Miracles Do Happen

Written by Dan Hanson, clevelandpeople.com

March 7 marked the 9th year anniversary of the Decrees from Rome to reopen St. Casimir and other Cleveland churches. It comes on the Feast week of their patron St. Casimir. St. Casimir was the second oldest Polish parish in the City of Cleveland. It was founded in 1892 at 8223 Sowinski Avenue in Cleveland (south of St. Clair and north of Superior, west off Ansel or east off 79th.)

Saint Pope John Paul II visited St Casimir in 1969. In 1985 a monument was installed that dedicated this church to the men and women of the Gdansk shipyards who were murdered (1970) in the streets standing up to the atheist communists. Solidarity!

The last Mass held at St. Casimir Church in Cleveland was held on November 8, 2009. Though it and other predominantly ethnic churches were closed by the Diocese, parishioners and supporters continued to meet every week, in all kinds of weather, to pray, both in English and Polish, outside the Church so that it would be reopened. The St Casimir group inspired 4 other church communities (St. Emeric, St. Patrick, St. Wendelin and St. James) to begin meeting in the street the following summer. On Sunday July 8, 2012 the 139th and final street service was held and St Casimir Church reopened on Sunday July 15, 2012.  See Pastor Father Eric Orzech’s first sermon at the reopened church at https://youtu.be/g3st9CCzw4s.

Many believe this to be a miracle delivered to them by the Blessed Virgin as Our Lady of Czestochowa. Longtime parishioner Michael Klymiuk-Wieczerski told how he was visited by the Blessed Virgin in a dream and she told him "Do not leave me."  So they didn’t. https://youtu.be/ZuVsx643ZLQ

When asked if the reopening was a miracle Fr. Orzech said he would leave that to the theologians to decide. “But, he added, “I haven’t seen anything like it happen before have you?”