Skulik, Bernard (Maria) Franciszek (1867-1924), priest, missionary, publisher and editor of Polish publications in the United States. Born on August 20 in Szopienice (Katowice county) son of Franciszek, a mine carpenter, and Dorota nee Bialas.From 1873 to 1881 he attended the grammar school in Rozdzen-Szopienice. Then he was tutored privately by the pastor in Myslowice Fr. E. Kleemann and Fr. A. Snopka in Zagorze. Simultaneously he studied lathe work and mechanics. For a year he attended a school in Lwow (1884), and probably passed his maturation exam in 1885 in Krakow. That year he went to Rome and spent three years studying at the Gregorian University and at the San Apolinare Papal Seminary. At that time he lived at the dell'Anima Gregorian College as a prefect. The years 1888-91 he spent at a seminary in Rietti (Perugia province) and there he received Holy Orders, on Dec. 19, 1891. For a year he worked on increasing his knowledge of philosophy and theology at the "Minerva" University in San Apolinare. During his time at the seminary in Rietti, in 1891, he established the Sedes Sapientiae [Capital of Wisdom] society (according to E. Szramk he was only a member). The society's task was to establish peoples' reading rooms, libraries and to propagate the Catholic press. Fr. Skulik was able to do this work though not always with success. During this time he made his first attempts to write literary works, and later he declared, that for this effort he was named an Honorary Cannon of the Lateran Basilica. On March 9, 1893 he became a doctor of theology.
In June 1893 he departed for North America, where in New Jersey he took over as pastor the parish in Passaic. The parish was populated mainly by Slovaks, Hungarians, Czechs and included Germans and Italians. He built a school and a church for them, organizing several religious and cultural educational societies. In 1894 he moved to Shamokin, then to St. [possibly Mt. ?] Carmel (Harrisburg, PA diocese) where he built churches for Slovak Catholics. That year the Papal delegate in Washington Cardinal F. Satoli named him a personal secretary for Slovak affairs. During this time he organized his own print shop and started to publish four periodicals "Przyjaciel" [Friend], "Polska i Litwa" [Poland and Lithuania], "Saturday Weekly," and "La Civilta Cattolica." These publications soon folded and he lost a lot of money. He moved to South Chicago, where on request of Archbishop P. Feehan he undertook to organize a parish for Slovaks and Croatians, but without success. At the time he lived at the rectory of St. Adalbert with Fr. Jan Radziejewski. He established contact with the local Polish priests: A. Nowicki from St. Michael's parish and Fr. Zaleski from the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in South Chicago. Disaffected toward the Slovaks he took over a Polish-German parish in Brighton and Germanville in Iowa. He worked there for a year, then moved to Milwaukee. In the years 1896-99 he was assistant pastor at St. Josephat's parish and edited the weekly "Katolik" published by Fr. Wilhelm Grutza. At the same time he gave lessons in religion at the local parish school. On November 4, 1898 he was made an honorary member of the Rome based "Unione Antimassonica," later becoming corresponding member, director of the central committee, and finally commissioner for America. He was also a member of three Papal academies" "Arcadia," "Tiberina" (1898) and "Immacolata Concezione" (1898). On request of Bishop J. L. Spalding, of the Peoria diocese, on March 5, 1899 he took over the Polish Roman Catholic parish of St. Hyacinth in LaSalle, that had a membership of nearly 3 thousand persons. There he started energetic pastoral work employing religious and cultural-educational organizations which had a visibly nationalistic character. He became president of many of these organizations and founded new ones: Ladies Society of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Youth Organization of St. Bernard (April 20, 1899), Society of St. Cecilia (April 22, 1899), Guardian Angel Society (May 3, 1899), Children of Mary Society (May 3, 1899), Military Society for Boys -- the so-called Papal Zouaves. In order to stop the outflow of Polish children into public schools he started to build a second 12 grade Polish parish school in LaSalle. He placed a lot ofstress on a patriotic education for children and youth. He built a rectory, renovated the church and equipped it with an organ. For his services he received, on Nov. 24, 1900, the Gold Cross Pro Eccelesia et Pontiface. In that year he published Historia Parafii sw. Jacka w La Salle Illinois 1874-1900 [The history of St. Hyacinth parish in La Salle, Illinois 1874-1900] (Chicago, IL 1900; containing his biography and photograph). During the years 1902-03 he published the "Tygodnik Katolicki" [Catholic Weekly] . In 1907 he started to publish the monthly "Rodzina" [Family] which lasted for three years at most. During this time he was named a Papal Chamberlain. In 1906 he was most likely selected as the chief director of the Sedes Sapientae Society. For unknown reasons he left the parish in LaSalle in 1910. For some time he was rector of the Holy Family Church in East Moline, IL. He then sold his library and his name appeared at the head of the settlement societies of the Alabama Colonization Development Co. with headquarters in Skulik's Dwight, Alabama. For a while he worked in Westville and Hooppole. In 1910 he travelled around Europe and spent time in Upper Silesia. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914 he went to Italy where he became pastor and dean in Monte S. Giovani in Sabina (Umbria), then he returned to Poland. After returning to America he worked as an administrator of the parish in Blossburg. In 1923 he established a Polish parish and built a church under the name of the Virgin of Ostrobrama in Claremont.
He wrote much and published in Polish, Slovak, English, Italian, German and Latin. He also knew Russian, Spanish, and French. He travelled much; covering the entire United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico and part of South America. In manuscript form he left behind Notatki z podrozy po Stanach Zjednoczonych [Notes from travels in the United States]. Among his large works is the Podrecznik teologii pastoralnej [Handbook of pastoral theology] (Milwaukee 1897, Chicago 1900, parts 1-2), modelled in form on a similar work by Jozef S. Pleczar, but first of its kind in Polish in the United States. He published literary works of a popular character, containing moral, apologetic, and patriotic accents: Jas Skorybut, powiesc gornoslaska [a tale of Upper Silesia], Piec bajek gornoslaskich [Five Upper Silesian tales], O Blazeju Koszykarzu [About Blazej basket maker], Alabama, kraj wiecznej wiosny [country of eternal spring], Biblioteka rodzinna [Family library], powiastki i opisy [stories and descriptions] (Chicago 1899). Some of his works were published in Silesia: Wodka i pijanstwo [Vodka and drunkenness] (Chicago 1900, second edition Mikolow 1906), O gorzalce i jej skutkach [About fire-water and its consequences] (Piekary 1900). To the struggle with Masons he devoted the following: Kielnia Masonska przeciw Krzyzowi, Kosciolowi i spoleczenstwu... [The Mason's trowel against the Cross, the Church, and Society...] (Chicago 1900), Lozowi templariusze... [Templars of the lodges...] (Toledo, Ohio, 1900), Krzyz Swiety i jego znaczenie [The Holy Cross and its significance] (St. Louis 1901). In 1914, Pawel Habryka, the owner of a shoe shop in Myslowice, started to publish the Writings of Fr. Skulik, but only two volumes were printed (Bytom). Fr. Skulik died May 1, 1924 in Manchester, NH and was buried at St. Mary Cemetery in Claremont.
Sources: Chojnacki W., Bibliografia wydawnictw zwartych Polonii Amerykanskiej 1867-1900 [Bibliography of periodicals published by American Polonia 1867-1900], Zesz. Nauk Jagiellonian University, Prace Polonijne [Polonia Works] Z.14, Warsaw-Krakow 1991. p. 22, 218-19; Bolek, Who's Who in Polish America; Slownik biograficzny duchowienstwa slaskiego XIX i XX wieku [Biographical dictionary of Silesian Churchmen in the 19th and 20th century], katowice 1996 (erroneous date of death given as 1927, bibliography); Slownik Polskich Teologow Katolickich [Dictionary of Polish Catholic Theologians] IV; Nir, R.R., Katalog Archiwum Polonii w Orchard lake, Michigan [Catalogue of the Polonia Archive in Orchard Lake, Michigan] , 1966, I 211, 233; Kiluks B., 100-lecie urodzin ks. Bernarda Skulika, [100 year anniversary of Fr. Bernard Skulik's birth] "Gosc Niedzielny" [Sunday Visitor] 1967 no. 20; Ogrodzinski W., Dzieje pismiennictwa slaskiego [History of Silesian writing] Katowice 1965; Szramek E. Ks. Dr. Bernard Skulik z Szopieniec, zapomniany krzewiciel oswiaty katolickiej, 1867-1924, [Fr. Dr. Bernard Skulik, forgotten propagator of Catholic education, 1867-1924], "Gosc Niedzielny" 1933 no. 37 (Bibliography); Archdiocesan Archive in Katowice: sygn. ZS 435; Archive of the Most Holy Heart of Jesus parish in Myslowice: Book of Baptisms 1867, pag. 926 (birth record).
Author: Jerzy Myszor
Translation: July 26, 2010, Peter J. Obst for the Poles in America Foundation from Polski Slownik Biograficzny vol. XXXVIII p. 498-499.