On July 25, 1971, Rev. Father Francis S. Skalski was installed as pastor of St. Hyacinth. 
Hailing from West Detroit, he was already familiar with the issues facing Poletown churches. Shrinking memberships, closing parishes and schools, and the quick migration of Polish families to the suburbs posed a special challenge to St. Hyacinth and local churches.
In the 1970s, St. Hyacinth began to face challenging times. Grade school enrollments declined so parishioners stepped up to the challenge, holding fundraisers to donate to the school. Parishioners rallied in opposition to many attempts by the Eastside Vicariate to close the school. Cardinal Dearden promised Fr. Skalski that no one would close the school as long as it maintained a strong financial base. The school remained open until 1990, closing after 81 years of service.
Fr. Skalski worked tirelessly to maintain St. Hyacinth’s church building, school, Polish heritage, and Catholic spirit. He not only cared for his parish, but the other parishes in the area. That dedication to Polonia and the Polish heritage earned Father the nickname “Bishop of Poland.”
When the Hamtramck GM Plant was being built, Fr. Skalski supported his good friend 
Fr. Joseph Karasiewicz as he fought to keep Immaculate Conception open. This was a very controversial closure, as was the entire land acquisition for the Poletown Plant. Many people people were unwillingly displaced as the City of Detroit and GM selected the site, much of which contained a very viable neighborhood, churches, businesses and even a hospital. There was a dedicated group of parishioners that took up residence in the church to try and prevent it from being demolished. They were finally evicted by the police.
Unfortunately, the duo couldn’t preserve the parish and Fr. Joseph moved to St. Hyacinth, dying in the rectory from a heart attack soon after. As a thank you for Fr. Skalski’s work, Fr. Karasiewicz gifted St. Hyacinth the Imaculata, a beautiful piece that was displayed on the main altar at IC. Father Skalski, then pastor of Saint Hyacinth had one of the confessionals converted into a side altar to display the statue of Mary.
During the eulogy, Father Skalski called Fr. Karaskiewicz someone “who tried to slow and sway the heavy hand of corporate, materialistic, economic objectives, masking themselves as the common good, while in actuality it would seem they were serving the rich.”
Father Skalski will always be remembered for the devotion he gave to the parish, and his successful efforts to keep Saint Hyacinth open and preserve the beauty of the parish building.. Father would not take credit for his accomplishments, rather he would always say “I only have two hands, it is the many helpers that made this possible”. During difficult times and the closing of Detroit area parishes, Saint Hyacinth remained a stronghold for Polonia and a gem on the eastside of Detroit to practice our Catholic faith.
Saint Hyacinth went through a transition in leadership in June of 2006. Father Skalski who served as pastor for 35 years turned over the title of pastor to our current Pastor, Father Janusz Iwan.
Four years later, in 2010, Fr. Skalski passed away. Detroit news station, WXYZ, covered Father’s funeral, saying “”So on a Monday morning in October, the santuary was full of dignitaries, the choir loft was full of music, but probably more important for the Bishop of Poletown, the pews were full of people.”
Fr. Janusz and the parish continues to try and emulate the parish slogan initiated by our former pastor Reverend Francis Skalski: Service to God, America, and Polonia. In 2012, Fr. Janusz recognized Fr. Skalski as a “Poletown Heroes.”
Parish Pearls 