St. Hedwig's Roman Catholic Church is a historic

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

located at Linden and S. Harrison Streets in Wilmington,

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three List of counties in Delaware, counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent County, Delaware, Kent, and Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex). As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. St. Hedwig's serves as the only architecturally visible anchor or centerpiece for the Wilmington Polish community. and The parish operated St. Hedwig's High School from 1960 to the 1970s. It was built in 1904, and is a cruciform shaped church constructed of soft gray brick (concrete block with brick veneer) with details in limestone. It is in the late

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. The front facade features a set of three double doors flanked by 80' spires terminating in cross gable spires. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982.

History

Polish settlers first began to arrive in Wilmington about 1880. Initially the religious needs of the Catholic immigrants were met by German

Benedictines The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...

at Sacred Heart Parish on Tenth Street, where a separate Mass was said for them starting in 1887. That same year, the Poles organized the St. Joseph's Society. A parish was formed, attended by the Benedictines. In 1896, upon the recommendation of Archbishop

Michael Corrigan Michael Augustine Corrigan (August 13, 1839May 5, 1902) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third archbishop of New York from 1885 to 1902. Early life Michael Augustine Corrigan was born August 13, 1839, in N ...

of New York, Father John S. Gulcz was appointed the first resident pastor. Gulcz was born in Poznan, Poland and came from New York to serve the Polish community of Wilmington. He set about organizing the construction of a new church building to replace the small one established by the Benedictines.Laforte, Remigius. "The Diocese of Wilmington", ''The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York,(New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.222
/ref> In the early twentieth century the

Felician Sisters The Felician Sisters, in full Congregation of Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Assisi (abbreviated CSSF), is a religious institute of pontifical right whose members profess public vows of and live in comm ...

oversaw the education of over 500 pupils in the parish school. In 1956, the parish began the annual May Polish Festival.

Architecture

The church was designed by Brilmaier & Sons of Milwaukee, whose work in Brooklyn, Gulcz had admired. Built in 1904, it is in the late Gothic Revival style. The building has a cruciform shape and is constructed of soft gray brick (concrete block with brick veneer) with details in limestone. The front facade features a set of three double doors flanked by 80' spires terminating in cross gable spires. The only church in the state of Delaware with twin towers, it was, upon completion, the largest Catholic church in Wilmington."About Our Parish", St. Hedwig Church, Wilmington, Delaware
/ref>

Gallery

File:Saint Hedwig's Church, Wilmington, Delaware.jpg, c.1914 File:St Hedwigs DE.JPG, Entrance detail, November 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Hedwigs Roman Catholic Church European American culture in Delaware Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in the United States Roman Catholic churches completed in 1904 Gothic Revival church buildings in Delaware Roman Catholic churches in Wilmington, Delaware Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States