About St. Casimir · Cleveland, Ohio
The Historic St. Casimir Parish is a personal Catholic parish in Cleveland, Ohio, designated under Canon 518 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law for Catholics of the Latin Rite of Polish descent. Founded in 1891 to serve the growing Polish population on Cleveland's East Side in a neighborhood known as "Poznan" (today part of St. Clair-Superior), it is the second oldest Polish parish in the city and the home of a striking Polish Cathedral Romanesque church completed in 1918. Famously known as "The Miracle Church" after parishioners' 139 consecutive Sundays of street prayer vigils led to a Vatican decree reopening it in 2012, St. Casimir remains a tight-knit Polish-American faith community under Pastor Father Eric Orzech.
- Established
- 1891
- Patron
- St. Casimir (Kazimierz, the Prince)
- Rector
- Rev. Fr. Eric S. Orzech
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
Why belong here
St. Casimir is a small but extraordinarily devoted Polish-American Catholic community in Cleveland's historic Poznan neighborhood, where Sunday Mass is followed by authentic homemade Polish lunches in the parish hall. Visitors are welcomed into a parish family that fought for 139 consecutive Sundays to reopen its shuttered church — and won — and that today proudly preserves Polish language, culture, and tradition within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. Whether you come for the landmark 1918 Polish Cathedral Romanesque church, the famous Taste of St. Casimir Polish Food Festival, or simply a quiet place to pray, you will find a parish that has been called "a true family of faith."
Mass times at St. Casimir
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before and after Mass and by request.
Parish Identity & Heritage
St. Casimir is one of Cleveland's most storied Catholic parishes — a personal parish for Catholics of the Latin Rite of Polish descent serving the historic "Poznan" (na Poznaniu) section of the city's East Side. Founded in 1891 and anchored by a 1918 Polish Cathedral Romanesque landmark church, it carries on the Polish language, customs, and Catholic faith of its founders. The parish proudly calls itself "The Polish Heart of Poznan" and, since its dramatic 2012 reopening, "The Miracle Church."
- Founded 1891
- Second oldest Polish parish in Cleveland
- Polish Cathedral Romanesque church (1918)
- Cleveland Designated Landmark (1985)
History of St. Casimir
In December 1891 Monsignor Felix Boff, V.G., administrator of the Diocese of Cleveland, granted Polish Catholics of the northeast side permission to form their own parish, too far from St. Stanislaus to conveniently attend Mass or send their children to school. Bishop Ignatius F. Horstmann sanctioned the founding, and Rev. Benedict Rosinski of St. Adalbert's, Berea was put in charge of the mission. On January 7, 1892, property owner Joseph Hoffman donated a 200-by-244-foot parcel at Pulaski, Kossuth (East 82nd), and Sowinski streets; construction began in April 1892 and the cornerstone was laid on May 15, 1892.
Building the Monumental Church
By 1921 the present monumental church had been completed under the administration of Rev. J. W. Solinski, and the original church was rebuilt into a school. Rev. Louis Redmer (1921–July 1924) was followed on July 4, 1924 by Rev. Andrew Radecki, whose tenure ushered in the Golden Years of parish development, with school enrollment peaking at 1,200 children.
The Miracle Church: 2009 Closure and 2012 Reopening
On March 12, 2009 Bishop Richard Lennon announced the suppression of St. Casimir as part of a sweeping diocesan reconfiguration. Beginning November 15, 2009, parishioners held prayer vigils on the sidewalk in front of the shuttered church every Sunday at 11:30 AM for 139 consecutive weeks — in cold, rain, and snow — pleading for its reopening. On June 27, 2012 Bishop Lennon appointed Father Eric Orzech as pastor, and on the Feast of Christ the King, November 25, 2012, Orzech was installed in the first installation the church had seen in about 40 years. The Vatican Congregation for Clergy had already ordered the church reopened, and on July 15, 2012 more than 1,000 people packed the twin-towered church for the first Mass since November 2009. The parish has been known as "The Miracle Church" ever since.
Clergy & Staff
The parish is led by Father Eric S. Orzech, who also serves as pastor of the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Cleveland's Slavic Village. Father Orzech was appointed to St. Casimir on June 27, 2012 and installed on November 25, 2012.
- Rev. Fr. Eric S. Orzech — Pastor (2012–present)
Parish Life, Polish Culture & Food
St. Casimir's identity as "The Polish Heart of Poznan" is lived out through Sunday community meals, the annual Taste of St. Casimir Polish Food Festival, and the parish's continuing witness as a defender of Polish language, customs, and Catholic tradition in Cleveland. The prayer-vigil legacy remains a touchstone of parish identity — a community whose perseverance in the face of closure has become its signature story.
- Taste of St. Casimir Polish Food Festival
- Sunday Polish community lunches
- Polish-language and cultural preservation
- Legacy of the 139-week prayer vigils
Architecture & The Church Building
The monumental church, designed by architect William Jansen in the Polish Cathedral Romanesque style and completed in 1918, remains the focal point of the parish campus. It is a Cleveland Designated Landmark (since August 14, 1985) and, along with the former school building, is a GNIS-named geographic feature. The present-day church was built during the tenure of Rev. J. W. Solinski; the original 1892 brick church was then rebuilt into a school.
- Architect: William Jansen
- Style: Polish Cathedral Romanesque
- Completed 1918
- Cleveland Designated Landmark (1985)
Visiting St. Casimir
The parish is located at 8223 Sowinski Avenue, at the northeast corner of the intersection of East 82nd Street and Sowinski Avenue in Cleveland's St. Clair-Superior neighborhood — historically the Polish-American district known as Poznan. Visitors are warmly welcomed to Sunday Mass at 11:30 AM and are encouraged to stay afterward for a Polish lunch in the multi-purpose room across the parking lot.
- Address: 8223 Sowinski Ave, Cleveland, OH 44103
- Phone: (216) 303-9182
- Sunday Mass: 11:30 AM
- Community meals after Mass
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Benedict Rosinski1891
Pastor of St. Adalbert's, Berea, Ohio; appointed by Monsignor Boff to take charge of the new mission.
- Rev. Peter M. Cerveny1892–1894
First local spiritual director; Czech priest also serving as assistant at St. Stanislaus.
- Rev. S. Wozny1894–1895
First resident pastor of St. Casimir.
- Rev. F. X. Fremel1895–1899
Resigned due to ill health (tuberculosis of the throat); moved to California.
- Rev. K. (Casimir) Lazinski1899–1903
Brought the Felician Sisters from Detroit to open the parish school in 1899.
- Rev. Ignatius Piotrowski1903–1911
Built a convent for the teaching sisters and a parish hall.
- Rev. J. W. Solinskito 1921
Administrator after Rev. Carl Ruszkowski's death; oversaw completion of the new (present) church.
- Rev. Louis Redmer1921–July 1924
Previously built St. Hyacinth Church; left due to poor health.
- Rev. Andrew RadeckiJuly 4, 1924–
Golden Years of development; parish school enrollment peaked at 1,200 children.
- Rev. Leon Telesz1973–~2009
Appointed July 5, 1973; served 37 years through the closure and suppression of the parish.
- Rev. Eric S. Orzech2012–present
Appointed June 27, 2012; installed on the Feast of Christ the King, November 25, 2012 — first installation in the church in about 40 years; reopened the parish in July 2012.