Peace has finally come to St. Hedwig Parish. Yesterday thousands of people gathered at the church to take part in the opening services.

This indeed was a happy occasion for the parishioners, for yesterday's solemn festivities were unmarked by any unpleasant incident.

The church was officially opened by a representative of the Archbishop. The church was filled to capacity as the services began. As if in answer to the people's prayer, peace reigned throughout the ceremonies.

Beginning at sunrise yesterday, members of the parish started decorating their homes for the occasion. Polish and American flags were displayed, as well as the papal banner. By the decorations of such a large number of homes the members gave convincing evidence that they were in full accord with the Archbishop's wishes.

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At 9:30 A. M. Archbishop Feehan's chancellor, Reverend Muldoon, Reverend Piechowski, the new pastor of the parish, and Reverend Kusinski arrived in a coach. At 10 A. M. they entered the church.

No police were present in the church or outside the church. The people entered the church unmolested. It did not take long for all the pews to be filled. A large crowd also stood outside.

The first to enter the pulpit was Reverend Muldoon, who spoke in English. His speech was as follows:

"It is indeed a pleasure for me to inform you that St. Hedwig Church has been opened anew--and that from now on it will remain open as previously. Archbishop Feehan has appointed Reverend John Piechowski, C. R., to take over the duties as pastor until such time as he sees fit to make a change. The Archbishop has given me the following letter to read:

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"'Reverend John Piechowski, C. R., has been assigned to take over the duties of the church and parish of St. Hedwig.

P. A. Feehan,

Archbishop of Chicago'

"According to the directions of the letter, I therefore present to you Reverend John Piechowski as your pastor. In the name of the Archbishop I sincerely hope that everyone will recognize, obey and respect him as is his due as a priest. Help him out in various ways, for there is a great deal to be done for you as well as for the parish. There is only one way to accomplish this work, and that is by the combined efforts of the pastor and the people. Your priest will not be able to do much if you do not place your trust in him.

"As to the former misunderstandings in the parish, I wish to say a few words. We desire above everything else that all the old misunderstandings shall be 4erased, forgotten and forgiven, and we appeal to you to forget what has transpired in the past. Above all, you ought to be definitely and always one people, one congregation and one church. Every member of the parish is as good as the other and has the same privileges in the parish. We ardently hope that Christian brotherhood, created from love and forgiveness, as was preached by Christ, will always prevail among you."

The text of this speech was translated into Polish and read to the congregation. This was followed by the Church services.

The solemn services were celebrated by Reverend Piechowski and a sermon was delivered by Reverend Kosinski. During the services, the St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish choir, under the direction of Andrew Kwasigroch, sang at its best. Not a sign of disturbance of any kind marred the services.

At 3 P. M. vespers were celebrated. A large crowd filled the church again, and once more contentment could be seen on the faces of the 5devout parishioners. Among the large number of young people could be seen the faces of many who were once considered dissenters.

Reverend Piechowski remained at the rectory overnight, and will stay there hereafter.

This was indeed a beautiful and memorable day for the parishioners. Peace pervaded all of St. Hedwig Parish--a new spirit could be felt.

The Poles in St. Hedwig Parish proved their genuine piety; even the handful that had been disloyal kept their peace. As Reverend Muldoon said: "God will so will it that unity and co-operative work for the good of the parishioners will prevail."

Reporters from the various English papers of Chicago were present at the services. All were amazed at the peace and quiet.

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Some of the leaders of the dissention made an effort to tell the reporters that the church was filled by people from neighboring parishes and that they were paid twenty-five cents each for attending, etc.--but no one was so naive as to believe one word of this for a moment.

The plain truth was obvious.....The fact is that the true church triumphed in St. Hedwig Parish.