The tasks which the Society of Christ set up for itself are closely related to the fate of the Polish diaspora. The motto of the Society is “To serve God and the Polish diaspora.” Over generations, this diaspora has sought spiritual sustenance in the traditions of Polish religiosity.

The Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary at Czestochowa Mount has played a special role in the life and religiosity of the Polish nation. Pope John Paul II summarized it well during his several visits to Poland and to the Czestochowa Monastery. He said: “The Bright Mount is the sanctuary of our nation. . . . It is habitual for Poles to refer all their affairs to that place”(1979).

While Polish immigration to the United States dates back to the beginning of the Republic and includes such illustrious names as General Thaddeus Kosciuszko whose engineering skills enabled the American army to win the battle of Saratoga during the War of Independence, Polish immigration to Texas dates back to the nineteenth century. At that time, the Polish nation was divided between three empires: Prussian, Austrian, and Russian, and each consecutive uprising against foreign armies brought to America a new wave of political and economic immigrants. According to one estimate, some 3.6 million people left Poland between 1870–1924. Between 1911–1914, one quarter of the Polish population living in the Austrian part of Poland emigrated due to poverty and exploitation by the Viennese authorities. Some of these emigrants settled in Texas

In the 1970s many persons of Polish ancestry moved to Sunbelt states, including Texas. According to historian John Radzilowski, by the end of the 1980s the population of Texans who traced their roots to Poland increased by 41.8 percent. Many of them were born in Poland but left the country in the 1980s when the Solidarity labor movement was suppressed by the communist regime of Soviet-occupied Poland. Most of them settled in the Houston metropolitan area.

On April 21, 2006, Texas celebrated the 170th anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto. Poles have special reasons to remember that battle. The San Jacinto River is named for the medieval Polish saint, Jacek Odrowąż.