Mission:
As a Roman Catholic Community, we are dedicated to knowing, loving and serving God through the communal celebration of Jesus Christ. Building upon our foundational ethnic heritage and and quality Catholic education, we, as a parish family welcome diversity and value each other's God-given gifts in a spirit of Franciscan joy and love as we journey together to bring our community into the Kingdom of God.

Founding of the Parish. St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Parish was founded and financed by farsighted, hard-worked, and devout Polish immigrants who had arrived in Chicopee in the 1880's. The young Poles were determined to establish and finance their own church in which they could worship in their own native language, espouse their Polish customs and traditions which they valued highly, and enjoy a sense of acceptance and security. Devotion to God, family, country, the work ethic, and church was the hallmark of the Poles. The parish Polish roots are deep while the branches, which have been growing for more than a century have become widespread. Even a cursory perusal of the parish roster confirms the wide diversity of the ethnic backgrounds of the parishioners.

FirstChurch. In 1890 the Bishop entrusted the organization of a Polish church to Rev. Franciszek Chalupka. The first St. Stanislaus Bishop and MartyrChurch, a wood-frame church, was located on the parcel of land on which St. Stanislaus School now stands. The first Mass, a midnight Mass, was celebrated by Rev. Chalupka on Christmas 1891 in an unfinished church. It was not only the first church for St. Stanislaus Parish but also the first Polish church in Western Massachusetts.

Franciscan Friars Assume Leadership. For a little more than a decade the parish had been under the aegis of a diocesan priest, but early in the twentieth century the spiritual leadership of the parish was entrusted to the Franciscan Friars, Order of Friars Minor Conventual. The Franciscans will observe the centennial of their ministry at St. Stanislaus in July 2002. The parish is a large, vibrant, and cohesive one, but it is no longer an exclusively Polish one. All the pastors have been natives of Poland or Americans of Polish descents. However, many non-Polish priests have ministered in the parish.