Bishop blesses Polish church

A special guest from Joliet consecrated Divine Mercy Polish Mission's new church near Lombard on Sunday afternoon.

Members of the church's congregation, which began more than 30 years ago to provide a spiritual outlet for Poles migrating to the suburbs, were ecstatic about their new facility on Sunset Avenue, and that J. Peter Sartain, bishop of the Diocese of Joliet, was there to celebrate their new home.

"For me to bless this beautiful church is a great privilege as the bishop of Joliet," Sartain said.

The new church is a living sign of joy, he said. The diocese beyond welcomes the congregation and its new place of worship, he said.

"The best thing I can say to you is 'thank you,' " Bishop Sartain said.

More than 1,000 gathered at the church for the consecration, which was five years in the making.

Parishioners no longer need to pack into the gymnasium of Montini Catholic High School for Sunday services. For years, the congregation regularly has appealed to Chicago-area Polish immigrants to help donate to the project through radio and television fundraisers and semiannual benefit picnics.

Much of the $8 million cost of the facility came from a combination of those fundraisers, bank loans and financial assistance from the Diocese of Joliet.

Meantime, the Divine Mercy congregation tripled to 1,900 people.

Laughs, smiles of excitement, joy, passionate hugs and prayers circulated throughout Divine Mercy Polish Mission all day Sunday. There were five services: the first at 7:30 a.m., and others at 9 and 11 a.m. and 1 and 6 p.m. Church officials said more than 5,000 people came to the facility.

Ireneusz Grabiec of Carol Stream, who's been a volunteer and member of the church for 30 years, appreciated Bishop Sartain's visit.

"He has an open heart for Polish people," Grabiec said. "It looks like he likes us here."

He also was very happy with the new facility.

"I waited so long for this church," Grabiec said. "We don't have a Polish church in the Northwest suburbs."

Father Pawel Bandurski said Sunday was a very special day.

He said throughout the project's five-year process, the community showed overwhelming support.

"It's a dream place," Bandurski said.

Joe Dancheck, a member of the Knights of Columbus, escorted Bishop Sartain during the service.

"I was happy to see this (church) because this is a good tribute to the Polish community and the Catholic community," he said. "It's inspirational."

Neighbors not all pleased

Vehicles continued to jam traffic Sunday along Swift Road just south of North Avenue as about 5,000 people traveled to and from five services at Divine Mercy Polish Mission in Lombard.

Now that the new Catholic church has been open for several weekends, neighbors are upset about what they call an extreme increase in traffic.

"It's not manageable," said Sameeta Patel, who lives nearby. She's had to re-route her trips in order to avoid the traffic.

"They don't have enough parking," she added.

The church had arranged some off-site parking and shuttle services to help with the crowds. At least five DuPage County Sheriff's Office patrol officers were directing traffic and said the situation was under control Sunday.

Still, although the facility has about 170 parking spots, there were times when about 500 cars were traveling in and out of the lot, officials said.