South Jersey’s Polish-American Catholics had two reasons to celebrate on Sunday, Oct. 23, at Saint Joseph’s Church in Camden.
The first was the 1,050th anniversary of Catholicism in Poland. The second, was the marking of the 125th anniversary of the Camden church, founded for local Polish American Catholics on Oct. 24, 1892 with 178 families.
Led by Father Kristof Wtorek, parish administrator, the day included Eucharistic celebration, a procession filled with Polish history, and the blessing with a relic by Saint John Paul II.
For the first time, the church offered valet parking to accommodate the almost 300 people in attendance. Cars were parked in the nearby Virtua hospital parking lot a block away, and returned to the faithful after Mass.