St. Francis was mentioned in an article first published on September 26, 2019, “East Meadow’s Historic Churches” by Dr. Scott Eckers An excerpt below. To view the entire article visit the Long Island Herald
Religious organizations have played an important part in the social history of East Meadow since its earliest days as a rural community. A simple look at newspapers from the 19th century through the present will show a strong tradition of local involvement with houses of worship and, in turn, a desire of those houses of worship to provide services and support for the community that far exceed issues of a religious nature…
…St. Francis Polish National Catholic Church was built on Harton Avenue in 1932. Fr. Bernard Bobek was the first priest, and services were conducted in Polish. This area of East Meadow had recently seen an uptick in its Eastern European population and Polish was a common first language of many residents. One of those residents, Rose Gniewek, organized a Women’s Society. Gniewek owned a business around the corner on current-day East Meadow Avenue. The Baby Boom era brought more congregants; a new altar was constructed in 1956 and a rectory was built one year later. A sizable Polish school operated out of St. Francis Church.
Dr. Scott Eckers is the author of East Meadow in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series. He serves on the East Meadow Board of Education. Scott is also an entertainer and recording artist.