Final polka Mass offered at Sacred Heart of Mary on 50th anniversary of Thanksgiving tradition

Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in Graceland Park, proudly Polish-American and an unbroken link to blue-collar Baltimore for the 100 years since its founding, has not only cherished the upbeat rhythms of traditional polka music – it was built in part through polka.

In 1975, the parish installed new stained-glass windows dedicated to the working man, to Baltimore’s industries, to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and to the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth who taught at the church’s school. One of the windows included American and Polish flags.

The parish, once dubbed the “Polka Capital of Maryland,” used to host as many as 40 polka parties a year and was one of a handful of parishes in the region to offer polka dance classes. Fees to the dance classes at Sacred Heart of Mary were used to help buy a set of electronic bells for the church.

That same year brought the polka Mass on Thanksgiving Day. It’s always been a homecoming where families, children home from college and former parishioners gather, and the first one overflowed the sanctuary’s capacity of 800 worshipers.

“It was a hit from the beginning,” said Xavierian Brother William Ciganek, a son of the parish who is a pastoral associate at St. Stephen Parish in Bradshaw. “It was a great reunion for all of us.”

“It brought families together,” said Clarence Ludwig, a parishioner since the early 1950s along with wife Lorraine.

Thanksgiving Day and the final notes of Kenneth Adamski’s four-piece polka ensemble in the choir loft marked the parish’s 50th and last polka Mass Nov. 28. 

As part of the Seek the City to Come pastoral planning initiative, Sacred Heart of Mary is joining with Our Lady of Hope in Dundalk, St. Rita in Dundalk and St. Luke in Edgemere to form a new parish seated at Our Lady of Hope, with an additional worship site at St. Rita.

Sacred Heart of Mary’s Mass of remembrance will be celebrated Dec. 8.

“The polka Mass has always been about joy – joy in worship, joy in community and joy in the presence of God,” Trinitarian Father Albert Anuszewski said in his homily. “Today, we carry that joy with us, knowing that the spirit of gratitude and celebration does not end here. The music may quiet, but the memories and the faith it has nurtured must remain alive in you.”

Changing demographics were part of it. The Polish families that formed the beating heart of the parish diminished.

“It’s not all Polish,” Lorraine Ludwig said of the neighborhood. “Just like everything else, it’s a mixture of everything. Plus, she complained, young people don’t go to church any more.

The polka Mass at Sacred Heart of Mary is about as old as that Mass itself.

And just to clarify – the Mass does not involve dancing, and it’s not from Poland. Its origins are as uniquely American as General Tso’s chicken, and it’s a folk-Mass product of changes in worship practices encouraged by the Second Vatican Council, which allowed music reflecting the cultural background of worshipers.

The words of the Mass do not change, only the music. It’s not even exclusively a feature of Catholic parishes. St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Annapolis puts on such a liturgy every October with a German brass band. Polka Masses generally employ an accordion and have been celebrated in Polish-American, Slovenian-American and German-American communities around the country — taking on the style of polka music popular among each ethnic group. 

The first polka Mass is believed to have been celebrated in 1972 by Father George Balasko at St. Joseph Parish in Mantua, Ohio. But it grew under Father Frank Perkovich at Resurrection Parish in Eveleth, Minn., who celebrated his first polka Mass in 1973, enlisted a local band and produced an album adapting the liturgy to polka.

The Marv Herzog Orchestra, based in Frankenmuth, Mich., was also known for providing Bavarian-style polka music at polka Masses around the country.

Its introduction at Sacred Heart of Mary was so enthusiastic, one would not be blamed for thinking it was always there, as much a part of working-class Baltimore as duckpin bowling. “Those people were hard workers,” Brother William recalled.

The originator of the polka Mass at Sacred Heart of Mary was Monsignor Richard Parks, an associate pastor then, who later returned to serve as pastor. An Irishman, he enthusiastically embraced the Polish-American culture of his parish and was known for celebrating a huge polka Mass for decades at “Polkamotion by the Ocean,” an annual polka event held in Ocean City and then Rehoboth Beach, Del. 

He “had the idea that polka music was so uplifting that people were always joyful when they heard that music,” said St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, a product of East Baltimore whose family attended Sacred Heart of Mary after moving from Fells Point to Dundalk.

“After the first polka Mass was celebrated, the people asked if this could be a yearly Thanksgiving tradition,” said Archbishop Rozanski, a former auxiliary bishop of Baltimore. “I remember the beautiful native Polish dress that was worn by some for the occasion.”

Native dress worn mostly by children as well as a few adults has remained in the opening procession.

Archbishop Rozanski, who has sometimes returned to Baltimore to celebrate the Thanksgiving polka Mass at his home parish, said he is united in prayer with “the good people of Sacred Heart of Mary (and) their wonderful traditions.”

As in Minnesota, the parish developed its own polka-themed liturgy, with Adamski’s musician father, who performed as Lenny Adams, working with a priest who served at Holy Rosary in Fells Point.

This year’s liturgy, which attracted 244 people, included “We Offer You Bread and Wine” sung to the tune of the Dreamy Fish Waltz, and “Let Us Go Forth” to the Jedziemy (“Let’s Go”) Polka.

Longtime parishioners recall that the Mass also used to bring out local politicians, including U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who had relatives in the parish.

No one seems to know whether the polka Mass will return at one of the other parishes of the archdiocese. 

“I’m always open for other options,” Adamski said. His group’s upcoming appearances include a Polish festival next March 23 at St, Stephen in Bradshaw and June 1 at Our Lady, Queen of Peace in Middle River.

Father Anuszewski acknowledged, in his homily, that it was “a bittersweet moment.”

“This tradition has been a vibrant expression of faith, culture and community, drawing us closer to one another and to God,” said the son of the parish. “On this Thanksgiving Day, with hearts full of gratitude, we give thanks for our Polish culture and heritage, the music, memories and faith that have sustained this community through the years.”

“Today, as we reflect on the legacy of this parish and this Mass, we are reminded that traditions may change, but the grace of God endures. This moment is an invitation to remember that while the polka Mass is ending, the faith it has fostered continues to live in each of us.”

He concluded, “The music may fade, but the call to live as witnesses of Christ remains.”

At the end of the Mass, Redemptorist Father Jim Szobonya, pastor of Sacred Heart of Mary, celebrated the spirit of joy and praise in a polka Mass. 

“Keep that in your hearts and souls,” he said. 

Click here to watch the final polka Mass at Sacred Heart of Mary.

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