In 1917, construction began on the Ford River Rouge Factory in what is now southeast Dearborn. At that time, many laborers moved to the area for work. A congregation of mostly Polish immigrants established St. Barbara Parish in 1924 with Fr. Raphael Chrzaszcz as their first pastor.
A school was established the same year and administered by Sisters of Holy Family of Nazareth.
The current church was built in 1955, on Schaefer Hwy., one block north of Michigan Ave.
In 2000, St. Barbara clustered with St. Cunegunda Parish, located two miles northeast. Supposedly, both churches were designed by the same architect but I couldn't confirm that. Fr. Zbigniew Grankowski has been pastor for 21 years.
Stained-glass windows were fabricated by Conrad Schmitt Studio of Milwaukee. Many of the windows show recently-canonized saints as well as 20th-Century venerables and blesseds. Among them: Venerable Solanus Casey, Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, and St. Faustina Kowalska.
Processional banners are displayed in the transepts
Small statues stand on shelves in each transept
A large font, located at the rear of the nave, depicts the Baptism of Christ
Symbols of Christ and the Eucharist adorn the altar rail
Ornate motifs cover the entire ceiling
Daily Mass is offered at 6:15pm on Tuesdays (followed by Perpetual Help Devotion) and Fridays. Friday Mass has the intention of "Thanksgiving for the Gift of Work and for all the Unemployed." First Fridays bring Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 4:00pm until 6:15pm Mass.
Saturday Vigil Mass is at 5:15pm while Sunday Mass is at 9:30am and 6:00pm.
For more info: bulletin archive, facebook, parish website (sparse content)
Another blog post: Creative Gene blog
No comments:
Post a Comment