The National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa was built in eleven months (1965-66).  John Cardinal Król, Archbishop of Philadelphia, in the presence of the President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, Bishop Władysław Rubin, delegate of the Primate of Poland, numerous clergy and thousands of pilgrims, performed the dedication.  In 1969 Fr. Lucjusz was appointed Prior of St. Paul the First Hermit Monastery in Kittanning and served as pastor of St. Lawrence in Cadogan, which was located three miles from the monastery.  During his time in Kittanning and Cadogan, he finished the monastery, as well as rebuilding and restoring St. Lawrence.  He was appointed Director of the Shrine and after his term was over, he went as the newly appointed pastor of Holy Trinity, in Aurora, MO.  After three years in Aurora, MO, Fr. Lucjusz returned to American Częstochowa for two terms as Prior.  Following these terms he spent the next ten years in New York City.  On his arrival at St. Stanislaus, Fr. Lucjusz was again faced with challenges.  The challenges were to physically restore the church and neglected parish buildings and spiritually renew the parish.  This was done with the help of parishioners by donation of time, money or work.  The church was renovated in 1989-90 and consecrated by Bishop Szczepan Wesoły on November 24, 1990.  Other renovations were done, such as a new copper roof on the church.  Before he left St. Stanislaus, Fr. Lucjusz celebrated his 40^th Anniversary of Ordination on June 9, 1996.  Fr. Lucjusz left St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church restored and prospering. The effects of his work can be seen everywhere.

On September 15, 1996, Fr. Krzysztof Wieliczko, O.S.P. was appointed pastor, succeeding Fr. Lucjusz.  Fr. Krzysztof became the youngest pastor of the oldest parish.  He was no newcomer to the parish, as he was associate pastor here for six years prior to being appointed pastor.  Not too long after assuming his role as pastor, he organized a committee to celebrate the parish’s 125^th Anniversary.  The Anniversary year began with a Mass on January 1, 1997 followed by a Reunion of present and former parishioners and students on March 16, 1997.  The highlight of the Anniversary year was on Sunday, May 4, 1997, when His Eminence, John Cardinal O’Connor celebrated Mass at St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church.  At this Mass there were 52 priests from 9 Dioceses and 2 Archdioceses from the East Coast who participated in the celebration.  The atmosphere went from official to warm and friendly when Cardinal O’Connor said, "Jak się masz?"  He blessed the benefactors’ plaque in the newly renovated church hall, received flowers, participated in the banquet and left almost three hours later.  Fr. Krzysztof expressed his satisfaction and all participants shared this feeling.  The New York press referred to it as an outstanding historic event.

On June 8, 1997 Fr. Krzysztof Wieliczko celebrated his 10^th Anniversary of Ordination with a banquet in his honor here in the church hall.  Fr. Krzysztot received a letter of congratulation from His Eminence, John Cardinal O’Connor, Archbishop of New York, as well as from Fr. Lucjusz Tyrasiński, Provincial of the Pauline Fathers.  The closing ceremony for the 125^th Anniversary celebration took place on October 26, 1997, with His Excellency, Archbishop Szczepan Wesoły from Rome presiding.  It was a very exciting year for the parishioners and the pastor.  After the hall was renovated, the next project was the laying down of a new floor in the church hall.  Due to the generosity of friends and parishioners who gave of their time, material and monetary donations, the new floor was laid down and finished by year’s end in 1998.  Before 1998 ended, there arose an emergency: the organ broke down and needed to be repaired.  Fr. Krzysztof made an appeal to the parishioners and friends of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church for donations to the Organ Restoration Fund.  Work on the organ was finished before Christmas, 1999.

Mr. Lech Wałęsa, President of the Republic of Poland, visited St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Church for the first time in 1999.  He not only met with parishioners, but also was interested in Polonia located on the Eastern Coast of the United States.  Our next guest was Rev. Stefan Wylężek, Administrator of the John Paul II Foundation in Rome.  The purpose of his visit was the registration of a new Papal Foundation in the U.S., which was organized in our parish.  We were visited next by the Rev. Michał Jagosz, Archival Director of the John Paul II Pontificate from the 10 to the 15 of November.  Rev. Jagosz had meetings with our parishioners and Polonia, the topic of the meeting was: “The Pope and his role in today’s world.”

The year 2000 was a special time.  We celebrated many Christian Jubilees, as well as entering the next millennium.  Many Jubilee events were celebrated in our parish that year.  St. Stanislaus Church organized a special Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, on the occasion of the Holy Father’s 80^th Birthday.  About 10,000 faithful showed up, to pray together for our fellow countryman.  This great event is still talked about by Polonia.  On June 8, His Excellency, Bishop Stanisław Ryłko, Secretary General of the Pontifical Council for the Laity in Rome, visited St. Stanislaus.  Bishop Ryłko presented St. Stanislaus Church with a gift, an antique Papal chalice.  For the first time in parish history, an outdoor procession in honor of Corpus Christi, was organized on June 25.  The Corpus Christi procession, which takes place on the streets of the Lower East Side, is already a tradition.

On January 28, 2001, Mr. Lech Wałęsa, President of the Republic of Poland, visited our parish a second time.  He attended Mass and met afterwards with our parishioners.  A benefit concert on August 24, took place in our church, which was for the Polish flood victims.   Soloists from Japan, Austria, Argentina, Italy, Armenia, Poland and the United States took part.  The proceeds from the concert were sent to help all those who were either injured or incurred flood damage.  The events of September 11, 2001, downtown, shocked not only America, but also St. Stanislaus Parish.  The criminal hand took the lives of some people from our parish.  Łukasz Milewski, who perished in the North Tower, as well as Józef Piskadło, lost in the South Tower, who left behind a wife and three children.  This tragic event was memorialized by a plaque, along with ashes of the murdered, and set in the vestibule of St. Stanislaus Church, as a living memory.  His Eminence, Henryk Cardinal Gulbinowicz, Archbishop of Wrocław visited our parish September 24-27.  He was quite interested in the oldest Polish parish in the Archdiocese.  Our next guest was His Excellency, Bishop Stanisław Ryłko, Secretary General of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.  Saturday October 27 His Excellency celebrated Mass and 23 young adults received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the hands of Bishop Ryłko.  November 3 was the 60^th Anniversary of the death of Ignacy Paderewski, the great Polish composer.  A memorial Mass was celebrated, and afterwards, the Kościuszko Foundation and the children of the Fr. A. Kordecki Polish School, laid flowers at the commemorative plaque and tree.  This tree, located in Tompkins Square Park, was planted by the then Mayor of New York, Fiorello La Guardia.  Francis Vidil – a well-known French pianist – gave a concert to commemorate Fryderyk Chopin, the great Polish composer on November 24.