Chester C. Bentkowski

Chester (Czesław) C. Bentkowski (21 May 1924 – 5 June 2017) was a Polish-American activist for the Polish National Catholic Church and a veteran of WWII. He held the position of president of the Fryderyk Chopin Choir and the president of the Northern Indiana Circle Choir. He was an author of a book which described the history of his home parish of St. Mary in South Bend. He participated in forming the structures of the Ethnic Festival in South Bend.

Early life

After graduating from Washington High School in South Bend, Chester Bentkowski enlisted in the United States Army in 1942. He fought in Europe, including the Battle of Bulge, during the Allied offensive in the Ardennes. He attained the rank of sergeant and received several military decorations for his service, including the Purple Heart; the European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal and Victory Medal.

After leaving the service, Bentkowski took a job at UniRoyal Company, a manufacturer of car tires and synthetic rubber materials. He retired after 45 years.

Private life

His parents were Kazimierz (Casimir) Bentkowski, originally from Mieleszyn (Greater Poland), and Maria Anna (Maryann) Lewandowska, born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Chester’s father served in the 18th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army from 1917 to 1919. Chester’s parents married in 1920 in Berrien, Michigan. Chester was their second child. He had five sisters: Rose, Josephine, Lorraine, Evelyn, and Patricia. In June 1952, Chester married Irene Bentkowski (née Chrapliwy). The ceremony took place at the Polish National Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in South Bend. Chester and Irene had two sons: Steven and Kenneth.

Activities for the Church

For most of his life, he was involved in activities for the local parish of the Polish National Catholic Church and the Polish community in Indiana. In the 1950s, he became a member of the parish board, serving as secretary. He served as president of the Fryderyk Chopin Choir and the president of the Northern Indiana Circle Choir. In these positions, he promoted cooperation between Christian denominations in the United States. An example of this was the joint performance of the Fryderyk Chopin Choir and the „Aleksa Shantich” choir representing the Serbian Orthodox Church, at the International Concert and Night in October 1963. Chester's actions were welcomed by the White House, including President John F. Kennedy, whom he informed of his achievements. In the 1960s, the choir of St. Mary’s, organized various fairs, public performances, and activities promoting the Polish Catholic community, which were also intended to raise funds for the development of the parish.

The parish choir led by Chester Bentkowski and another parishioner, Carol Dzikowski, participated, along with the Chicago Circle Choir, in the World Festival of Polish Choirs in Koszalin (Poland), December 1976. According to Chester’s description, they were met with an exceptionally warm reception from the Polish audience.

Bentkowski also served his community as secretary of the parish insurance committee and president of the Central Polish-American Organization. He was a member of the local ZB Falcons Nest 80. He also co-organized the parish Society of Friends of Children and Youth which provided pastoral care and educational assistance.

He participated in establishing the first organizing committee for the Ethnic Festival in South Bend. He contributed to the Polish community and the PNCC by compiling a history of his home parish – St. Mary’s of the Holy Rosary, which he published on the occasion of its 75th anniversary. His wife – Irene, assisted him in this work. This publication included both the circumstances surrounding the parish’s founding and the various stages of its development. In the final pages, he described the parish’s 75th anniversary celebrations. In describing the parish’s history, he drew on anniversary books published in previous years, archival resources, and the magazine of the PNCC – „Straż”. As Chester himself recalls in his work, he obtained some of the information during the lifetime of his maternal grandmother – Anastazja Lewandowska, who is said to have known the future founder of PNCC, Bishop Franciszek (Francis) Hodur, when he was a young vicar in Scranton. Moreover, Chester’s grandfather was to serve as sacristan in the parish of Scranton.

Bentkowski also ran an online history website for the parish of Saint Mary’s where he published his new discoveries about the circumstances of its founding.

As a member of the parish board, Chester played a significant role in the crisis that occurred during the Millennium of the Baptism of Poland. Clergy and the representatives of the PNCC, including those of the parish in South Bend, were not invited by the Polish Roman Catholic Church to join the official celebration of this important event. To demonstrate their stance, St. Mary’s parish organized an ecumenical Holy Mass, in which nearby Protestant parishes and the aforementioned Serbian Orthodox Church participated. Bentkowski, along with the ten-pastor, Father Józef Zawistowski, later Bishop of the PNCC, was to play a significant role in organizing the event, which was called “An Ecumenical Millenium of Christian Fellowship”.

The South Bend PNCC parish faced similar exclusion during the November 1966 Millenium celebrations organized by the Central Polish-American Organization (later known as “Centrala”). Here, the religious issues also played a significant role. Delegates from St. Mary’s Parish attended the annual central meeting, held in January 1967 at Haller’s Hall, Pennsylvania. They were able to do that only thanks to the intervention of Centrala’s secretary – Wanda Nowak, who appealed for unity among all Polish communities in the United States. Among the finally invited delegates were Chester and Irene Bentkowski.

Back in 1967, Bentkowski became a member of the Central Polish-American Organization and about three years after that, he became its president for a 12-year term.

The Fryderyk Chopin Choir, led by Chester, participated in the 75th anniversary celebrations of PNCC, which took place first in October 1972 (with a gala ecumenical concert in Merrillville) and later that same month with a visit by friendly clergy of other denominations to St. Mary’s Parish.

In a memorial published on the occasion of the parish’s 35th anniversary, Chester’s parents – Kazimierz and Marianna – as well as Chester and his wife Irene, appear. The information contained therein suggests that the family was actively involved in parish life, participating in various initiatives and cofinancing necessary renovations and the parish’s educational activities.

In 1973, Bentkowski, as a member of the parish board, sent a letter to President Richard Nixon, expressing support on behalf of Pastor Józef Zawistowski and the parish’s faithful for the president’s actions regarding the release of American POWs kept in Vietnam.

Publications

• A Historical Study: Saint Mary’s Polish National Catholic Church, South Bend, Indiana, 1915–1990, 75th Anniversary. South Bend 1990.

Bibliography

• Bentkowski, Chester A Historical Story of St Mary’s of the Holy Rosary, https://sites.rootsweb.com/~instjose/immigration/poland/stmarys-rosary/stmarys-rosary.htm, Retrieved 19 January 2026.
• Bentkowski, Chester (1990). A Historical Study: Saint Mary’s Polish National Catholic Church, South Bend, Indiana, 1915–1990, 75th Anniversary, South Bend: The Church.
• Breza, Kathleen (1975). The Polish-American Community in South Bend, South Bend: Indiana University.
• Goguł, Stanisław (1950) Thirty-fifth anniversary of St. Mary's of the Holy Rosary: Polish National Catholic Church, 1915–1950, Sunday, November 12, 1950, South Bend: The Church.
• South Bend Area Genealogical Society, Casimir BENTKOWSKI, https://www.sbags.org/immigrant/d0469/I7337.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawOTc9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBhSW9CdFRFTnl0dWdCOHVLc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHueNx8j6mpUiBaigvQFM6rH4C7bpUodFBCeXIjoicJwWlKrrQN2TvMyizp3x_aem_RAWGDEUe1vx5AIwUXZF7lA, Retrieved 19 January 2026.
• South Bend Education Alliance (2017). Chester C Bentkowski - Class Of 1942, South Bend 2017https://www.southbendwashingtonhs.com/class_profile.cfm?member_id=7946268, Retrieved 19 January 2026.

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