St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Oratory () is a Roman Catholic parish in the historic Mitchell Street District of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was designed by Polish nobleman Leonard Kowalski, one of Milwaukee's early Polish residents, who took the name Leonard Schmidtner and spoke German. One of Milwaukee's 'Polish Cathedrals', the parish was founded in 1866 by immigrant Poles in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. St. Stanislaus parish was the third Roman Catholic Polish church in the United States and the first based in an urban area. Members started with an old frame building which was purchased in 1866 from nearby St. Stephen Lutheran Church for a sum of $4,500. The twin towered building seen today was completed in 1873 with a parochial school to follow in 1889. Today, the church is the home of the Milwaukee Latin Mass community. The church was erected as an oratory of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, an order of priests dedicated to the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. The church has been fully restored inside and out in recent years. Renovations include restored sanctuary and sacred art, recreated stained glass windows, new copper roofing; among other functional and aesthetic improvements and restorative work. Dedication St. Stanislaus Catholic Church was dedicated to Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Polish martyr and saint of the Roman Catholic Church. History A shift of economy in the 1880s from commerce to industry brought about a rapid influx of Eastern European Catholics to the region. St. Stanislaus and the surrounding neighborhood quickly grew to become the center of Polish life in Milwaukee. Mitchell Street was often referred to as the "Polish Grand Avenue," reflecting its importance and distinction from the German dominated Grand Avenue (now Wisconsin Avenue), a popular downtown merchant street. From 1876 to 1883, the parish was served by Pastor Hyacinth (Jacek) Gulski On May 1, 1886 about 2,000 Polish workers gathered at St. Stanislaus to organize and protest the 10-hour work day. Factories closed down as they marched through the city adding to their numbers, until sixteen thousand strong. The Bay View Tragedy later followed when State Militia confronted protesters who had camped out at the rolling mill in Bay View. The church started a number of other Polish-speaking congregations in the East Side and Jones Island neighborhoods. By 1903, Milwaukee held the largest number of Catholics found in any city, and helped to establish a presence