About Our Lady Queen of Poland and Saint Maximilian Kolbe · Silver Spring, Maryland
Our Lady, Queen of Poland and St. Maximilian Kolbe is a personal (national) Polish Roman Catholic parish in Silver Spring, Maryland, within the Archdiocese of Washington. Erected in 1983 as an outgrowth of a Polish Mission that began in 1977 at the request of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II), it is pastored by the Society of Christ, a Polish religious order founded in 1932 for the pastoral care of the Polish diaspora. The community celebrates the Eucharist in Polish at the historic Old St. John the Evangelist Chapel in the Forest Glen neighborhood, drawing Polish Catholics from across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
- Established
- 1983
- Patron
- Our Lady, Queen of Poland and St. Maximilian Kolbe
- Rector
- Rev. Jerzy Frydrych, S.Chr. (Society of Christ)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Washington
Why belong here
This is one of the very few parishes in the Washington region where Polish Catholics — and anyone who appreciates the Polish Catholic heritage — can worship entirely in Polish, hear the traditional Polish devotions of Lent ("Gorzkie Żale" / Bitter Lamentations), welcome St. Nicholas to the children in Advent, and mark Polish national and Marian feasts (May 3 for Mary, Queen of Poland; November 11 for Polish Independence). The community is small and intimate: parishioners stay after Sunday Mass for coffee in the rectory basement, and children freely use the rectory living room. The parish's roots trace directly to a personal initiative of St. John Paul II, and it has been steadily served by the Society of Christ for nearly half a century, making it a living bridge between Poland and the Washington area's Polonia.
Mass times at Our Lady Queen of Poland and Saint Maximilian Kolbe
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- First Friday: 7:00 p.m. (Eucharistic Adoration)
Parish History
Our Lady, Queen of Poland and St. Maximilian Kolbe was canonically erected as a parish in 1983, growing out of a Polish Mission that Archbishop (later Cardinal) James Hickey had allowed to begin six years earlier. The mission itself owed its existence to the personal intervention of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła of Kraków, who during visits to Washington in 1969 and 1976 urged Cardinal William Baum to establish a permanent Polish pastoral presence. Mass has been celebrated regularly at the historic Old St. John the Evangelist Chapel in Forest Glen since 1977.
- 1976: Cardinal Wojtyła writes to Cardinal Baum proposing a Polish Mission in Washington
- 1977: Polish Mission begins, entrusted to the Society of Christ
- 1977: Regular Polish Mass begins at Old St. John the Evangelist, Forest Glen
- 1982: St. Maximilian Kolbe canonized by Pope John Paul II
- 1983: Mission raised to parish status by Archbishop James Hickey
- 1983: 300th anniversary of King John Sobieski's victory at Vienna is marked
- 2008: Parish celebrates its 25th anniversary
Patrons of the Parish
The parish carries a double patronage rooted in two great Polish Catholic devotions of the early 1980s. St. Maximilian Kolbe — the Franciscan friar who in 1941 volunteered to die in place of a fellow prisoner at Auschwitz, spending fifteen days in the starvation bunker before being killed by lethal injection on 14 August 1941 — was canonized by Pope John Paul II on 10 October 1982. The other patroness, Our Lady Queen of Poland, was declared by King John Casimir before the Black Madonna of Częstochowa in 1656, and in 1983 Polish Catholics marked the tercentenary of King John Sobieski's prayer before that same icon before his victory over the Turks at Vienna.
- St. Maximilian Kolbe — Franciscan martyr of Auschwitz, canonized 1982
- Our Lady, Queen of Poland — declared 1656 before the Black Madonna of Częstochowa
- Feast of Mary, Queen of Poland: May 3
- Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe: August 14
The Society of Christ (Towarzystwo Chrystusowe)
Since its inception in 1977, the Polish Mission and parish have been served by the Society of Christ (Towarzystwo Chrystusowe, abbreviated S.Chr. or T.Chr.), a Polish religious congregation of priests founded in 1932 by Cardinal August Hlonda, then Primate of Poland. The Society was created specifically for the pastoral care of the Polish diaspora scattered around the world — a mission that continues to define the parish today. Successive members of the Society have served as pastor of Our Lady Queen of Poland.
- Society of Christ founded 1932 by Cardinal August Hlonda, Primate of Poland
- Specific charism: pastoral care of the Polish diaspora worldwide
- Society members have served this parish continuously since 1977
Polish Heritage & Community Life
Beyond its three Sunday Masses, Our Lady Queen of Poland is a close-knit gathering place for Washington's Polonia. Poles come from across Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The visible Polish touches inside the chapel are deliberately modest — an icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, a painting of St. Maximilian Kolbe, and a banner of Pope John Paul II — while the 19th-century architecture remains largely as Father Rosensteel left it. After Sunday Mass, parishioners typically gather in the rectory basement for coffee and conversation; children may be found in the rectory living room watching a film supplied by the pastor, or climbing the trees outside.
- Icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa in the chapel
- Painting of St. Maximilian Kolbe in the chapel
- Banner depicting Pope John Paul II
- 19th-century historical ambience of the Old St. John's chapel preserved
- After-Mass coffee and fellowship in the rectory basement
- Children's activities in the rectory living room
- Polish national holidays celebrated: May 3 (Mary, Queen of Poland), November 11 (Polish Independence Day)
The Worship Space: Old St. John the Evangelist Chapel, Forest Glen
Our Lady Queen of Poland shares its building with the newer St. John the Evangelist parish. St. John the Evangelist built its current church about a mile away on Georgia Avenue in 1962 and most of its liturgical life takes place there, but the historic Old St. John's chapel on Rosensteel Avenue remains in use — by Our Lady Queen of Poland for Polish Masses and devotions, and by St. John the Evangelist for its Saturday 5:30 PM vigil Mass. The Old St. John's building has deep roots in American Catholic history: Father John Carroll, before becoming the first Catholic bishop in the United States in 1789, regularly celebrated Mass on this site.
- Old St. John the Evangelist Chapel, Forest Glen neighborhood of Silver Spring
- Building erected in the 19th century under Father Rosensteel
- Site associated with Father John Carroll, first U.S. Catholic bishop (1789)
- Building shared with St. John the Evangelist parish
- St. John the Evangelist's new church built on Georgia Avenue in 1962
- St. John the Evangelist Saturday vigil Mass at 5:30 PM still celebrated at the old chapel
Faith Formation (Katecheza)
The parish offers catechesis (Polish: katecheza) for children as part of its ministry to Polish Catholic families in the Washington area. The parish website includes a religious-education section that, as of the pandemic period, announced that in-person catechesis at the church had been suspended until further notice. Worshippers are directed to the parish bulletin and the website for current scheduling.
- Parish catechesis (katecheza) for children
- Religious-education information published on the parish website
- Bulletin and website carry current schedule
Pastoral Care of the Sick
The parish maintains a ministry to the homebound and sick (duszpasterstwo chorych), sharing the same dedicated telephone line as the parish office: (301) 589-1857. This ministry is part of the parish's commitment to Polish Catholic families in the Washington region, many of whose older members are now elderly.
- Pastoral care of the sick — (301) 589-1857
- Parish office — (301) 589-1857
- Fax — (301) 589-4401
- Email — [email protected]
Contact & Visiting
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office at (301) 589-1857 (with a separate line for ministry to the sick), by fax at (301) 589-4401, or by email at [email protected]. The office is open daily after Mass and by appointment with a priest. The mailing address is 9700 Rosensteel Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910. The chapel is wheelchair accessible.
- Address: 9700 Rosensteel Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
- Phone (parish): (301) 589-1857
- Phone (ministry to the sick): (301) 589-1857
- Fax: (301) 589-4401
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: parafia-dc.org
- Office hours: daily after Mass, and by appointment
- Wheelchair accessible
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Józef Smyczyk
Early pastor of the Polish Mission/parish
- Fr. Edward Mroczyński
- Fr. Tadeusz Winnicki
- Fr. Zygmunt Ostrowski
- Fr. Krzysztof Oska
- Fr. Stanisław Hijakowski
- Fr. Klemens Dąbrowski, S.Chr.until 16 October 2007
Society of Christ
- Fr. Jan Fiedurek, S.Chr.until 30 August 2015
Society of Christ
- Fr. Jerzy Frydrych, S.Chr.2015–present
Current pastor; Society of Christ