Helinski, Rev. Jacob J., C.M.Clergyman, missionary. Born 1872 in Wysoka (Wissek) near Posen, Poland. When sixteen, in 1888, came to U.S. Applied for work at the Sisters of Charity Hospital in Chicago, Ill. In 1889 went to St. Mary's Seminary in Perryville, Mo. to study theology. Ordained here Dec. 21, 1898. From 1898 to 1906 assistant pastor in St. Joseph parish, New Orleans, La. From 1907 to 1908 pastor of St. Thomas parish, Long Beach. Miss. From 1909 to 1910 pastor of St. Stephen parish, New Orleans, La. Since 1910 to date resides at St. Joseph's parish, New Orleans, La. He served as a chaplain in the oyster camps of Louisiana and Mississippi. He was also chaplain of a State prison for 29 years, and of Hotel Dieu, a hospital of the Sisters of Charity. For 29 years he walked to the gallows with those who were sentenced to death. Residence: 1802 Tuland Ave., New Orleans, La.
From: "Who's Who in Polish America" by Rev. Francis Bolek, Editor-in-Chief; Harbinger House, New York, 1943
Father Jacob J. Helinski, C.M.(order of the Missionary Fathers also known as the Society of Vincent a Paulo) who was born in Wysoka on 29 April 1872. He traveled with his father, a brother, and a sister to Chicago in 1888. Jacob Helinski was ordained to the priesthood in 1898 in Los Angeles where he celebrated his first Mass on Christmas Day 1898.
Father Helinski served in New Orleans from about 1900 until his death in 1953. He was noted for his strong opposition to the death penalty - he had served many years as the chaplain at the local prison where he counseled condemned prisoners on their way to the gallows. He also ministered to the many Polish immigrants who lived in New Orleans and in the oyster camps along the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi. According to newspaper accounts, he was a Polish patriot, and he visited his home town in 1919 shortly after the end of World War I.
From: Thomas E. Burke, Ph.D. (2007)