On October 1, Fifth Avenue in Manhattan belonged to Poles and the Polish-American community.
This year’s parade was particularly special, as it was attended for the first time by the sitting President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, who traveled to the United States specifically for this Polish-American event. The parade was preceded by a solemn Mass celebrated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan in honor of Saint John Paul II. The Mass was led by Bishop Edmund Whalen and concelebrated with Bishop Janusz Stepnowski from the Diocese of Łomża in Poland. President Andrzej Duda led the parade. The procession then began, featuring representatives of the Polish diaspora from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. In the white-and-red march were police officers, veterans, scouts, Polish parishes, students from Polish supplementary schools, youth, folk and musical ensembles, Polish-American organizations and institutions, and all those connected to the Homeland through ancestry, tradition, religion, and culture. Among the participants were members and supporters of the New York Chapter of the John Paul II Foundation. Our float was decorated with portraits of Saint John Paul II, flags in white-and-red and papal colors, and a special banner commemorating the 45th anniversary of his pontificate. By participating in the Pulaski Day Parade, we proudly expressed our national identity, our patriotism rooted in Christian tradition, and our pride in our fellow countryman—Saint John Paul II.
Zofia Twarowska