Toledo is the largest city in Northwest Ohio with a population of over 300,000. The residents of Polish ancestry number over 60,000. The first Poles began arriving after the civil war in the 1870's. The vast majority of Poles who moved to Toledo were Roman Catholics, and they immediately felt a need to begin building ornate churches like the ones they had left behind in Poland.

In 1875, St. Hedwig's church and school, named in honor of St. Hedwig, Duchess of Silesia, opened its doors.

St. Hedwig parish, the first Polish parish in the Toledo area was established in the Lagrange Street district (known as "Lagrinka" by the locals) under the patronage of St. Hedwig.

The Polish “Lagrinka” district grew very rapidly into the beginning of the 20th century. By 1907, the number of Polish Catholics in the “Lagrinka” area had grown so large that Bishop Ignatius Hortsman of Cleveland felt the need to establish a second Polish parish in the Lagrange Street district as a division to St. Hedwig Parish.

St. Hedwig church would serve as the launch pad and meeting place for the new Polish parish which would ultimately become St. Adalbert church, our sister parish.

Throughout the years St. Hedwig parish has been one of the cornerstones of the Polish presence in the Toledo area and has served as both a place of spiritual comfort and Catholic education to people of many different ethnic backgrounds.

Today the school at St. Hedwig is no longer open, but the church continues to be a shining light to all those of Catholic belief regardless of their heritage, that through the love, compassion and charity of our Lord Jesus Christ we might all know peace.

FACTS
Established: 1875
First Polish church in the Toledo area