Detroit Church Blog

Red hats in Detroit

2012-02-23T23:15:00.009-05:00

I happened to go to the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament this past Sunday and noticed some things I hadn't before, suspended Galeri. These hats (until the late 1960's) were given to Cardinals at their consistory. As you have probably heard by now, the US has gained 2 Cardinals, Dolan and O'Brien. Our newest US cardinals received the scarlet zucchetto and biretta.

The Cardinal's galero is traditionally hung over his remains upon interment. The popular tradition is that once the hat disintegrates and falls the ground the Cardinal has left Purgatory and entered heaven.

However, Cardinals Mooney and Dearden are buried in Holy Sepulchre cemetary in Southfield, so we veer from tradition there.

Maida and Szoka are the other two Detroit Cardinals, both still living. It is not known whether the current Archbishop Vigneron will ever receive the red hat.

I don't know which Galero belongs to which deceased Cardinal, but one hangs in each transept.

North Transept with beautiful stained glass depicting angels and saints surrounding the throne of Christ the King.

South transept has the Blessed Sacrament side chapel.

Close up of Galero.

External shot of Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

What's happening with our Churches?

2012-02-21T13:48:00.000-05:00

Update 2/21 for the pith-seekers: See the action plan for your parish here.

I apologize, oh internet for neglecting to update you.

There is going to be a press conference tomorrow, and there is this which I copied and pasted from aodonline.org which apparently has a new URL:

Together in Faith: Parish Action Plans
The Archdiocese of Detroit between Feb. 14 and Feb. 16 has mailed to all registered Catholic parishioners a Pastoral Letter from Archbishop Allen Vigneron, along with the results of the Together in Faith, Phase Two planning.

This new information will be available on Monday evening, Feb. 20 at www.aodonline.org/TogetherInFaith

My pastor read a little bit of what we are getting in the mail. This isn't the doom and gloom that the media has been dishing out, but our Archbishop is laying out a plan for our parishes to be healthier through our involvement. Support Archbishop Vigneron in Together in Faith.

I already received a letter from Archbishop Vigneron, but it had nothing to do with this. Some fellow young adults and I wrote thank you notes to show our appreciation for his stand against the current administration's HHS mandate. Here is a video he posted this past week.

April 13th: Easter Friday Church tour.

2012-02-19T21:52:00.005-05:00

Michael Semaan is organizing another Church tour. This one will be focusing on the Southwest neighborhood and some familiar favorites will be visited as well. It will close with a Tridentine Mass at St. Joseph reportedly to be celebrated by Fr. Darrell Roman, Administrator of St. Joseph who has learned to read Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the months since he became administrator of the clustered parishes of St. Joseph, St. Josaphat, and Sweetest Heart of Mary.

E-mail me or leave a comment if you want the contact information or the full form. ( I don't want to put all of Michael's information all over the internets.)

See the post labels for any previous posts I may have made about the churches on the list.

Ad Limina visit and Spiritual Bouquet

2012-01-14T20:27:00.002-05:00

Archbishop Vigneron, along with auxiliary Bishops Reiss, Hanchon, Byrnes, and Cepeda, and the balance of bishops from Michigan and Ohio, will be making an Ad Limina visit February 1-6. The Archdiocese/Archbishop will be blogging the visit in a similar way as when the Archbishop received the Pallium in 2009.

The Archdiocese would like to present a spiritual bouquet to the Holy Father as part of this visit. Read about it here. Add a comment with your pledge for the spiritual bouquet.

Here is the main URL for the AOD blog. Start following for updates on the visit and also on the quinquennial report!

Meet the AOD Coordinator of Music!

2012-01-14T00:09:00.004-05:00

The Archdiocese hired a new Music Coordinator in October, Joe Balistreri. Joe has been a Music Minister at St. Matthew in Detroit since 2002. He will be putting on an organ recital to be followed by a reception/meet and greet on two occasions.

The first will be Sunday, January 15, 2012 at 2pm at Our Lady, Star of the Sea in Grosse Pointe Woods.

The second will be Friday January 20, 2012 at 7:30pm at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth.

The recital will feature "French organ works based on Epiphany proper chants. Composers include Durufle, Tournemire, Messiaen, Hakim."

If you like Organ music, or you are a music minister in the Archdiocese, this is a great opportunity for you!

St. Leo's gets some attention.

2012-01-05T23:42:00.005-05:00

I haven't been to St. Leo's but a Reuter's Photographer has. (Update: So has reader Andy... see link at the bottom)

There is a corresponding article. And the Photographer's blog on the subject

St Leo's will be one to watch. One day perhaps I will be able to visit this ~120 year old church. Here are the recommendations of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council:

... St. Leo is encouraged to begin to develop in early 2012 with completion by June 2012 a plan to merge with St. Cecilia. In light of the financial and building maintenance challenges and the thriving charter school at St. Leo, but the need for a continued Catholic presence in this part of the city, the planning group is encouraged to consider one of the following two options:
1. St. Leo church be offered to the current Charter school for sale, continuing Outreach at an acquired location to yet be determined ...
2. Negotiate with the current charter at St. Leo’s to consider renting the school at St. Cecilia’s, (larger property may serve its needs), therefore providing an opportunity for St. Cecilia’s-St. Leo to thrive as a united community at the St. Cecilia site, but continuing to serve the poor in the community.

It's not certain that this one will be closed, but the odds seem to be stacked against St. Leo's. It doesn't appear to be used very much as a worship space (only 1 mass time listed on AOD site), but the outreach is very important to the people of the city. Hopefully an amenable solution can be attained so that the poor can be served here or nearby for many years to come.

Reader Andy posted some pictures to his Flickr account. (202 to be exact)

Have a Blessed Christmas!

2011-12-25T15:21:00.006-05:00

Merry Christmas to all. I hope the Midnight Mass post was of use to some, and that you were able to celebrate Mass in an historic church - especially the people who searched "what time is midnight mass?"

I will share a few photos of St. Joseph decorated for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

What time is Midnight Mass? Masstimes in the D.

2011-12-24T04:00:00.001-05:00

Update: 4:00 am Christmas Eve. Additions to Renaissance. Addition of Trinity Vicariate. Some links added. This will probably be the last update. Please go to a mass and be generous. (And come back!) If you can't find what you are looking for here, try the AOD parish listing and give the parish a call.

Update: 12:00 am on 16 December. Additions to Renaissance and South Oakland Vicariates. Added Southwest Vicariate.
Update: 4:00pm on Gaudete Sunday. Info for Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Josaphat.
Update: 12:40pm on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Details for St. Joseph and Assumption Grotto added. St. Justin Hazel Park added. Old St. Mary's added. Please leave a comment if you want to report the mass time at your parish!

Christmas is a wonderful time. We celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God made man. Emmanuel. God-with-us. We emulate God in His giving of the greatest gift to fallen man by giving gifts. Give a gift also to whichever parish you visit. The entire Christmas offering stays in the parish you give it to. Consider going to a Parish in Detroit (or elsewhere) that may be in need of a Christmas Bonus. (Make an offering at your own Parish as well!)

I will update this list as it is not exhaustive. I will go vicariate by vicariate to list mass times in Detroit, specifically the vigil masses. Go to Midnight Mass in the D and your own parish on Christmas day!

Genesis Vicariate: (Addresses)

Assumption Grotto: 4pm (Ordinary Form) & Midnight Orchestral Mass (Extraordinary Form - Latin Tridentine, Music composed by Fr. Perrone)
Blessed Sacrament Cathedral: Lessons/Carols at 11:30pm. Midnight Mass celebrated by Archbishop Vigneron
Church of the Madonna: 11:30pm Concert followed by Midnight Mass
Our Lady Queen of Apostles: 4pm Family Mass, 11:15 Choir Tribute followed by Midnight Mass
Our Lady Queen of Heaven: 4pm
St. Bartholemew-St. Rita: Recital at 3:30pm followed by 4pm Mass.
St. Benedict: Carols at 7:30pm followed by 8pm Mass.
St. Florian: Carols at 11:30pm followed by Midnight Mass with Koledy ( Polish Carols )
St. Gregory the Great: Concert 9:30pm followed by Mass at 10pm
St. Hyacinth: Koledy at 9:30pm followed by Mass at 10pm
St. Ladislaus: No vigil mass, but Christmas day 11 am (Polish)
St. Louis the King: 11:30pm Koledy followed by Midnight Mass
St. Raymond-Good Counsel: 6pm Mass
Transfiguration-Our Lady Help of Christians: 8:30pm Koledy followed by 9pm Mass.

Renaissance Vicariate

St. Joseph: Excerpts from Handel's Messiah at 11:10pm followed by Midnight Orchestal Mass (Extraordinary Form - Latin Tridentine, Haydn's Mass in Honor of St. Nicholas.)
St. Josaphat: 10pm Shepherd's Mass
St. Augustine - St. Monica: Las Posadas at 10pm followed by Midnight Mass. Call 313-921-4107 for more information
Sweetest Heart of Mary: 4pm Children's Mass w/ procession, 11:30pm Music followed by Midnight Mass celebrated by Bishop Reiss.
Old St. Mary's: 11:15pm Carols, 11:45pm blessing of crib, Midnight Mass, Orchestra and choir
St. Aloysius: 4pm "Motown Christmas in the D" Featuring Motor City Horns
St. Charles Borromeo: 4pm, 8pm
Good Shepherd: 6:30pm
St. Peter and Paul (Jesuit): 5pm
St. Jude: 4pm and Midnight
St. Matthew: 10pm, Special music program at 9:30pm
Nativity: 5pm, Midnight with 11:30 choir presentation.

South Oakland Vicariate (Links to parish pages)

St. Justin, Hazel Park: Concert at 11:30pm followed by Midnight Mass
Shrine of the Little Flower: 4pm Children's, 6:30pm, 11pm musical prelude, Midnight Mass.
St. Mary Royal Oak: 4:30 pm, 10pm
St. James Ferndale: 4:30 pm, Midnight

Southwest Vicariate (Vicariate page with addresses and links)

Holy Redeemer: Las Posadas at 9:30pm, Bilingual mass at 10pm.
St. Hedwig: 4pm, 7pm (Spanish)
St. Francis of Assisi: Midnight Mass
Holy Cross Hungarian: 10:15pm Church opens, 10:30pm Christmas, 11pm Mass in Magyar (Hungarian) / English
Most Holy Trinity: 9:30 pm Posadas, 10pm Mass in Spanish/English
Ste. Anne de Detroit: 5pm, 10pm
All Saints: 4pm English Mass, 6pm Spanish Mass, 7pm Las Posadas
St. Gabriel: 4pm Bilingual Mass
Our Lady Queen of Apostles: 5pm Mass
St Stephen/MMOC: 10pm Bilingual Mass

Trinity Vicariate: (Links to all parish websites or AOD info page with address)

Gesu:4pm Children's mass, 10pm Carols, 10:30pm Mass
Corpus Christi: 4pm Children's mass, 9pm Lessons and Carols, 10pm Mass
SS Peter and Paul (Westside): 4:30pm Mass, 11:30 Carols and Koledy, Midnight Mass-Pasterka (Polish/English)
St. Mary's of Redford: 10:30 Choir performance, 11pm Mass.
St. Scholastica: 4:30pm, 8pm
St. Thomas Aquinas: 4pm and Midnight, both bilingual (Spanish/English)

Other:

St. Albertus: Doors open at 11pm, Music by Polonaise Chorale, Midnight Mass-Pasterka (Polish/English)

Upcoming Detroit Church Projects

2011-12-15T00:01:00.003-05:00

There are 2 things I found out about today which are of interest to those who like historic Churches.

1st is a book about Detroit Churches: "Detroit's Historic Places of Worship." This is a long term project looking at 37 places of worship in Detroit, 12 of them Catholic. As seen on the Kickstarter page, Catholic Churches to be featured in the book include the following:

Immaculate Conception Ukrainian

St. Florian

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

St. Aloysius

SS. Peter and Paul

St. Joseph

8 of those 10 have been featured on this here blog. (Links Provided)

I would wager that 1 of the remaining 2 is Ste. Anne.

Based on the images shown of the book, they will be going in great detail on the history and the architecture and providing large glossy photos. I expect this to be of great quality, a great complement to Godzak's book, and a worthwhile purchase at 39.95. It should be available early Fall 2012, since they have reached the $10,000 goal for underwriting the book.

Michigan Catholic has an article with more details on the book. I recommend also checking out the video posted on the Kickstarter page.

2nd is a TV show to be shown on CTND. Only Comcast, Brighthouse, and Wyandotte cable carry CTND, but CTND Streams live on the internet as well. This is all the information I have, but if I find more I will share it.

Building on Faith: The Historic Churches of Detroit – Immigrants who built the churches took inspiration from the architecture in their homeland and incorporated that into their new houses of worship. Artistic expression, celebration of heritage and dedication to the community around them are how these people built on faith and affected the fabric of the city itself.
Tuesday, December 27^th at 1pm
Thursday, December 29^th at 10:30am

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Wyandotte: Photograph

2011-12-08T01:02:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in Part 4 of my series
on potential parish closures, I attended a wedding at OLMC. The bride from that wedding sent me a photo from the wedding for me to share. I think it mostly speaks for itself. This church is a gem.

Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 4: Downriver

2011-12-05T22:43:00.006-05:00

Part 4 looks at the last of the "Parishes Recommended for Closure," the short list posted on the AOD website. (Parts 1 2 3)

Here we are looking at the Downriver Parishes. One recommendation is to close either St. Stanislaus Kostka or Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Wyandotte. These parishes are clustered and under the pastor care of Fr. Walter Ptak. Between the 2 churches there are approximately 20 masses per week, 8-9 of which are for Sunday (depending on the season). I was able to attend the wedding of a friend at OLMC, and Fr. Ptak officiated the wedding. My friends and I decided to go to Mass before the reception, and we went to St. Stan's for the 4pm mass. Fr. Ptak said that mass as well, and then had to head back to OLMC to help out with (but not celebrate) the 5pm mass. Clearly Fr. Ptak is busy! If he didn't have the assistance of the 2 weekend associates I can see how having both parishes would not be especially viable.

OLMC was founded in 1899 to serve the influx of Poles downriver and St. Stan's was founded in 1914 presumably as the immigration and spread continued. The parishes are about 1.5 miles apart. OLMC's cornerstone indicated that the current church was built in 1915. In typical Polish style it is big and gorgeous. I need to do a picture post on this one. In further typical Polish fashion they hold tightly to their Polish traditions. In comparison St. Stan's is less ornate, but dignified. Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but it looks post WW2, perhaps from the 50's. I guess if I had my druthers both would be retained, but if I had to choose I would choose OLMC. We shall see. The suggested timeline for the closure is 3-5 years, and a lot could happen in that time.

Next we have St. Elizabeth slated to close. This recommendation is more imminent as they suggest a 2012 closure and merger with St. Joseph. These 2 and St. Patrick (1857) are clustered and are currently under the care of Fr. Michael Cremen, SAC (Irish Pallottines). The cluster does have an associate pastor. St. Joseph was founded in 1870 to serve German Immigrants, and the current church building is from the mid-late 50's. St. Elizabeth was founded in 1934; I am not sure when the current building was constructed. I would guess 60's. The APC suggests further merging St. Joseph/Elizabeth and St. Patrick for 1 new parish.

Finally the APC suggests closing either Our Lady of Lourdes in River Rouge or St. Francis Xavier in Ecorse. They were founded in 1893 and 1848 respectively, so there is clearly a lot of history in these parishes. OLL's current church was built in 1978. Some photos of the church are available on their website. SFX's current church is from the mid 1950's. Make Straight The Path shows a brick interior, but not much else. The book also tells the history of SFX which has its roots in a mission dating back to the 1820's.

So these are these first 4 articles are about the parishes most likely to close. I'd like to remind you that Immaculate Heart of Mary from Part 2 has it's final mass this Sunday at 9am.

Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 3: Detroit

2011-12-03T01:54:00.004-05:00

There are 2 parishes in Detroit slated to close per the AOD's summary of the recommendations of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC).

St. Anthony Lithuanian, founded in 1920, is a tiny Lithuanian holdout in mainly Hispanic southwest Detroit. I have never been, but a friend has, and she described it as a small welcoming community who assured her that readings are in English on Sundays (at least at the 9am mass.) Of the 7 masses per week, 6 are in Lithuanian. The pastor is Rev. Gintaras A Jonikas. According to the AOD parish listings he is also pastor of Divine Providence Lithuanian on 9 mile in Southfield. The plan is to merge the St. Anthony community into the Divine Providence community in 2013. The council seeks further analysis on whether the St. Anthony building can be used by Holy Redeemer parish which is 10 blocks west south west on Vernor Highway. Holy Redeemer has recently been entrusted to SOLT who brought 4 priests and 14 seminarians to the archdiocese. Hopefully this building can be retained by the AOD.

St. Luke Parish (brief history on their website) is also recommended for closure. It and St. Mary's of Redford are already clustered under the pastorship of Rev. Tyrone Robinson. The recommendation is to merge the St. Luke community into St Mary's of Redford, but to "maintain an outreach center at St. Luke’s" per the APC document. The APC wants this completed by June 2012.

See also Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 1 and Part 2. Downriver parishes next. Then we will go into what the APC recommendations are for Parishes we have visited on this blog.

Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 2: Immaculate Heart of Mary, Detroit

2011-12-01T21:37:00.006-05:00

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Center in Northwest Detroit (Part of Corpus Christ Parish) is being closed soon and the property is to be sold to Michigan Technical Academy Elementary School currently renting parts of the facility. From the RFP:

Michigan Technical Academy leases two buildings from the Archdiocese of Detroit (the Academy also owns a third building in Redford).The Academy is purchasing one of these buildings at 19940 Mansfield, Detroit, 48235, and constructing an addition to that building. The addition will permit the Academy to terminate the lease at the second facility, transfer its students and consolidate operations to begin the 2012-13 school year.

This won't be the first parish to be converted to a charter school, and it probably will not be the last.

The final mass will be at 9am on Sunday December 11, 2o11. Principal celebrant will be Bishop Hanchon. There is a lot more information in the article from the Michigan Catholic. Hopefully I can get to the Mass to document it., but the Michigan Catholic will likely cover it whether I can or not.

Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 1: East, North, and West Suburbs

2011-12-01T20:40:00.006-05:00

St. Donald, Roseville is to close following the retirement of its current Pastor Rev. Michael Donovan. The parish opened in 1965, and that's all I know about it! 4 more parishes will remain in Roseville to serve the faithful.

St. Maurice, Livonia is to close at some point in 2012. This parish is already clustered with St. Genevieve in Livonia which has an active school and several active ministries. The churches will merge. The pastor is Fr. Howard Vogan. As far as I know the parishes have worked well together, and I think this merger will ultimately go over well. 5 more parishes in addition to the new merged Parish will remain in Livonia. Full disclosure: St. Genevieve was my boyhood parish.

There may be a bright side when this closes. St. Maurice serves as the home to St. Rafka mission, an outreach of St. Sharbel in Warren. This serves the Maronite Rite Catholics (Lebanese) on the west side. I have no idea what the finances of the Maronite Eparchy are like, but perhaps they could buy the parish? This would keep the land in Catholic hands.

Our Lady Queen of Peace, Harper Woods is proposed to be put up for sale in 2012 and to be closed upon sale. Fr. William Herman is currently the pastor. I know very little of the parish other than that it is near the Morross exit of I-94 and was founded in 1946.

There are 3 recommended closures in the Downriver area and 2 recommended in the city of Detroit. There is also a quickly approaching closure in Detroit which I will cover separately.

The list of recommended closures is here.

Archdiocesan News

2011-12-01T19:59:00.007-05:00

It has been a big news week for Catholicism in Detroit. (Going back to last Friday)

Friday: Brother Rice High School defeated Lowell for the Division 2 State Championship

Saturday: Detroit Catholic Central fell to Cass Technical High School in the Division 1 State Championship (more on this later).
Just after 4pm the faithful in churches across the archdiocese responded "And with your spirit" as the third edition of the Roman Missal was unleashed across the United States.
Later in the evening Orchard Lake St. Mary's defeated Mt. Pleasant for the Division 3 State championship.

Sunday: The Catholic Television Network of Detroit (CTND) changed their major content provider from EWTN to Catholic TV (CTV) of Boston.

Tuesday: A letter started circulating around the internet filled with stupid comments about Cass Technical High school and the Detroit Public School system. The letter was alleged to have been written by someone who attended the game and delivered to Coach Wilcher of Cass Tech. The undersigned does not appear to be attached to the CC family, but the damage is done. Fr. Ranalletti, the president of CC issued a statement. Here is an article on the subject.

THE BIG NEWS:
The big story for this Blog however came out today. The recommendations of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council have been posted on the archdiocesan website. Several parishes have been suggested for closure. There are further recommendations for clustering and mergers throughout the diocese. I will be writing on this as it develops and make efforts to feature parishes scheduled for closure before their closure.

Upcoming Events Sept 30 - Oct 2

2011-09-28T23:53:00.003-04:00

Solemn First Vespers for the Feast of St Therese of Liseux at Shrine of the Little Flower Royal Oak
Auxiliary Bishop Arturo Cepeda will be in attendance and giving a homily.
7pm Friday Sept 30th. A reception will follow.

St. Hyacinth Banana Festival! I've never been to this one, but I'm sure it's awesome based on this cut and paste flyer.

St. Joseph's Oktoberfest 2011 (and other upcoming events)

2011-09-15T23:13:00.004-04:00

I'd like to let you all know about an upcoming event which promises to be fun and will help support historic St. Joseph in Detroit: Oktoberfest 2011

What can you do at Oktoberfest?

Enjoy delicious German food (various sausages, saur kraut, pickled beets, strudel, etc), beer, and wine. There will also be pop and cake and other delights.

Enjoy diverse styles of music.

Brazil and Beyond http://www.brazilandbeyond.com/
60's pop hits performed by the Liras.
German Accordian music (and some Polkas too) by Herb Langegger
German Folk Dancing (Carpathia Dance Ensemble)
Choral Festival in the Church featuring Renaissance Voices, Assumption Grotto Choir, and the St. Joseph's Men's Schola.
David Zakria Band

Tour the church and/or go to Holy Mass

10am Sunday Mass in German
12pm Sunday Mass in English
5pm Saturday and Sunday Guided tours of the church

There is also a raffle with some nice prizes including an Autographed Miguel Cabrera Jersey and dinner for 2 at any Restaurant in the area! Tickets are $1 or 6 got $5. Ask a parishioner if you would like to buy some.

And now, more bullets and links!

Facebook event for Oktoberfest. Invite your friends!
While you are in Detroit you can go to Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St. Hyacinth (FB event) on Sunday at 1pm.
St. Joseph Blog posts from Oktoberfest 2010.
THIS Sunday the 18th of September there is an EF Mass at St. Albertus.

Greetings from Santiago de Compostella

2011-08-14T18:18:00.003-04:00

you might wonder what Santiago de Compostella has to do with Detroit. well today it just so happened that former auxiliary bishop of Detroit, Daniel Flores, celebrated mass at this 800 year old Cathedral. His excellency is now the bishop of Brownsville, TX. Here is a picture.

Pilgrimage Success!

2011-06-28T22:56:00.004-04:00

Other than a sprained foot, a sprained ankle, and probably more than a few blisters the Pilgrimage for Christian Culture down Woodward Avenue went very well. Over 40 young adults participated in the activities which included a skit about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Mass in the Extraordinary form for the Nativity of St. John the Baptist at Shrine of the Little Flower (pictures), 3 ordinary form Masses, and of course plenty of walking, praying, and singing. We had Latin Rite participants from 4 (arch)dioceses (Detroit, Lansing, Saginaw, and Chicago), 3 Chaldeans, and one Syro-Malabar.

I have many pictures including some of historic Churches of course. I hope to have more time to post these! For now here is one of the group upon entering the city of Detroit.

Young Adult Pilgrimage in Detroit

2011-06-15T12:40:00.000-04:00

Readers, I have been busy not only with work, but with planning. I am part of a group planning a pilgrimage starting at St. Vincent de Paul in Pontiac, following mostly along Woodward Avenue and ending at the Detroit River. As this is over 30 miles this is a 2 day affair.

Day 1 (June 24th, the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist) will start with Holy Mass celebrated at the aforementioned St. Vincent de Paul, part of the newly formed Pontiac community parish of St. Damien of Molokai. Our first major stop is St. Hugo of the Hills where we will have lunch and an opportunity to view the beautiful stone chapel on their sprawling campus. We shall pay a visit to Manresa, the Jesuit retreat center. Our first day concludes at Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak where we will have dinner, confessions available, a skit about St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, a mass for those unable to make the early one, and the opportunity for Adoration in Shrine's perpetual Adoration chapel. We will be sleeping in the area.

Day 2 (June 25th) starts with morning prayer followed by Shrine's 8:30 am Mass followed by breakfast. After breakfast our journey resumes. We will stop by St. James in Ferndale for lunch. Other planned stops include St. John the Baptist Romanian Byzantine Church, Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, St. Patrick (where we will celebrate the anticipated Sunday mass), and the original site of Ste. Anne de Detroit (now denoted by a plaque).

Please consider joining us as we walk, pray, sing, and enjoy fellowship with fellow young adults.
Partial participation is allowed, so if you can do only one day, or only join us for Friday night's festivities or one of the masses that is very welcome.

More information including links to the Facebook events for day 1 and day 2 can be found at our website.

Upcoming Church Tour: June 10th

2011-06-02T23:05:00.005-04:00

Hey readers, I saw that some people found the site looking for Church tours, so I thought I should give a heads up regarding an upcoming tour.

Next weekend is the Call to Holiness conference. An optional part of the conference is a church tour on Friday June 10th. I am not sure if there are any spots available at this time, but give them a call and find out.

Call to Holiness Church Tour

All five churches have been featured here so you can get a preview on this very blog. Click on the appropriate "tag" below to see posts about the churches: St. Aloysius, Old St. Mary, Sweetest Heart of Mary, Holy Family, and Ste. Anne.

Church Festivals: St. Sebastian and St. Joan of Arc

2011-05-21T00:07:00.002-04:00

This weekend is the St. Sebastian Spring Festival.

Also the St. Joan of Arc Spring Festival.

I'm not very familiar with either of these festivals, but I would imagine that they are a lot of fun.

Check them out!

Church Festivals: St. Florian Strawberry Festival May 7-8

2011-05-07T13:18:00.006-04:00

It's Spring, so it is the beginning of Church Festival season!

I probably missed one already, but tonight starts the St. Florian Strawberry Festival!

This is as good of an excuse as any (except Holy Mass, but you can go to that too) to visit 1929's best new church! Here is the Schedule:

If you come you can see vestments of Blessed John Paul II which are on display in the Sanctuary. (Or at least they have been all week) Other features to check out are the Divine Mercy and Our Lady of Czestochowa chapels which are located off of the vestibule. I don't know if they have guided tours, but the Church will be open.

Vestments worn by JP2 in his 1987 visit to Hamtramck

I'll try to keep you all apprised of other Festivals. These festivals are a great way to support the historical and beautiful Churches of Detroit!

What are you waiting for? Get down to St. Florian!

If you would like your church's festival featured send me an e-mail or write in the comments.

Three New Auxiliary Bishops AND a Patroness! (Plus SHMS Photos)

2011-05-05T21:56:00.010-04:00

Today is a great day in Detroit! At 2pm this afternoon the liturgy of Ordination for Bishops Hanchon, Byrnes, and Cepeda began. CTND will be re-airing the Mass several times, and they stream online. At this liturgy a decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was also read declaring St. Anne the official Patroness for the Archdiocese of Detroit. (I think I'll plan on going to Ste. Anne de Detroit for her feast July 26. Archbishop Vigneron will be celebrating Mass)

While I did not attend the Ordination Mass, I did go to the reception at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Whilst there I slipped into the chapel and took some photos. I also took photos of the exterior. These were all taken with my phone.

Sacred Heart Major Seminary (from whose site I gathered much of this information) was founded in 1919 by Bishop Gallagher, and they broke ground at Linwood and Chicago 4 years later. The first ordination class was in 1930. The chapel is beautiful with it's carved oak reredos and its share of the state's largest collection of Pewabic Tile.

We'll start with an external shot as viewed from the parking lot. The website tells me the Architecture is English Tudor Gothic.

Then we'll move into the chapel and have a look at the sanctuary. I think there was just enough light and it made for a pretty shot.

We find more carved oak at the Mary altar.

Here is an example of the stained glass.*

Oh yeah I almost forgot: I rubbed elbows with the youngest Bishop (Cepeda) in the United States.

Hurray for new Bishops! Benedicamus Domino! Ste Anne, pray for us!

Links and such:

Ste Anne posts
Bishop Hanchon will remain pastor of Holy Redeemer.
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Meet the Bishops
St. Anne Patroness of Detroit Press Release

*Update: I had originally indicated that the Stained Glass had been designed by Michigan resident Margaret Bouchez Cavanaugh. She indeed designed the glass for the 2 house chapels in the resident wings but not the main chapel. Her glass was featured in the Winter 2011 Mosaic Magazine, so you can check them out there. (Starts on page 30)
Thanks to reader Tim for the correction and the tip on Mosaic.

St. Hedwig

2011-04-05T21:32:00.006-04:00

I first promised a post on St. Hedwig in the early days of this blog. I most recently visited St. Hedwig this past Friday for First Friday Mass and stations, but the pictures I will feature were actually taken on the same day I visited St. Hyacinth.

I only found out (or maybe was reminded) recently that St. Hedwig was my Grandfather's parish and is where my mother was baptized. Intrepid reader, you may have guessed that this is a Polish church and indeed it is. The best ones are!

Święta Jadwiga is the 13th century Duchess, rather than the 14th century King (yes King) of Poland. The latter was not canonized (by the Church) until 1997, so a Church founded in 1903 wouldn't be named for her. (Or would it?)

I will post a few pictures to wet your whistle, but I tell you there are scores more on the virtual tour they have on their site. I have only looked at a small portion of the tour, and I already recommend it.

St. Hedwig and her 8 year-old banners stand proudly on Junction street, .3 miles Southeast of Michigan Avenue

The usher saw me looking around and taking pictures while he prepared for the 4pm Mass. He graciously turned the lights on in the Sanctuary. The high altar really is a sight as they often are.

I like this side altar. I hadn't seen St Therese portrayed in this way in statuary. St. Therese is letting down from heaven the shower of roses assisted by the Blessed Virgin and the Christ child. The roses are in what would appear to be the burial shroud of Christ which hangs from cross. It kind of tells the whole story.

Links:

More of my pictures will be found if you start clicking through here on my Picasa album.
If you want more check out St. Hedwig's virtual tour. Again, I haven't seen all of it, but it looks pretty exhaustive.
St. Hedwig's website.
Mass Schedule

Pope Benedict appoints Auxiliary Bishops for Detroit

2011-03-22T12:20:00.006-04:00

This is exciting news.

May 5th of this year will see the ordination of 2 Detroit priests as bishops to serve as auxiliary bishops.

Our auxiliaries were depleted as they were selected to run other dioceses or retired.
Nienstedt is now St Paul/Minneapolis, Blair now Toledo, Boyea now Lansing, Hurley now Grand Rapids, Quinn now Winona, and Flores is now Brownsville, TX. Gumbleton and Anderson resigned. This is just in the last 10 years.

Joining Bishop Francis Reiss in assisting Archbishop Vigneron will be Fr. Michael Byrnes and Msgr. Donald Hanchon. Both are pastors of churches featured on this blog: Byrnes of POLOV and Hanchon of Holy Redeemer. Interestingly enough, Fr. Byrnes went to the same High School and College that I did.

Diane from Te Deum Laudamus broke the news to me, and it is on the archdiocesan website.

Notes and News 3/16/2011

2011-03-16T00:20:00.003-04:00

You may have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. I started a new job on February 28 and I am still working on the whole work/life balance. I have some activities that are finishing up so I should have more time for blogging soon.

I want to bring to your attention 2 events for this weekend:

St. Joseph Day of Prayer at Historic St. Joseph in Detroit: There is a full day of Mass, music and devotions on Saturday March 19th for the Solemnity of St. Joseph. See the full schedule on the parish website.
Monthly Mass at Historic St. Albertus: Mass will be celebrated in the Extraordinary form at Noon this Sunday March 20th. See the full mass schedule for 2011 here.

If there are any other special things going on at your parish or a Church you like to visit, send me an e-mail at 313churchblog @ gmail or put a note in the comments.

Immaculate Conception Lapeer - test

2011-02-25T02:03:00.002-05:00

This is a test to see how blogging from the droid might work. this is the facade of immaculate Conception in Lapeer, MI

St. Hyacinth, another Polish Beauty.

2011-02-22T00:25:00.006-05:00

This past Saturday I had the great pleasure of visiting St. Hyacinth. St. Hyacinth was founded in 1907 for the growing numbers of Polish immigrants in Poletown. Father Sylvester Kolkiewicz was the founding pastor. The first mass was celebrated in a house. In 1908 a combined church and school was built in 1908. The school was staffed by felicians. The present church, built in a Byzantine/Romanesque style was desugbed by the Donaldson and Meier firm and dedicated in 1924. A more detailed history is available on St. Hyacinth's website. I took much of this information written here from a pamphlet I was given by an usher after mass.

Upon entering you find that the church has been lovingly maintained and is in very good shape.
Being that the 100th anniversary was only 4 years ago, they probably did some major upkeep in the last decade.

This church stands out. Here is the beautiful Facade.

The apse above the sanctuary is painted a very pretty solid blue and features a large "medallion" which represents the sacrament of Holy Eucharist. Here you see it though it is obstructed by a light fixture.

Here is the stand-alone altar and high altar/reredos.

The church has remnants from Immaculate Conception church was razed amid controversy for the Hamtramck/Detroit GM Plant.

The second cupola features Polish saints:

To see more images, check out my Picasa album. Start Here and keep clicking.

Quick Links:

St. Hyacinth Website *Note: Weekday masses are in the Rectory. If you want to see the church, come to a Sunday Mass.
Picasa Album.
Wikipedia article on St. Hyacinth (the saint)

More St. Aloysius Photos

2011-02-12T14:27:00.004-05:00

I have added more Photos from St. Aloysius to the gallery after a visit on Tuesday.

Start browsing here.

And here are a couple.

Crypt Level Altar and Reredos:

Above door detail. Left hand entrance. "Thou wert slain and redeemed us to God with in thy blood."

Other St. Aloysius posts can be views here. The most informative would be this one.

SS. Andrew and Benedict

2011-02-07T23:43:00.004-05:00

Saints Andrew and Benedict are a pair of Slovakian Benedictine saints. Svorad-Andrew hailed from Poland and Beňadik (Slovak spelling) likely was Slovak. Both died in the 1030's. They are the namesake for a small, but pretty church on Beatrice street on Detroit's very southwest side. (Southwest of Delray, nearly in River Rouge or Ecorse.)

As you may have guessed, SS Andrew and Benedict church was historically a Slovak community. It was founded in 1924 to serve the Slovak Community. Today there are some Slovaks, but the parish prides itself on it's diverse community, and the Church features images of Saints of African/Black descent. I called the church a Frankenstein church, because it had elements from different now closed Detroit parishes, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (closed 2008) and St. John Cantius (closed 2007) being the two that I specifically remember. The community was welcoming, and one of the ladies told me from whence certain pieces came. The community remains active and has Mass everyday besides Saturday.

SS Andrew and Benedict is a small Romanesque church. The sanctuary and walls behind the side altars are a very pretty rose color, and there are nice painted features elsewhere.
Here is the Sanctuary. The Our Lady of Mt Carmel and the Infant of Prague came from OLMC Detroit. I think the reredos was also from there.

Detail of the painted wall and the image of the Holy Ghost as dove on the ceiling.

The Mary Altar. You can see on the left an image of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese-born Canossian saint. On the Right is St. Martin De Porres, the Peruvian-born son of a former slave and Third Order Dominican saint.

This angel was originally in St. John Cantius. See this one in its original location here. (FYI:Music autoplay on site)

There are plenty more photos. Start browsing here.

Quick Links:

Detroit's Blessed Sacramental Cathedral shown to National Audience

2011-02-07T12:15:00.005-05:00

There has been a lot of buzz about the Chrysler 200 commercial from Super Bowl XLV, at least on Facebook. For about a second in the video there is a shot of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral as seen from John R. So approximately 110 million people either saw it or were grabbing dip at this time.
There were a few discussions online about which church it was, and thanks to a priest's comment we were able to ascertain that it was indeed the Cathedral

0:48 is where it is.

We get close to St. Aloysius, but we don't get to see it. There is a chance that St. Al's may be in an upcoming motion picture...

Virtual Tour from the Detroit News

2011-02-01T01:23:00.005-05:00

I came across this virtual tour from this past summer on detnews.com. John T. Greilick and Michael Hodges take us to 12 churches around the city, 6 of them are Catholic and have been featured on this here blog previously

This Screen capture shows the format. The video itself is a narrated slide show with interesting information on the history, architecture, and art.

Featured Churches (with links to my posts when applicable):

New Light Baptist
Ebeneezer African Methodist Episcopal
Pilgrim Church
Messiah Church
Christ Church of Detroit
SS Peter and Paul Jesuit
St. Aloysius
Ste. Anne
St. Albertus
St. Josaphat
Sweetest Heart of Mary
First Congregational

Check it out if you so desire!

St. Florian and Polish Village Cafe

2011-01-30T20:37:00.008-05:00

We are going to step out of Detroit for a moment, but not for very long. We are still sort of in Detroit, but really in the enclave city of Hamtramck. Hamtramck at one time was 90% Polish, and still holds on to its Polish heritage (people of Polish descent still held a plurality of the population in the 2000 census) despite it now being more diverse.

In 1907/8 the first church was established in the then Village of Hamtramck. This church is St. Florian. By the mid 1920s, St. Florian had become the 2nd largest church in Detroit (Hamtramck's population increased by 1266% between the censuses of 1910 and 1920) and was in need of a new building for worship. Ralph Adams Cram was chosen for the upgrade. In terms of Ecclesiastical Architecture, Cram is kind of a big deal. The lion's share of his work was for Episcopal/Anglican churches (he was a High Church Anglican) which includes the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit. The designs of Cram and the sacrifice of the parishioners paid off and American Architect magazine chose St. Florian's as the Best new church of 1929 according to this here historical marker:

It was the best new Church in 1929, and it remains one of the best in my opinion. I have more pictures, but this is one that should be on your list for seeing in person. They have evening masses during the week, so it could be easily fit into a working person's schedule.

Here is the sanctuary at St. Florian. I visited on January 18th, so of course it was still decorated for Christmas.

This shot of the Sanctuary lamp gives also a glimpse of the detail on the Reredos. I think these reliefs are carved wood.

St. Florian and St. Maximilian Kolbe are on the back wall:

Facade on a snowy night:

St. Florian has produced a book for their 100th anniversary. It looks rather handsome and full of great pictures, but it is pricey at $50. If you are interested in this parish and its history, this may be a nice addition to your library.

While you are in Hamtramck, how could you NOT want to have some Polish food? I naturally headed over to the Polish Village Cafe which is on Yemans street. Once a cellar beer garden in a gentlemen's hotel, it has been the restaurant since 1976. The gołabki are great, but I didn't have any on the night I stopped in. I opted for the fresh sausage in beer sauce. When the waiter asked if I would like horseradish, I nearly burst with excitement. Love me some horseradish. The main course was great, but it really shared billing with the cup of dill pickle soup. You simply must try it.

Quick Links:

St. Florian Website
Polish Village Cafe Website
More Images from St. Florian (Start here and click the right arrow to view the next Keep clicking until they are no longer St. Florian images, or keep going...)

Photo Album

2011-01-27T00:23:00.003-05:00

The Detroit Church Blog Picasa Album has gone live!

I have it more or less organized by church, and it includes additional pictures not seen in the blog posts themselves.

There is also a slide show in the sidebar.

Check it out!

Assumption Grotto

2011-01-26T00:27:00.007-05:00

The last stop on the church tour was Assumption Grotto. The parish was founded in the 1830s and is the 2nd oldest in Detroit. The current church is the 4th and was built in 1929 at the cost of $250,000.

A feature we were unable to see due to the weather is the exact replica of the Grotto at Lourdes. (source)

In 1876, [Reverend Amandus Vandendriessche, pastor] visited Lourdes to make his devotions to Our Lady and he was so inspired that he resolved to build a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes behind the church so that his fellow Americans could worship at an outdoor shrine. Despite many obstacles, the Grotto was formally dedicated on May 29, 1881. On April 30, 1882, Pope Leo XIII signed a proclamation authorizing the shrine for devotions and granted partial and plenary indulgences for all who visited the Grotto and prayed for the propagation of the faith. This privilege remains.

An active parishioner, Diane K, keeps a blog of current Catholic events as well as photos from parish events and masses. The blog is Te Deum Laudamus. I'll be posting my own photos here, but for more of this church, see her Smugmug page.

Assumption Grotto is a parish that embraces the liturgical and musical patrimony of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Mass is celebrated in the extraordinary form daily. Gregorian Chant and Latin are obviously given pride of place. Orchestral Masses are performed for major feasts. For Christmas 2010 the music was Mozart's Missa Longa.

Assumption Grotto is a bit less ornate than the other churches on the tour. This may be partially due to the era in which it was built - the Great Depression. It is still rather beautiful in its simplicity, and architecturally speaking it is still grand. Here is the sanctuary.

Marian side altar.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Heading out onto Gratiot.

Holy Cross Hungarian

2011-01-21T01:54:00.004-05:00

Holy Cross Hungarian, one of the stops on the January 7 church tour, is located in the Delray neighborhood of Detroit. It was established May 8 1905, and the current church was dedicated in 1925. Pride in Magyar history and culture is evident in this the only Hungarian church in Michigan. Images of several Hungarian Saints are throughout the church.

The parish is currently under the care of 2 Hungarian Franciscan Friars who were first assigned in 1994. If you are interested in more of the history, the website features a timeline for the parish. The website also features several photo galleries for your viewing pleasure.

Speaking of photos...

Here is the facade of this 86 year-old church:

Up top on the blue field you may recognize the red, white, and green of the Hungarian flag. Below that is one of the 15 beautiful murals depicting mysteries of the rosary. This depiction of the Annunciation (1st Joyful Mystery) as well as the other 14 were painted in the late 1940's by Paul Daubner.

Behind the altar the 5 great Hungarian saints are depicted in stained glass.
Stephen, Emery, Ladislaus, Elizabeth, and Margaret are joined also by Peter and Paul and a depiction of the crucifixion. There is one more, but it's not visible, and I don't remember who it is. (Left to Right: Elizabeth, Ladislaus, Peter, Paul, Steven, Emory, not shown: Margaret and mystery saint) Above the stained glass is a mural of the crucifixion (5th Sorrowful mystery)

Everywhere the eye can see the church is painted beautifully. Here is the ceiling where the transept and the nave meet.

The High altar and Reredos are a sight as well. Here is a more detailed view:

Venerable Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty had visited the Church twice before he died in exile in Vienna in 1975. He was a fierce opponent of communism which got him into trouble a few times to say the least. This plaque in the vestibule commemorates his visits to Holy Cross.

I'll leave you with a statue of St. Elizabeth.

Holy Cross has Mass at 9am Sunday-Friday, 4pm Saturday, and 11am Sunday (in Hungarian). This gives you plenty of opportunities to visit, and I recommend that you do. This is a true beauty.

Return to Holy Redeemer

2011-01-19T01:49:00.011-05:00

This is another Church we have already visited, but I have some new information a pictures, I would like to share.

First: the Romanesque church is based on St. Paul outside the Walls. I see the similarity in the ceiling squares, but the similarities don't end there.

Here we have a better picture of the mural of Christ our Redeemer. The picture in the previous post suffered from bad lighting.

Being a Parish with some Redemptorist history, they of course are devoted to Our Mother of Perpetual Help.

The tour guide (HR's music director) let a few of us into the Bell Tower chapel.
The chapel is very small and is more or less a baptistery, but from what I heard, it was kind of an afterthought made with excess materials.

Altar:

Mosaic of Our Lord's Baptism:

Baptismal font:

Over the threshold, Meta Noeite (Greek for Repent):

This should conclude the "repeats" section from the church tour. I have two new churches to feature from the tour, and I have visited two more since the tour, so we'll have some new content over the next week or so.

Quick Links:

Ste. Anne Revisited.

2011-01-15T14:31:00.019-05:00

I had posted on Ste. Anne de Detroit before, but I was in the chapel. On the church tour I was in the main church, and here are some photos from that evening.

The facade in snowy twilight:

Statue of Ste. Anne and the implements left behind by those healed through her intercession:

High Altar, reredos, and free standing altar (behind the flowers)

Details:Pew ends, Fleur-de

Lis in Santuary Floor (remember the French roots), A and J (Anne and Joachim)

This is above the sink in the sacristy. The Latin means: "All employees must wash hands before returning to work"*

*Not really Here is a (not literal, but well-worded) translation I found on wikipedia: "Give virtue to my hands, O Lord, that being cleansed from all stain I might serve you with purity of mind and body. "

Programming notes:
Continuing in our revisiting of previously viewed parishes, we will next have some new images from Holy Redeemer. Speaking of which, I am the number 1 google hit for this search:

"jack white" holy redeemer

I have hit over 1000 views. Yay! You may start seeing advertisements as a means to generate some modest income. We'll see.

Links:

Return to St. Albertus

2011-01-13T00:54:00.011-05:00

The second stop of the Church tour was St. Albertus. I have already posted on St. Abertus twice, but I have some more detailed photos and a few more tidbits to share. St. Albertus is a gothic Church in a medieval style full of color with its several painted plaster features including the stations of which one is shown here:

The church seats an astonishing 2500, but the pews have walls in the middle so you can't get from aisle to aisle through the pews except at the front or the back. This is because that is where the steam pipes run. ~3/4 of the Church has no basement or crawlspace so they couldn't go underneath.

According to the pamphlet they had in the church, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla was the main celebrant for a Mass on August 12 1976. 2 years, 2 months, and 4 days later he would be elected Pope. Here is the Stand-alone Altar (at which Wojtyla would have said mass) and the Main Altar/Reredos:

When the parish closed in 1990, the statue of St. Hedwig was sent to a St. Hedwig in Toledo. Apparently the statue in repose creeped out some of the parishioners down there and the Polish American Historical Site Association (PAHSA) was able to get her back. Here she lies underneath the Marian altar:

Your next opportunity to visit St Albertus is January 23rd at noon. Mass will be said in the Extraordinary Form by Fr. Borkowski. See the full Mass and event schedule here.

There are manifold other things I could say and pictures I could post, but I don't want to go on too long. I will make an attempt at organizing these and additional photos with informative captions in my Picasa album. This project will continue to develop, but we will see where this goes.

Quick Links:

St Albertus/PAHSA official site: http://www.stalbertusdetroit.org/
Masses and Events at St. Albertus in 2011
My previous posts about St. Albertus: 1 2

Post Church Tour Update

2011-01-08T11:36:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was the Church tour, and it was a long day. Over 12 hours of riding buses and visiting churches. The snow was beautiful, but it did drag out the day a little bit. Unfortunately for me, I was foiled again from visiting St. Hedwig, and only got to see 1 new church. Fortunately, I did get some new information and over 100 photos. We will be revisiting Ste. Anne, St. Albertus and Holy Redeemer with photo posts. The new church was Holy Cross Hungarian so expect a post on that one shortly. I had been to Assumption Grotto, but not since the re-inception of this blog, so there will be a post for that as well.

I'd like to get to St. Hyacinth and/or St. Hedwig this week. We'll see.

Now enjoy my attempt at arsty photography from Sweetest Heart of Mary's courtyard.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T15:06:00.006-05:00

Hello, over Christmastide I have been delinquent in posting, but I hope to get some new posts up this week.

I bid you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Here is the Creche at Sweetest Heart of Mary:

Celebrate Christmas in the D!

2010-12-20T16:04:00.007-05:00

UPDATED 12-24. See note for midnight Mass at the Cathedral with Apostolic Blessing. Note also that Midnight mass at St. Albertus will be in the ordinary form in English.

Many of the beautiful Churches in Detroit will be celebrating Holy Mass for Christmas. Maybe you could start a new tradition of visiting one of these beautiful Churches.

Christmas Midnight Masses:
St. Joseph: Midnight Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Tridentine Latin) *I will be at this one

Missa Brevis in G by W. A. Mozart
Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd
sung and performed by the St. Joseph Cappella, Soloists, and Chamber Orchestra
(preludes begin at 11:30)

Old St. Mary's: Midnight Mass in the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo)

Masses at 5:30 p.m. and 12:00 Midnight.
Music for Midnight Mass begins at 11:00 pm.

Carol Procession & Blessing of the Crib -11:40 p.m.

UPDATE: St. Albertus: Midnight Mass in the Ordinary Form (English) ( Not EF as originally reported. Thanks to AlexB for the tip.)

December 24 2010 - Pasterka - Midnight Mass doors open at 11:00pm

Assumption Grotto: Midnight Mass in the Extraordinary Form (Tridentine Latin)

12:00 midnight Tridentine Solemn orchestral Mass. (The 4:00p.m. and Midnight Masses do fulfill the obligation for Christmas). The Midnight Mass will feature Mozart’s Missa Longa and CPE Bach’s Magnificat.

Sacred Heart (Detroit) will have a 10:30 "Christmas Musical" and Midnight Mass. It says 11:30, I am not sure if that is when mass starts or if there is more music/carols at 11:30 with an actual mass start at 12.

I will update this post with more Midnight Mass opportunities during the week. If you have an suggestions or tips, leave them in the comments.

So I never really updated. Sorry, but here is a BIG one!

After Midnight Mass at the Cathedral, Archbishop Vigneron will impart the Apostolic Blessing!
The Michigan Catholic has the details. We're talking a plenary indulgence here folks, a great opportunity. Remember that the usual conditions apply. It's all in the article.

St. Toribio Icon

2010-12-20T00:39:00.002-05:00

I like to check the blogger stats including Google search terms and referring sites. Someone found me by searching Gorman Gillis. (Mentioned in the Holy Redeemer post)

Someone else found the blog because my picture is number one when you search St. Toribio Icon on Google image search. Tucked down on that image search there was a blog post about the writer of the Icon in question. Check it out and make those pictures number 1!

Oh, and how the heck is this one of my referring sites?

One last thing. I enjoy seeing the international visitors. Welcome to the recent Slovenian visitors, or rather I should say dobrodošli!

Church Tour January 7th!

2010-12-19T23:59:00.004-05:00

Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church (Sterling Heights) is running a Detroit Church Tour on January 7th to benefit their Youth Choir. It features many churches about which I have written. I have added the links to the posts to their blurb below.

From saintcyrils.org:

JANUARY 7 * TOUR OF DETROIT AREA HISTORIC CHURCHES
On Friday, January 7th, we will spend a full day traveling to and visiting historic Churches in the Detroit area with our Youth Choir. All of the Churches will especially be decorated for the Christmas Season. The motorcoach will depart from the Shrine Of The Little Flower Parking Lot, located at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and 12 Mile Rd. in Royal Oak, at 10:00AM and return to Shrine Of The Little Flower at 9:00PM. Planned Churches to visit include Shrine Of the Little Flower, St. Albertus, Sweetest Heart Of Mary, St. Joseph, Old St. Mary, Holy Cross Hungarian, Holy Redeemer, St. Anne, St. Hedwig, and Assumption Grotto. There will be the opportunity to attend Holy Mass. Entire cost of the trip including a delicious lunch buffet in Mexican town is $35 per person. Reservation deadline is December 21. For reservations and more information, please call: Michael Semaan at (248) 250-6005.

I picked up a flier after mass today, and on that the deadline is written as December 29th, so you may have more time than written above. Of the 4 churches for which I haven't written a post, I haven't been to Hedwig (came close) or Holy Cross, so I am looking forward to getting to those.

If you can give up a whole Friday, this is a wonderful opportunity to see some of the History and Beauty for yourself up close. Plus, these Churches will all still be decked out in their Christmastide splendor. (Including St Joseph which I helped decorate :D) Consider attending!

Presentation / Our Lady of Victory

2010-12-14T23:42:00.011-05:00

At Meyers and Pembroke (about a half mile south of 8 Mile) is Presentation / Our Lady of Victory. As you might gather the facade as pictured above, it is the Presentation of Mary. The Parish was formed in 1973 when Presentation and Our Lady of Victory merged.

Presentation as I heard was a Caucasian parish, and their edifice was chosen to serve the merged community. The story of Presentation starts in 1941 according to Make Straight the Path, but I haven't been able to find much more information on this part of the merger.

The folks I met with after the Tuesday Noon Communion service (The parish is administered by Deacon Hubert Sanders, but Fr. Michael Byrnes comes for Sunday Mass) were much more familiar with the story of Our Lady of Victory, and some of them were even around during the early years of the community. Deacon Hubert also grew up in the OLV Community.

Our Lady of Victory's story begins in a store front on 8 mile in 1943. The founding pastor was Fr. Alvin Deem OFM. Another key figure in the founding of the Our Lady of Victory Mission was Anna 'Madre' Bates who is honored by having a hall named for her. There is certainly much more of a story to tell, and Shirley Slaughter, a parishioner aimed to tell it in her book Our Lady of Victory: The Saga of an African-American Catholic Community. I have not read the book, but it is probably a good read on the subject of the history of Black Catholics in the 20th century.

The building itself dates probably from the mid to late 40s, probably with a renovation in the 70s. As a result we have a more simple Church building and a different style of artwork than we've seen in my previous entries. The Stations of the cross are nearly identical to those I saw at Holy Family.

On to the pictures:

The Sanctuary is simple and tasteful.

I was a little surprised to see St. Joseph up in the choir loft, but there he was as 12:42.

Stained glass reprentations of the Nativity and the Presentation of Our Lord
Note also the stations.

Station from Holy Family

Plaques and certificates honoring Anna 'Madre' Bates

POLOV on a winter's day.

Their sign on Meyers says "All are welcome." The folks I met there today made me feel welcome, and they will do the same to you as well if you ever drop in. They are small but active community, and I am glad I visited. Thanks for your hospitality and the story of your parish.

St. Aloysius feature in Tridentine Community News

2010-12-09T14:30:00.002-05:00

I wanted to bring to your attention, dear reader, an article in the Tridentine Community News about St. Aloysius which I featured recently.

It discusses the Theater-like architecture of the edifice and has a couple nice pictures.

More issues of this weekly page can be viewed here.

Holy Redeemer and El Comal

2010-12-09T00:46:00.010-05:00

At Vernor and Junction in/near the area known as Mexicantown, there is Holy Redeemer of the Southwest Vicariate. This is another huge one, and a must see for anyone interested in churches in the city.

The Parish was founded in 1880 to serve the Irish and Germans in the area. Consulting Make Straight the Path, I see that the Parish was first formed with the arrival of Fr. Aegidius Smulders, CSSR on St. Patrick's day of that year. Mass was held at a general store for 6 weeks, then at Paddy McMahon's Saloon, but finally 4 acres at Dix (now Vernor) and Junction were purchased for the parish.

The parish grew quickly, and the current church building (by the Donaldson and Meier Firm which we have mentioned before) was the third edifice built by the parish. It was dedicated in 1923.

Other tidbits regarding Holy Redeemer.

In the 1930s Holy Redeemer's Fr. Higgins pioneered ministry to the deaf community. By 1941 Bishop Mooney asked Holy Redeemers Redemptorist Fathers to assume the responsibility for all of the Archdiocese's deaf Catholics.
Holy Redeemer was the setting for the 1987 film the Rosary Murders starring Donald Sutherland and also contained an uncredited John Gillis playing an Altar Boy. John Gillis is better known by his current name Jack White.
The main altar (I assume they mean the free-standing one) was originally from Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, installed for the 1987 visit of Pope John Paul II. It was given to Holy Redeemer in 2003. For some reason it had no relics in it, but recently the following relics were installed: Redemptorist Saints Alphonsus Liguori, Clement Hofbauer, and Gerard Majella, and St. Toribio Romo, a 20th century Mexican martyr (more on him later). The Redemptorist relics were a gift from Teresa and Gorman Gillis, and yes they are Jack White's parents. The story was in the most recent parish bulletin. That makes Jack White 2 degrees from St. Alphonsus Liguori right?

I went to the 11:15 Mass with Perpetual Help devotions and took a few photos after.

The complex is imposing to say the least. Not seen here is the school (Cristo Rey) or convent.

St. Toribio Romo. I can't say I've seen a caution sign in an Icon before.
It is said that he helps Mexicans make the treacherous trek into the US from Mexico.
That probably has something to do with this peculiar iconography.

Some repairs are needed, such as this torn Station.

HUGE image of Our Lord over the sanctuary.

Now that you have yourself in this predominately Hispanic area, you can imagine that you would be able to find some good Latin American cuisine. I stopped into El Comal, and found Pupusas on the menu. A couple friends went to El Salvador, so I had heard of these little treats, and I was eager to try them. Really good! I suggest you go to El Comal and try the Pupusas, especially the cheese and loroco one!

Quick Links:

YOU ARE INVITED

2010-12-07T16:19:00.002-05:00

I went to Holy Redeemer (and El Comal) today. I'll post more later, but I wanted to extend an invitation!

Holy Family (Greektown)

2010-12-06T22:54:00.010-05:00

If you miss the turn onto Lafayette for Old St. Mary's, you'll pass the much smaller, but still quite beautiful Holy Family on the Chrysler service drive. If it is 9:20 on a Sunday morning, you just may be able to find a parking spot in front of the Church. If you can't, be prepared to walk a block or two. Mass is at 9:30 and is celebrated in the Ordinary Form aka Novus Ordo, but in Latin. In an interesting case of cross-pollination that Fr. Z might call the gravitational pull, or the New Liturgical Movement might call "Reform of the Reform" the following was observed:

The Mass was Ad Orientem (Liturgically speaking. Geographically the altar actually faces West)
During the elevation of the blessed sacrament the servers (2 old men) lifted the chasuble as is done in the Extraordinary Form.
The posture of the laity resembled that of the EF: Much of the congregation knelt at the beginning of the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei. Kneeling during the blessing as well.
Reception of the Eucharist was at the Communion Rail.

The first and last example aren't all that extraordinary to me, but seeing the lifting of the Chasuble (which was Gothic, not Roman by the way) was new to me.

Holy Family was officially established in 1908 to serve the Sicilian population in Detroit. Google books has the book published in 2008 for the 100th anniversary. A quick read through the introduction shows that this parish has as interesting a history as many of the others in the city. I suggest you read it or at least scroll through the book to see the many historical photographs.

The Church, currently under administration of the Spiritans who run nearby St. Mary's, is visually stunning. They really packed a lot into a small worship space.

Mass is said at the High Altar, and there isn't much room to add a free-standing altar.

San Giusseppe

There were many Statues of Mary, but this picture of Madonna delle Lacrime (Our Lady of Tears) in the Vestibule turned out the best. The reliquary contains a cloth which I would assume touched the original image in Siracusa, Sicily if not the tears from it.

The Eyes Have it: Santa Lucia, who is also from Siracusa, Sicily.

San Vito, the patron of Dogs and dancers, was also Sicilian.

The Ceiling is painted beautifully with Saints and scenes of the Holy Family.
On the upper right of this photo you'll spot our old friend St. Therese.

Quick Links:

Google searches.

2010-12-05T02:43:00.003-05:00

And answers:

"st joseph's church,detroit, christmas eve mass 2010"

Here's what you want, and more!

Saturday, December 25, 2010
Solemnity of Christmas
Midnight Latin Tridentine Mass
Weihnachts-Responsorien with orchestra – Michael Haydn (11:30 PM Featured Prelude)
Mass in G with orchestra – W. A. Mozart
Dominus dixit – Gregorian chant
Laetentur caeli – Gregorian chant
Ave Verum – William Byrd
In splendoribus – Gregorian chant
O Magnum Mysterium – Tomas Luis de Victoria

Yeah, you definitely want to be there, Google user a.

"when is a good time to go to christmas eve mass at old st marys in detroit mi"

Well, Google user b, according to the events calendar on the OSM website, Carols will be at 11:30 pm, blessing of the Crib at 11:45 pm, and Mass at Midnight. I've never been, but I would imagine getting there at 11:15 would be a good idea. Or get there at 11 and pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary in preparation. Or put a coat on your pew at 10:30 then play some Roulette next door. (I think the Rosary plan is better.)

I'm glad you found this little blog, and I hope you come back and find the answer for which you were looking!

Lame non-post post (plus Ste. Claire! )

2010-12-05T02:14:00.002-05:00

So... St Hedwig's canceled their first Friday Mass this month. Thankfully we were able to catch Mass at Sweetest Heart of Mary with several Deacons of the AOD.

So, no new material to post. Hopefully I can get up early enough to see something new tomorrow!

Check out this picture of Ste. Claire from the Detroit Public Library on Woodward across the street from the DIA.

Notes and News 12-03-2010

2010-12-03T00:43:00.003-05:00

St. Elizabeth does NOT have a 7:45pm Mass on Thursdays. AOD, please update your internets!

Here is a nice little blog about St. Josaphat and other Extraordinary Form mass news. Nice pictures.

Next post should be about St. Hedwig. Judging by the photos on the website this parish should be a treat. I plan on attending their first Friday Mass at 5:30pm. Can't come? Check out the virtual tour!

Old St. Mary's (Greektown) and Golden Fleece

2010-12-01T16:43:00.011-05:00

Considering the dearth* of churches named for St. Andrew in the Archdiocese, I decided to go to Old St. Mary's in Greektown on November 30. They have a daily 12:15 Mass. (Confessions are heard before every Mass as well.) Andrew is a name of Greek origin, so it made sense to go to Greektown.

St. Mary's is another historical beauty in the Renaissance Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Detroit. The parish is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year. The current Church building is celebrating its 125th. I really appreciate the fact that they put a pamphlet in the back of the church which a short history and a numbered guide of the sights in the Church. Statues aren't always labeled and sometimes we have no idea at whose image we are looking. If you go to OSM, be sure to pick up the white and blue pamphlet. It goes into great detail into the history of the parish, the building and its effects, and the organ. I used it as a reference for the historical information within this post.

The story starts in 1834 when Fr Martin Kundig founded a parish (the third in the city) to tend for the Catholics arriving from Neustadt, Germany. The first Church was consecrated in 1843 under the title of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Fr. Skolla, a Franciscan, was in charge at that time. In 1847, the Redemptorists took over the care of the parish, but were replaced by Franciscans in 1872. The Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans) began administering to the parish and still do to this day.

The current Church building was completed in 1885. It is a massive structure now in the shadows of the Greektown Casino Hotel. I managed a few pictures during and after Holy Mass.

During the Homily. The High Altar is situated to the East.

It's the ceiling. Fresco of our lady at the intersection of the transepts and nave.

St. Anthony Altar with St. Rita and St. Therese of Lisieux

The Sacred Heart altar was rebuilt after a fire on Good Friday of 1994.
SS. Philomena and Barbara flank our Lord, and to the left is Good St. Joseph.

High Altar again. Communion rail is in use, by the way.
St. Stephen and St. Elizabeth of Hungary flank Our Lady.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the three Grottoes at this church. I'll provide a picture from each.

Gethsemane Grotto

Lourdes Grotto (Remember that the Church was founded under the Immaculate Conception, which was dogmatically defined in 1854. In 1858 Our Lady of Lourdes introduced herself to Bernadette Soubirous as the Immaculate Conception)

Grotto depicting the Baptism of Our Lord.

There are plenty of options in Greektown for food. I stopped at the Golden Fleece, mostly because of the name. Who doesn't like a place named after Jason's quest? The souvlaki was decent, but kind of pricey for what it was. For a cheaper meal, go to Plaka which is more like a Coney Island. There are also Pegasus, Pizzapapalis, Fishbones, etc. etc. If coffee and a pastry are more your thing, you might want to go to Astoria Bakery.

*There is 1: St Andrew's in Rochester whose mass was too early for when I woke up. There is also SS. Andrew and Benedict which most likely refers to St. Andrew Svorad and his disciple Benedict and St. Andrew Kim who is also not the apostle.

St. Josaphat Pictures (and one at St. Joseph)

2010-11-28T13:15:00.010-05:00

I went to Mass this morning at St. Josaphat and brought my camera this time.

St. Joseph Altar at St. Josaphat

High Altar, Altar Boy snuffing out candles.

St. Josaphat with the axe of his martyrdom.

View from the pew.

Mary Altar.

St. Therese is everywhere.

This is Mass at St. Joseph

St. Aloysius and State Deli

2010-11-26T13:54:00.006-05:00

St. Aloysius (named for the Jesuit Aloysius Gonzaga) is a bit of an oasis in downtown Detroit nestled among the skyscrapers of Washington Street. St. Aloysius was founded in 1873 when Bishop Borgess purchased "Westminster Presbyterian Church" which was constructed in 1860. In 1877 St. Aloysius supplanted SS. Peter and Paul as the Cathedral for the diocese of Detroit. This was likely an easy transition for Bishop Borgess who lived across the street. The site of Bishop Borgess's home is "now occupied by the Book building." (Make Straight the Path, 72)

In March of 1916, the Church started a noon daily Mass to accommodate the workers of this business district, and this Mass continues to this day. It was on Tuesday of Thanksgiving week that I met a friend who works nearby for Mass and a meal.

This picture hardly does St. Aloysius justice. St. Al's has 3 levels, the loft you can see and the main floor, but behind the daily mass altar there is a semicircular hole looking down to the crypt level of the church. Above the high altar is a large mosaic of Christ the Good Shepherd.

The church as it stands today was constructed in 1930 by the Donaldson and Meier Firm who did the Chancery building to the left 4 years previous as well as Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

The parish has been under the care of the Franciscans since 1992.

After 12:15 Mass you can head next door to the State Deli and Grocery for a Deli Sandwich or even a burger and fries. If it's nice out Washington Street is a really nice area to sit outside and eat. You could also head down to Michigan and Lafayette and go to American or Lafayette Coney Island, but I didn't want to ignite any debate by choosing sides, so I've left that choice up to you, dear reader.

The book I referenced heavily for this post is Make Straight the Path: A 300-year Pilgrimage, Archdiocese of Detroit. This 12"x12" coffee table book is filled with the stories of the Churches of the Archdiocese and contains many beautiful pictures. The link above is to Amazon, and is the one the AOD provides, but you can probably find it in area Catholic Bookstores. There is a book store next to St. Aloysius in the former Chancery building. How convenient!

St. Albertus Pictures

2010-11-20T01:05:00.004-05:00

My friend DC took some pictures at St. Albertus. Here they are.

Holy Mass being celebrated in the Extraordinary form by Fr. Lee Acervo.

Here I stand in front of this fine edifice.

Sweetest Heart of Mary and Milano Cafe

2010-11-19T14:57:00.009-05:00

Sweetest Heart of Mary is a bit of a Felix Culpa - not quite on par with the necessary sin of Adam but a happy fault nonetheless. The origins of this beautiful Cathedral-like church are steeped in controversy. Investigations, marches on the Bishop Borgess' residence, warring factions of Poles, interdict, schism, you name it.

From the SHM Website:

"On June 5, 1892, a cornerstone-laying ceremony presided over by a 'bishop' of dubious antecedents took place. On December 24, 1893, Christmas Eve, the church was officially dedicated with great pomp and circumstance by a so-called Old Catholic bishop, Joseph Rene Vilatte."

Thankfully,

"On February 18, 1894, in a memorable ceremony, he and his congregation were officially received into the Diocese of Detroit."

The story doesn't end there, so read the whole history. You can also go on virtual tour with images with good descriptions of the manifold beautiful features of this church.

Pictures? Pictures:

St. Michael

Inside.

St. Therese

The high altar with matching free-standing altar.

60' x 30' Stained Glass depicting the Holy Family
(dimensions come from Discovering Stained Glass in Detroit By Nola Huse Tutag, Lucy Hamilton)

Be sure to check out the parish website's photos, and get down here for Mass sometime! Every Friday there is a noon Mass followed by Devotions to the Sacred Heart and Benediction. Here is the rest of the schedule and a who's who of the parish.

After Mass you can drive down to Mack and Russell and stop at the Milano Cafe. You can get a sandwich with your choice of side and a pickle for anywhere form 3.50 (Grilled Cheese) to 7.99 (Meat-laden behemoths). I got the Charlie on Rye, which is a tuna melt. It wasn't the best sandwich, I've ever had or anything, but it was good enough. They also have pizza and plenty of bakery treats. The counter staff was young and friendly. The place was neat and tidy. Not a bad place to go for a lunch, but they close early, so get your dinner elsewhere. Apparently it is the largest hearth bakery in Michigan, and they also baked the bread for the Guinness world record largest sandwich. Al Gore is also fan of this joint apparently. They had an autographed photo on the wall.

SS Peter and Paul (Jesuit) and Jacoby's

2010-11-18T14:48:00.011-05:00

The church I visited today is the answer to the trivia question, "What is the oldest continuously used church building in Detroit?" The edifice has been standing since 1848, and it was at that time the Cathedral, the Seat of Bishop Peter Paul Lefevere. (Did he name it after himself?)

See the full history of Sts. Peter and Paul Jesuit here. The church has been run by the Jesuits since it was handed over to them by Bishop Borgess in 1877 in return for starting what is now the University of Detroit-Mercy. The law school is still adjacent to the church.

Daily Mass is celebrated at the side of the church upon a roll-away altar. I came today hoping to celebrate the Optional Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilicas of SS Peter and Paul (white text on black... sorry),but it was instead the Optional ( in the US) Memorial of St. Rose Phillipine Duchesne. She seems pretty awesome. Ora Pro Nobis!

So I suppose you are wondering what it looks like.

The High altar, the stand-alone altar and tabernacle not in use for daily mass.
The altar is flanked of course by Peter and Paul. Above the Altar
and around the entire Church is the name of Jesus in several languages.
Jesuits like that guy.

Side Altars. Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary "Behold your Mother"
This is apparently before the proliferation of St. Joseph altars
on the right-hand side (facing the high altar). Anyone know the
history of Side Altars dedicated to St. Joseph? The shift must have
happened in the latter half of the 19th Century...

Here is where they celebrate daily Mass. The Eucharist
is reserved here at the side of the Church.

Sts. Mark, Andrew and Philip. You can see also the
continuing multi-lingual names of Jesus.

Ste. Therese of Lisieux in the Marble Vestibule.

After Mass you could head across St. Aubin St. to visit Nathan's Deli, but I decided to walk a couple blocks and head to Jacoby's, a 106 year-old German Restaurant and Bar. In addition to to German cuisine you get your burger and fries here too. I got the Sausage Soup and a bowl of Oma's recipe Saurkraut. Not bad for a $6 dollar meal. (tax and tip to 7.50) This would definitely be a good place to go with a crowd of up to 8 or 10 for dinner and beers. They have some counter-top-type tables with plenty of stools. They also have rock acts upstairs sometimes. I saw The Pizazz there once. Jacoby's is around the corner from St. Andrew's Hall and a short walk from Greektown and probably worth a stop in with their good eats and large selection of taps.

St. Joseph and Supino Pizzeria

2010-11-17T11:36:00.011-05:00

St. Joseph at 1828 Jay street is my parish. The 12:10 Wednesday mass is followed by Novena prayers to St. Joseph, Benediction, and veneration of a relic of this just man. St. Joseph is a powerful intercessor, perhaps you should foster a devotion to him?

St. Joseph is a historically German church located just south of Eastern Market. It is visible, but not accessible from Gratiot. The Parish website has an excellent page describing the history of the parish and the Church's architecture. The Church was dedicated 133 years ago yesterday, but it went under a few upgrades since then as you can see in the linked page. A fellow parishioner runs a blog about St. Joseph. I linked it in the side bar. Check it out!

I took some pictures today.

Memorial of Pastor Friedland shows the original and 'current' churches.

All masses at St. Joseph are said Ad Orientem
Fr. Czarnota said Mass (Novus Ordo English) today
and was assisted by Deacon Stimpson.

The St. Joseph Altar

One of my favorite features is the stained glass.
Behind the altar are pairs of bishops with pithy
pro-Papal sayings. Ubi Petrus Ibi Ecclesia
Where Peter is, there is the Church.

I like to sit under my name sake.

Here is the high altar after Mass.
Yes, we do use the communion rails. :)

The pictures make this long, but I do want to mention the meal part! After Mass I went to Supino Pizzeria on Russel at the south end of the Eastern Market. Staffed by hipsters sporting ironic mustaches and t-shirts (The African-American gentleman who served me wore this t-shirt.), they serve up some delicious thin-crust New York style pizza. I got 2 slices of cheese 'za and a pop for $6.10. One of their specialty pizzas is the Bizmarck which has fried eggs and Prosciutto on it. Anyone want to get one with me? I definitely want to go back. The decor is pretty cool too. I was sitting on a stool at a refurbished work bench. There was also a giant spoon made out of spoons. This would be a great spot after Mass at St. Joseph, St. Josaphat, or Sweetest Heart of Mary, but they are closed on Sunday. Perfect for a stop after a noon weekday Mass since the lunch rush is over. Not sure what the name is about. I didn't have to lie supine to eat my pizza.

The Grandmammy of them All - Ste. Anne de Detroit

2010-11-17T00:38:00.006-05:00

Grandmammy in 2 senses. St. Anne of course is the mother of Mary, which makes her the Grandmother of Jesus Christ our Lord. Ste Anne de Detroit is the oldest parish in Detroit being that it was founded in 1701. The current building however was erected in 1886 making it younger than the Church which I will discuss tomorrow.

Ste. Anne is the 2nd oldest continuously running parish in the United States, so naturally there is a lot of history here. One of her most famous pastors was Fr. Gabriel Richard whose body lies in the chapel where they have daily mass which I attended on November 16th. Featured in the chapel is the altar which Fr. Gabriel Richard used. I doubt the swimming Jesus resurrectifix was around in Fr. Gabe's day. Among other things he founded the University of Michigan and coined the city's motto: Speramus meliora; resurget cineribus. We hope for better things; it will rise from the ashes. He should know. The church of Ste. Anne burned down in 1703, 1714 (on purpose), and 1805. Check the wikipedia link above or the parish web site for history.

The 5:15 Mass time would naturally be followed by dinner. After Mass you have several options for a meal, and if you are into Mexican or other Latin cuisine, you are in the right place. Mexican Town is just down the street. I however went the Guatemalan route and went to Pollo Chapin on Junction Street Between Vernor and Toledo. They are best known for their fried chicken, but their other dishes are pretty good as well. I recommend the macaroni and cheese and the cabbage and jalapeño salad. I also recommend that you do not fear the jar on the table. Enjoy the pickled vegetables! I put them in the soup and would eat it plain. For $2.50 you can take some home! All the meals are served with a hearty chicken noodle soup, and at least today was followed by sopapillas with honey and cinnamon.

YUM!

St. Josaphat

2010-11-17T00:13:00.004-05:00

St. Josaphat is the third Polish Catholic church in Detroit, but the second that was actually legitimately founded under the diocese. (Sweetest Heart of Mary is the second Polish catholic parish founded, but... we can cover that in its own post.)

From 2004-2007 St. Josaphat had been the epicenter for the Tridentine Mass in Detroit, but since the promulgation of Summorum Pontificum I think it has shifted northeast a little bit to Assumption Grotto where they have an Extraordinary Form Mass daily. St. Josaphat still has at least 2 EF Masses every week. Lately I have been going to the Monday evening Low Mass, and this past Monday was no exception. The previous day (Nov 14th) was the feast of St. Josaphat in the EF calendar so the large portrait of St. Josaphat above the high altar was being displayed. It usually is covered by an image of Our Lady of Częstochowa. I didn't have my camera, so I was unable to take a picture, but it's very nice, and in the painting he is in the sartorial splendor of an Eastern (Ruthenian Byzantine) Bishop. At his feet lies an axe, the tool of his martyrdom. His people were ticked off at him because he was seeking unity with Rome. So they killed him. Hit with an axe, then shot, then thrown in the river. Read more on him in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

St. Josaphat is clustered with the aforementioned Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Joseph, both of which will be featured at some point.

St. Albertus

2010-11-14T23:54:00.004-05:00

Sunday the 14th of November 2010, I heard Holy Mass at St. Albertus at St. Aubin and Canfield in Detroit. The Mass was celebrated in the Extraordinary Form, known as the Tridentine or Traditional Latin Mass.

St. Albertus was the first Polish Roman Catholic Church in Detroit. It unfortunately closed in 1990, but the The Polish American Historic Site Association (PAHSA) was formed in 1991 to preserve it.
It is a remarkably beautiful church, and there is very much the sense of national pride of the Poles who dedicated the current church building in 1885. Read up more at the wikipedia page linked above or at the PAHSA's website.

Interesting tidbit: Leon Czolgosz who assassinated President McKinley was actually baptized at St. Albertus.

Hello World

2006-09-22T12:32:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Detroit Church Blog. I might do stuff here.

Detroit Church Blog

Red hats in Detroit

What's happening with our Churches?

April 13th: Easter Friday Church tour.

Ad Limina visit and Spiritual Bouquet

Meet the AOD Coordinator of Music!

St. Leo's gets some attention.

Have a Blessed Christmas!

What time is Midnight Mass? Masstimes in the D.

Upcoming Detroit Church Projects

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Wyandotte: Photograph

Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 4: Downriver

Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 3: Detroit

Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 2: Immaculate Heart of Mary, Detroit

Parish Closures? Who? When? Part 1: East, North, and West Suburbs

Archdiocesan News

Upcoming Events Sept 30 - Oct 2

St. Joseph's Oktoberfest 2011 (and other upcoming events)

Greetings from Santiago de Compostella

Pilgrimage Success!

Young Adult Pilgrimage in Detroit

Upcoming Church Tour: June 10th

Church Festivals: St. Sebastian and St. Joan of Arc

Church Festivals: St. Florian Strawberry Festival May 7-8

Three New Auxiliary Bishops AND a Patroness! (Plus SHMS Photos)

St. Hedwig

Pope Benedict appoints Auxiliary Bishops for Detroit

Notes and News 3/16/2011

Immaculate Conception Lapeer - test

St. Hyacinth, another Polish Beauty.

More St. Aloysius Photos

SS. Andrew and Benedict

Detroit's Blessed Sacramental Cathedral shown to National Audience

Virtual Tour from the Detroit News

St. Florian and Polish Village Cafe

Photo Album

Assumption Grotto

Holy Cross Hungarian

Return to Holy Redeemer

Ste. Anne Revisited.

Return to St. Albertus

Post Church Tour Update

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Celebrate Christmas in the D!

Missa Brevis in G by W. A. Mozart Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd sung and performed by the St. Joseph Cappella, Soloists, and Chamber Orchestra (preludes begin at 11:30)

St. Toribio Icon

Church Tour January 7th!

Presentation / Our Lady of Victory

St. Aloysius feature in Tridentine Community News

Holy Redeemer and El Comal

YOU ARE INVITED

Holy Family (Greektown)

Google searches.

Lame non-post post (plus Ste. Claire! )

Notes and News 12-03-2010

Old St. Mary's (Greektown) and Golden Fleece

St. Josaphat Pictures (and one at St. Joseph)

St. Aloysius and State Deli

St. Albertus Pictures

Sweetest Heart of Mary and Milano Cafe

SS Peter and Paul (Jesuit) and Jacoby's

St. Joseph and Supino Pizzeria

The Grandmammy of them All - Ste. Anne de Detroit

St. Josaphat

St. Albertus

Hello World

Missa Brevis in G by W. A. Mozart
Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd
sung and performed by the St. Joseph Cappella, Soloists, and Chamber Orchestra
(preludes begin at 11:30)