Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (), is a Catholic parish church in Cleveland, Ohio and part of the Diocese of Cleveland. It is a located on Lansing Ave. near East 66th St., in a part of the South Broadway neighborhood previously known as Warszawa, also referred to today as Slavic Village. Both the church and the area are GNIS named features. The church is in the neighborhood of, but not within, the area listed as Warszawa Neighborhood District on the National Register of Historic Places. The church, school, rectory, and convent buildings are listed together as a Cleveland Designated Landmark.
The parish was founded in 1894.
History
Founding in Schism
The independent schismatic congregation, under the title of Independent Polish Catholic Church of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary or Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was founded 3 May 1894 — about 47 years after the Diocese of Cleveland was erected by Pope Pius IX.
The founding happened at the beginning of the Progressive Era after the Panic of 1893.
The founder, Rev. (né Rademacher), also known as Rademacher Kolaszewski and Kolaszewski-Rademacher, was born 5 September 1851 in Elżbietów, Poland and immigrated to the United States at about the age of eight.
Kolaszewski made his collegiate studies in the Franciscan College, in Teutopolis, Illinois; then entered St. Mary's Seminary, Cleveland, where, after completing the prescribed course in philosophy and theology, had been ordained for the Diocese of Cleveland, by Bishop Richard Gilmour on 1 July 1883, and was appointed the first resident pastor of St. Stanislaus' church a few weeks after his ordination. Between 1886 and 1890, frequent charges were made against Kolaszewski. Within two months after Bishop Ignatius Frederick Horstmann came to the diocese, another grave charge was made against Kolaszewski. He was unable to disprove it, and so, on 28 May 1892, offered his resignation. His resignation was accepted by Horstmann, on condition that he leave the diocese, which he did. He moved from Cleveland to Syracuse, New York. There he worked as a priest, known as Father Colley, and founded Sacred Heart Church, the first Polish parish church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse. He had also been practicing medicine without a license. The Syracuse Courier reported that he "had built up quite an extensive practice drawn mostly from the female portion of the community" and his practice had been brought to the attention of the Onondaga County Medical Society. He was repeatedly served with notices to desist but kept on with his practice. The matter was then brought to the attention of Bishop Patrick Anthony Ludden, but even his disapproval had no effect on his actions. Finally, the Medical society arranged for his arrest. Early in April 1894 he left suddenly and mysteriously; the Syracuse Courier conjectured that he probable learned of his impending arrest and left Syracuse to avoid prosecution. He visited Cleveland and returned to Syracuse on business in May. Kolaszewski remained in Syracuse until May, 1894, when he returned to Cleveland and organized a congregation of his followers from St. Stanislaus' church.
Horstmann referred the case to the Apostolic Nunciature to the United States; Titular Archbishop Francesco Satolli, the Apostolic Nuncio, sent Horstmann his reply;
On 1894-06-20, Kolaszewski was excommunicated by Horstmann.
And, the congregation was warned.
"Despite their growing numbers, Poles were not represented in the Catholic hierarchy in the United States for many years. This became an increasing source of tension in the Polish-American community, resulting in the founding of schismatic churches in the Polish community. In 1895 in Chicago, Resurrection Father , assistant pastor of St. Hedwig Parish, led 1,000 of the parish's 1,300 families in founding the 'Independent Catholic Church in America.' Within three years, the Independent Polish Catholic Church in America claimed 17,000 members. In 1897 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Father Francis Hodur founded the Polish National Catholic Church. Both had themselves consecrated bishops by the Union of Old Catholic Churches in Holland." Also, doctrines of Americanism were held by and taught by many members of the Catholic clergy and hierarchy in the United States in the 1890s. Catholic leaders in the United States denied they held these views.