This celebration will be formalized with an Anniversary Mass on April 11. 1999 and will be attended by Bishop Thomas Dupre. Bishop Joseph Maguire. current and former parishioners. and the general public. The importance of ethnically based parishes to the immigrants of the late 18th Century and early 19th Century cannot be overstated. Groups of people from European nations such as France. Ireland. Italy. and Poland made their way to the prosperous shores of America. only to be met with suspicion and discrimination. Laws and practices were instituted to make life more difficult for new immigrants. Their only recourse was to turn to those with whom they shared a heritage. The focal point for many of these communities was the Roman Catholic Church.
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immigrants