St. Josaphat Church reopening Sept. 13

After nearly 10 months of waiting, St. Josaphat Church will officially reopen the weekend of September 13-14.

Saturday, September 13, 5:30pm: English Vigil Mass celebrated by Bishop Reiss
Sunday, September 14, 9:30am: Tridentine (Latin) Mass

A reception in the parish hall will follow both Masses.

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Mother of Divine Mercy Parish will adjust their Mass schedule thereafter.

Sweetest Heart of Mary
Saturday, 4pm
Sunday, 10am
Friday, Noon (Sacred Heart devotion after)

St. Josaphat
Saturday, 5:30pm
Sunday, 9:30am Tridentine
Monday, 7pm Tridentine (Perpetual Help devotion after)
Thursday, Noon

St. Joseph
Sunday, 11:30am
Wednesday, 12:10pm (St. Joseph novena after)

***Supposedly St. Joseph will retain First Friday Tridentine Mass, at 7:00pm, but that is yet to be confirmed.***

Update on St. Josaphat's steeple

 Restoration work continues on St. Josaphat's Church as workers have constructed scaffolding and new slate shingles have arrived on-site. The goal is to finish repairs by the end of May and re-open the church in June.

The parish is grateful for the donations received but the financial burden is still enormous. The restoration is expected to cost approximately $500,000. Donations are still accepted —and needed — to continue the effort. Any donations exceeding the cost repairs at St. Josaphat will be used towards restoration at Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Joseph, the other two churches of Mother of Divine Mercy Parish.

For more info, watch the below videos or read The Michigan Catholic & WXYZ.

St. Josaphat Save Our Steeples Campaign

As part of their ongoing series, "Detroit 2020," WXYZ recently did a segment about the state of St. Josaphat Church. Kevin Piotrowski, the parish council president, led a reporter on a brief tour of the church and talked about the repair efforts. Nearly $30,000 has been donated so far but the repair costs will easily reach six figures.


More from the relating article here: Detroit 2020

To help with the campaign: Save Our Steeples

Virtual Tour from the Detroit News

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. Josaphat Pictures (and one at St. Joseph)

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. Josaphat

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.