THE HISTORY

 

            Holy Cross was established in 1913 by immigrants from Slovenia as their own ethnic parish. Rev. Kazimir Zakrajsek, a Slovenian Franciscan priest in New York, greatly assisted Slovenian settlers in Bridgeport in their quest for their own parish. He succeeded  in finding a priest, Rev. Michael Golob, who accepted the difficult task of organizing the new community. Moreover, Father Zakrajsek, helped by Father Komara, pastor of St. John Slovak parish in Bridgeport, won diocesan approval for an independent Slovenian parish. Rev. Michael Golob was appointed the first pastor. Under his leadership the parishioners built their first church in 1915 on Pine Street in Bridgeport.

            Heavy immigration which preceded World War I was drastically reduced after the end of the war. So it happened that the parish soon experienced a decline in its membership. The very few newcomers could not offset the losses. The natural process of aging and dying took its share in the decline. Moreover, many of the younger generation soon moved to suburbs and joined parishes in their neighborhood. Father Golob, who for a short time served in a Slovak parish, was able to attract Slovak people living in the West End, thus increasing  the number of his parishioners. At his request the Bishop appointed Father Stephen Vitka, a young priest of Slovak descent, to help him in the extended pastoral duties. After the death of Father Golob, Father Vitka served for several months as administrator of the parish, until the appointment of Father Andrew Farkas as the second pastor of the Holy Cross parish in 1951.

            In the fifties Father Farkas succeeded in reversing the numerical decline in the parish membership by bringing to Bridgeport many new Slovenian and Croatian immigrants. These were for the most part refugees from the Communist dominated government in their native land. It was however a short-lived success, for already in the early sixties the situation became worse as the drop in parish membership averaged ten percent each year.

            At that point the difficulties of the parish seemed to accumulate. A new four-lane highway cut through the area immediately adjacent to the church. In 1964 the Bridgeport Urban Renewal Agency accepted a plan by which the entire West End would be rezoned from residential into light industrial. The result was that the parishioners resettled over a wide area of the city and neighboring towns. The church itself was scheduled to be taken over by the Redevelopment and demolished. To all these unresolved difficulties was added the sudden death of the pastor. He died in January 1967 in an automobile accident.

            For some years before his death Father Farkas was painfully aware of the declining strength of his parish. He became convinced that Holy Cross could not survive a relocation. The razing of the old church building would in all probability mean the end of the parish itself.

            After the death of Father Farkas, Rev. Aloysius Hribsek was appointed administrator of the parish by the Bishop of Bridgeport. The fact that he was not immediately appointed to a full pastorship probably reflected reflected some uncertainty in the mind of the Bishop concerning the future of the parish. Nevertheless Father Hribsek set out immediately to revitalize the life of the parish. He revived the old parish societies and then made the parishioners aware of their own responsibilities by organizing a well-representative Parish Lay Council. Some youth activities were also initiated. But the principal problem to be resolved was the steady declining membership. Once the pastor became aware that it was the young married couples who as a rule withdrew their membership, he inquired about the reasons. It turned out to be just one reason: no late Sunday morning Mass was in English. Since adding a new Mass was at the moment out of the question for financial reasons, the solution had to be sought in accommodating the existing Masses to the needs of the parish. The change of the language in the late Mass was made, and immediately the problem of declining membership disappeared.

            In the fall of 1970 the Urban Redevelopment Agency brought the question of financial remuneration for the Holy Cross Parish land and buildings to the Condemnation Court. The decision about the future of the parish had to be made: was the church going to be rebuilt in a new location, or should the parishioners be advised to seek membership in their neighborhood parish. The Bishop recognized the parishioners’ right to decide about their future. By this time the vitality of ther parish was sufficiently evident, and the savings accumulated during the years of waiting were substantial to such an extent that the decision reached by the parish to rebuild was accepted and approved by the Diocesan Authority. Some alternatives to the erecting of new buildings were suggested at one time, namely to merge with some other parish which was in great financial difficulties. However, Holy Cross people were firm in their desire to go on as a Slovenian parish combining its double mission as the place of worship and that of being the center of ethnic culture of that nationality. By early 1971, a building committee was formed and the plans for the new church and rectory were prepared. The success was due to the parishioners’ strong conviction about their goal as well as to their admirable perseverance.

            In spite of its continuity, Holy Cross parish in 1972 is in many ways different from the one in 1915. Every living organism is subject to the law of change. The parish is still the same in name, it is still ethnic and not a territorial parish. Inspite of all this it must be recognized that its parishioners did change. Holy Cross is no longer a parish of immigrants from Slovenia who needed a shelter where they could congregate and be understood. It is no longer a parish of people who needed to be comforted in their nostalgic longing for their native land. Naturally and gradually it became a parish of native Americans who cherish the traditions of their immigrant parents.

            The parish presents a happy example of evolution without a break in generations. There is a strong unifying force among all parishioners: they want to stay together as a group rather than to integrate into their community parishes. This attachment is even more surprising today as the parishioners are scattered over a wide area and not living in a ghetto-like cluster as they did when the parish was first organized. It indicates a special deeply rooted attachment to the church, established by their parents, which for many of them is the source and instrument of their entire Christian formation.

            America, a country of immigrants, should take her pride in recognizing a pluralistic society. Not the least of her wealth is her ethnic diversity. Therefore it should not be difficult to appreciate the value of preserving immigrants’ traditions wherever possible. Thus the Holy Cross Parish is recognizing the desire of its founders to worship in their native language. It goes without saying that even today services in Slovenian language will be preserved as long as there will be a need for them and a priest with the knowledge of Slovenian language available.