Holy Mother of the Rosary Polish National Catholic Church - Chicopee, MA
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neoc1
N 42° 08.834 W 072° 36.003
18T E 698305 N 4668911
The Gothic Revival style Holy Mother of the Rosary Polish National Catholic Church is located at 26 Bell Street in Chicopee, MA.
Waymark Code: WM14489
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 04/11/2021
Views: 3
"The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) is a Christian church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans. The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church due to differing theologically in several respects." Source: Wikipedia: (
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For example, priests of the Polish National Catholic Church are encouraged to marry and all parish property and investments are owned and supervised by the local congregation. The church has around 26,000 members in the United States and Canada and have been an autonomous Catholic denomination since 1897.
In 1896, many Polish immigrants working in Chicopee felt that their freedom of religious expression was being denied by the established Roman Catholic Church. After much effort, it was concluded that the only resolution to their grievances was to establish an independent Polish National Catholic Church. A Massachusetts charter was issued on March 10, 1897 and on March 22, 1897 land was purchased on Bell Street to build the Holy Mother of the Rosary church. The prolific sculptor Melzar Hunt Mosman was selected to design the Gothic Revival style church. Construction began in 1897 and the church was dedicated in 1898. See parish history: (
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The wood frame church has a bent gable roof is covered with white siding. The symmetrical façade has a set of steps leading up to a protruding four tiered tower with a central entrance. Above the entrance is a pointed arch transom and a circular window. Above is a square two story tower with two rectangular windows on the first level and two windows with pointed tops on the second level. Above the square tower is an octagonal belfry and a tapered steeple topped with a cross. Flanking the entrance are two sections with rectangular and pointed top windows. Each section has a gable roof topped with a cross. The sides of the church are five bays wide each with two-story high windows with pointed tops. Protruding auxiliary entrances are located at the back of each side.