About St. Albert Chmielowski · San Jose, California
Saint Brother Albert Chmielowski Polish Mission (Polska Misja Katolicka Św. Brata Alberta Chmielowskiego w San Jose) is a Polish-language Catholic mission in San Jose, California, serving the Polish community of Santa Clara County since 1986 and housed in its own purpose-built church since 1998. It belongs to the Diocese of San Jose in California and is staffed by priests of the Society of Christ for Polonia (Towarzystwo Chrystusowe), a religious congregation founded in 1932 by Cardinal August Hlond to minister to Polish emigrants worldwide. The mission is bilingual: Polish-language Masses are the heart of the parish, with an English Mass on Sunday mornings welcoming broader Catholics. The parish's website, saintalbert.us, offers its full content in both English and Polish.
- Established
- 1986 (mission legally founded); 1998 (church consecrated)
- Patron
- St. Albert Chmielowski (Brother Albert) — Polish Franciscan tertiary, painter, disabled veteran of the 1863 Uprising, and founder of the Albertine Brothers and Albertine Sisters
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Andrzej Totzke, S.Chr. (Ks. Andrzej Totzke, SChr)
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California
Why belong here
St. Albert is the natural Catholic home in San Jose for Polish families and Polish-speaking immigrants — the only parish in the United States named for St. Albert Chmielowski and one of a handful of Polish-language missions in the Bay Area. Parishioners receive the sacraments in their native language (Polish and English), send children to the on-site catechesis program and the Polish Saturday School, and gather for weekly coffee hours, a rosary group, a prayer group, lectors, altar boys, scouts, and cultural events that preserve both faith and Polish heritage. The mission compound — a 300-seat church plus a parish center with classrooms, hall, kitchen and offices — was purpose-built by a Polish-American community that pooled land, labor, and talent.
Mass times at St. Albert Chmielowski
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before every Mass (per official website)
Adoration times
- Friday 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM (before the 7:30 PM Polish Mass)
- Friday: 15 minutes after the morning Mass
- Sunday 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM (before the 9:00 AM English Mass)
Welcome & Identity
The mission presents itself as a pastoral and cultural center for Polish Catholics in the San Jose area — a parish that serves a bilingual community while remaining grounded in Polish religious and cultural heritage. The home page is published in both English and Polish, with parallel versions of the Mass schedule and news.
- Bilingual website (English at /index.php/us, Polish at /index.php/pl)
- Run by the Society of Christ for Polonia (S.Chr.)
- Bilingual liturgical life: Polish primary, English Sunday morning
History of the Mission
The official 'History' page tells the mission's story in detail, beginning with the 1976 founding of the Polish Mission of St. Adalbert under Archbishop Joseph T. McGucken, the 1981 creation of the Diocese of San Jose, the 1986 legal founding of the San Jose mission, the 1990 appointment of a resident priest, the 1997 groundbreaking, the 1998 consecration of the church by Bishop Pierre Dumaine, and the 2000 consecration of the Parish Center by Bishop Patrick McGrath.
- 1976 — Polish Mission of St. Adalbert established by Archbishop McGucken
- 1981 — Diocese of San Jose created; Polish community left outside St. Wojciech Mission
- 1986 — Polish Pastoral Mission legally founded in San Jose; named for St. Albert Chmielowski
- 1990 — First resident priest, Fr. Andrzej Maślejak, S.Chr.
- 1997 — Groundbreaking of the church (March)
- 1998 — Church consecrated by Bishop Pierre Dumaine (April)
- 2000 — Parish Center consecrated by Bishop Patrick McGrath (April)
Patron: St. Albert Chmielowski
Born Adam Hilary Bernard Chmielowski (20 August 1845 – 25 December 1916), he was a Polish painter, a Secular Franciscan tertiary, and a disabled veteran of the 1863 January Uprising who lost a leg in the fight for Polish independence. After his conversion he founded the Albertine Brothers and the Albertine Sisters (Servants of the Poor), religious communities dedicated to the homeless and destitute. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Kraków in 1983 and canonized in St. Peter's Square on 12 November 1989. Because he died on Christmas Day, his liturgical feast is fixed to 17 June rather than 25 December. He is patron of painters, servants of the poor, Franciscan tertiaries, soldiers and volunteers.
- Canonized 12 November 1989 by Pope John Paul II
- Feast day: 17 June
- Founded the Albertine Brothers and Albertine Sisters
Parish Compound & Facilities
The mission occupies a purpose-built religious and cultural center at 10250 Clayton Road. The worship space seats about 300 and is paired with a Parish Center that includes a meeting/cultural hall, kitchen facilities, a shop, office space, and the priest's residence. The lower level of the Parish Center has seven small classrooms used for catechesis and the Polish Saturday School, plus a separate room for children and their parents; upstairs are the living quarters for the missionary sisters.
- Church seating: ~300
- Parish Center with 7 classrooms downstairs
- Living quarters for Missionary Sisters of Christ for Polonia
- Hall, kitchen, shop, offices, and priest's housing
Mass & Liturgical Schedule
The official schedule (verified on saintalbert.us) lists Polish and English Masses throughout the week. Polish is the dominant liturgical language; the English Mass is offered Sunday morning to welcome non-Polish-speaking Catholics.
- Saturday Vigil: 5:30 PM — Polish
- Sunday: 9:00 AM — English
- Sunday: 10:30 AM — Polish
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday: 7:30 AM — English
- Wednesday, Friday: 7:30 PM — Polish
Devotions
The mission's devotional life centers on Marian piety and the Rosary, including a weekly Polish-language Novena to Our Lady and a rosary group among its small faith communities.
- Novena to Our Lady (Nowenna do Matki Bożej) — Wednesdays 7:30 PM, in Polish
- Rosary group
- Prayer group
Faith Formation & Education
The mission's history page reports that the parish catechizes around 100 children and supports a Polish Saturday School, complemented by a scouting organization. Children meet in the seven classrooms of the Parish Center's lower level, and the missionary sisters living on site assist with catechetical work.
- Parish catechesis for ~100 children
- Polish Saturday School
- Scouting organization
- 7 classrooms in the Parish Center
Parish Life, Small Groups & Cultural Events
The mission describes itself as 'a community of communities' and lists several small groups whose purpose is the enrichment of their members' faith. The parish also sponsors regular cultural gatherings that preserve Polish and Christian traditions.
- Prayer group
- Rosary group
- Lectors
- Altar boys
- Weekly social coffee hour after Mass
- Polish dances and other cultural celebrations
Clergy, Religious & Staff
Pastoral care is entrusted to priests of the Society of Christ for Polonia. The parish's official 'Contact Us' page identifies the current pastor as Ks. Andrzej Totzke, SChr. (Fr. Andrzej Totzke, S.Chr.). Two sisters from the Missionary Sisters of Christ for Polonia have been working in the community since 1992.
- Current pastor: Fr. Andrzej Totzke, S.Chr.
- Vicar Forane (per Wikipedia): Rev. Fr. Edward Mroczynski
- Society of Christ for Polonia (S.Chr.) — resident clergy
- Missionary Sisters of Christ for Polonia — on site since 1992
Diocese & Ecclesiastical Affiliation
The mission is a personal/parish church within the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California, in the Ecclesiastical Province of San Francisco. The Bishop of San Jose named in the Wikipedia infobox is The Most Rev. Patrick Joseph McGrath. The mission belongs to Deanery 6 of the diocese.
- Diocese of San Jose in California
- Ecclesiastical Province of San Francisco
- Deanery 6
Contact & Location
The mission's official directory data is published on both saintalbert.us and the Diocese of San Jose parish page. The parish operates a Facebook page (St. Brother Albert Polish Catholic Mission) for community news.
- Address: 10250 Clayton Rd., San Jose, CA 95127
- Phone: (408) 251-8490
- Fax: (408) 251-8960
- Website: www.saintalbert.us
- Diocese page: dsj.org/parish/saint-brother-albert-chmielowski-polish-mission/
- Facebook: facebook.com/bratalbertchmielowski/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Stanisław Drzał, S.Chr.1981–1989
First Society of Christ priest assigned to the Polish mission in San Jose after the 1981 diocesan split.
- Fr. Andrzej Maślejak, S.Chr.1989–1991
First resident priest after the San Francisco mission was divided in 1990.
- Fr. Stanisław Żak, S.Chr.1991–1996
- Fr. Paweł Bandurski, S.Chr.1996–2002
Served during the building and 1998 consecration of the church.
- Fr. Jan Karpowicz, S.Chr.2002–2006
- Fr. Andrzej Salapata, S.Chr.2006–2015
- Fr. Jan Fiedurek, S.Chr.2015–present (per Wikipedia)
- Fr. Andrzej Totzke, S.Chr.
Listed as current Pastor on the official saintalbert.us Contact page.