St. Anselm Parish was established in June of 1954. The parish boundaries were previously part of Sacred Heart, Divine Child and Our Lady of Grace Parishes. Fr. Arthur M . Reckinger celebrated the parish's first Mass on July 11, 1954, at Clara B. Ford School, with 580 in attendance. Fr. Reckinger was the first Sacred Heart parishioner to be ordained to the priesthood. In addition, he was a professor at Mercy College for a decade and St. Anselm's first pastor.
The first Mass in the current, 800-seat church was on May 8, 1955. Edward Cardinal Mooney dedicated St. Anselm Church on December 4th of that year. The parish also established a parochial school in 1955 and, five years later, a convent was built. For many years, St. Anselm School was the only parochial school in the Archdiocese of Detroit that was tuition-free.
A fire severely damaged the church on January 19, 1969. The front section was a complete loss and the fire caused $200,000 damage.
Msgr. James Moloney was installed as Pastor of St. Anselm Parish on January 25, 1978, and remains pastor today. In addition, he was National Vice President of Society of the Propagation of the Faith for three decades.
Daily Mass is at 8:30am Monday–Saturday. Saturday Vigil Masses are at 4:30pm (preceded by Reconciliation at 3:30pm) and 7:00pm. Sunday Masses are at 8:00am, 10:00am, and Noon.
St. Anselm's Shrine, the first shrine in the Dearborn area, is a statue of St. Anselm chiseled from a solid block of white Italian marble. The patron stands in a raised garden in front of the church.
More info: parish website + school website
More photos: AOD Film Services
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