Our Journey So Far…
Lithuanian National Parish of Divine Providence in Scranton, Pennsylvania
On the northwestern side of the city of Scranton, a large community of Lithuanians settled. The first Roman Catholic church was established in 1894. The pastor was Fr. J. Verza. Under pressure from the people, he transferred ownership of the church to the parish, but wanting to retain his influence and gain favor with the Roman Catholic Bishop, he secretly transferred ownership to the bishop.
This act was perceived as a betrayal. As a result, a conflict arose with Fr. Verza’s successor, Fr. J. Kampas. The wronged and disappointed people called a meeting and resolved to demand a return of church property to its rightful owner—the Lithuanian people in Scranton—and the removal of the unpopular Fr. Kampas.
After long hesitation, the Bishop agreed only to removing the disliked priest. He appointed Fr. Jan Kuras, but he did not return the property.
This led to further conflicts between the people and Roman authorities, and to a prolonged series of property lawsuits, which the Lithuanians lost This led to the founding of a new, free National Catholic Church.
At first, the “national party” lacked good spiritual leadership. The community was weakened and there was a risk of its collapse. However, the people’s faith strengthened them and encouraged them through the first difficult years—times of suffering, and sorrow—but also of good work in their religious, patriotic, and social life.
In 1920, Fr. Jan Gritėnas (later consecrated as Bishop) became pastor. Fr. Gritėnas not only saved the parish materially (when it was even put up for sale), but also reorganized it completely. The parish was rebuilt on stronger foundations. The main force guiding Fr. Gritėnas was love for God, Christ, and the Lithuanian people.
At the Synod of the National Church in Scranton in 1924, Fr. Jan Gritėnas was elected bishop of the Lithuanian National Church. He held this office for four years and four months, but his plans were not fully realized because he died prematurely in 1928.
Bishop Gritėnas founded a home for the elderly and orphans, but death did not allow him to complete the work. The memory of the first bishop of the Lithuanian National Church will never die, for his efforts will remain forever in the memory of parishioners and in the history not only of the Lithuanian Church, but also of the Polish National Catholic Church.
Under the banner of the free Lithuanian Church, a large group of people gathered—about 120 families—ready to make sacrifices for their Church. They were people conscious of their national and religious identity.
This was the first Lithuanian Catholic parish in the world in which all church rites were conducted in the Lithuanian language.
In 1930 the following organizations existed in the parish:
- Society of Lithuanian Women of the Blessed Sacrament
- Society of Men of St. Vitold
- Choir “Birutė”
- Choir of Young Women
- Society of the Resurrection
- Society of Defenders of the National Church
All of these organizations were active in parish life. Three of the groups—the choir, the Resurrection society, and the young women—also carried out theatrical productions.
Clergy Serving Providence of God
- Rev. Stanislovas B. Mickevičius (1913 – 1916) (organizer)
- Rev. K. Petrošius (1916–1918)
- Rev. M. Zvaliorus (1918)
- Rev. Jasciskis (1919)
- Rt. Rev. Jonas Gritėnas (1919 – 1928)
- Rev. A. Sinkevičius (1929)
- Rev. Mykolas Valadka (1929 – 1972) (longest tenured)
- Rev. Petras Vilimavičius (1931)
- Rev. V. Vaicekauskas (1933)
- R. Dabros (1973)
- Very Rev. Edward Ratajack (1974–1984)
- Rev. Jerzy Urbanski (1983–1987)
- Rev. L. Lazarski (1987–1990)
- Rev. Stanislaus Stryz (1990–2002)
- Rev. Dr. Walter Placek (2002 – 2025)]
Commemorative Book (1913 – 1949)
View our Commemorative Book (this is a large 209 MB file and will take time to load) published in the parish’s thirty-sixth year. The book was digitized in 2022 by Richard Mammana. You can view his extensive archival work here.
