Corpus Christi 2015

MOTHER OF DIVINE MERCY PARISH
flyer  |  website

Thursday, June 4, Feast of Corpus Christi (Calendar for the 1962 Missal)
12 Noon English Mass at St. Josaphat Church, preceded by church tour at 11:15 a.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until 3 p.m., Meditation by Br. Esteban, Divine Mercy Chaplet
6 p.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Joseph Church with Meditation by Br. Esteban
7 p.m. Tridentine High Mass for Corpus Christi and Outdoor Procession at St. Joseph Church

First Friday, June 5
12 Noon Mass at Sweetest Heart of Mary Church, preceded by church tour at 11:15 a.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until 3 p.m., Meditation by Br. Esteban, Divine Mercy Chaplet
6 p.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Josaphat Church, Meditation by Br. Esteban
7 p.m. Tridentine High Mass at St. Josaphat Church

First Saturday, June 6
10 a.m. Latin Novus Ordo Mass at St. Joseph Church, preceded by church tour at 9:15 a.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until Noon, Meditation by Br. Esteban, Rosary
4 p.m. Mass at Sweetest Heart of Mary Church Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until 6 p.m., Meditation by Br. Esteban, Rosary

Sunday, June 7
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
9:30 a.m. Tridentine High Mass, celebrated by Fr. Ben Luedtke, for the External Solemnity of Corpus Christi at St. Josaphat Church
10 a.m. Mass at Sweetest Heart of Mary Church with Schola Cantorum and St. Joseph Cappella
11:15 a.m. Outdoor Procession on grounds of Sweetest Heart of Mary (No Noon Mass at St. Joseph)
12 Noon Mother of Divine Mercy Parish Picnic and Celebration of Pastor Fr. Gregory Tokarski’s 20th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ on grounds of Sweetest Heart 

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ST. MATTHEW
website

Sunday, June 7
10:00 a.m. Mass with Detroit Mass Mob, Archdiocesan Chorus of Detroit, Motor City Brass Quartet and St. Matthew Choir. Brass quartet prelude before Mass.

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SS. PETER & PAUL (west side)
flyer  |  website

Sunday, June 7
10:30 a.m. Mass, in Polish and English, followed by Eucharistic Procession. No Mass at 9:00am and Noon

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OLD ST. MARY'S
flyer  |  website

Sunday, June 7
12 Noon Mass followed by outdoor Eucharistic Procession through Greektown and includes stop at nearby Holy Family Church

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BLESSED SACRAMENT CATHEDRAL
flyer

Sunday, June 7
2 p.m. Mass celebrated by Archbishop Vigneron followed by outdoor Eucharistic Procession through neighborhood

Church Directory

After nearly five years we have finally covered every Roman Catholic Church in Detroit and a few in the suburbs. Below is a directory of all of the posts. Now that we have completed our initial goal, we will expand to: 

• Cover historic, culturally-significant suburban churches
• Continue coverage of important events in the Central Region
• Visit chapels in the city
• Revisit certain Detroit churches
• Cover Eastern Rite churches in the area
• Cover history of some closed parishes

Churches in Detroit:
Assumption Grotto #1 + Assumption Grotto #2
Blessed Sacrament Cathedral #1 +Blessed Sacrament Cathedral #2
Christ the King
Church of the Madonna  (St. Moses the Black Parish)
Gesu
Holy Cross Hungarian #1 + Holy Cross Hungarian #2
Holy Family #1 + Holy Family #2
Most Holy Redeemer #1 + Most Holy Redeemer #2
Most Holy Trinity
Nativity of Our Lord
Old St. Mary's
Our Lady Queen of Angels  (Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish)
Our Lady Queen of Heaven
Our Lady of the Rosary
Precious Blood (St. Peter Claver Parish)
Presentation (Presentation/Our Lady of Victory Parish)
Sacred Heart
St. Aloysius #1 + St. Aloysius #2
SS. Andrew & Benedict
Ste. Anne #1, Ste. Anne #2, Ste. Anne #3
St. Catherine of Siena (St. Augustine–St. Monica Parish)
St. Charles Borromeo
St. Christopher
St. Cecilia (St. Charles Lwanga Parish)
St. Cunegunda
St. Elizabeth
St. Francis D'Assisi
St. Gabriel
St. Gerard (Corpus Christi Parish)
St. Hedwig
St. Hyacinth #1 + St. Hyacinth #2
St. Josaphat #1 + St. Josaphat #2
St. Joseph
St. Jude
St. Mary's of Redford
St. Matthew
St. Peter Claver Annex  (formerly St. Francis de Sales)
SS. Peter & Paul (Jesuit)
SS. Peter & Paul (west side)
St. Philomena
St. Raymond (St. Raymond - Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish)
St. Scholastica
St. Stephen–Mary, Mother of the Church (Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish)
St. Suzanne (St. Suzanne–Our Lady Gate of Heaven Parish)
St. Thomas Aquinas
Sweetest Heart of Mary (Mother of Divine Mercy Parish)
Transfiguration (St. John Paul II Parish)

Surburban churches:
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Windsor)
Christ the Good Shepherd (Lincoln Park)
Church of the Divine Child (Dearborn)
Church of the Holy Family (Novi)
Church of the Transfiguration (Southfield)
Holy Cross (Our Lady on the River Parish, Marine City)
Holy Name (Birmingham)
Immaculate Conception (Ira Township)
Immaculate Conception (Lapeer)
National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica (Royal Oak)
Old St. Patrick (Ann Arbor)
Our Lady of the Lakes (Waterford)
Our Lady of La Salette (Berkley)
Our Lady of Loretto (Redford Twp.)
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (Our Lady of the Scapular Parish, Wyandotte)
Our Lady of Sorrows (Farmington)
Our Lady Queen of Apostles (Hamtramck)
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs (Beverly Hills)
Sacred Heart (Dearborn)
Sacred Heart (Grosse Ile)
St. Albert the Great (Dearborn Heights)
St. Aloysius (Romulus)
St. Alphonsus (Dearborn)
St. Ambrose (Grosse Pointe Park)
St. Anne (Warren)
St. Anselm (Dearborn Heights)
St. Anthony (Temperance)
St. Augustine (Richmond)
St. Barbara (Dearborn)
St. Charles Borromeo (Newport)
St. Clare of Montefalco (Grosse Pointe Park)
St. Clement (Centerline)
St. Colette (Livonia)
SS. Cyril & Methodius (Sterling Heights)
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Our Lady of the Angels Parish, Taylor)
St. Fabian (Farmington Hills)
St. Florian #1 + St. Florian #2 (Hamtramck)
St. Francis Xavier (St. André Bessette Parish, Ecorse)
St. Gerald (Farmington)
St. Irene (St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish, Dundee)
St. James (Ferndale)
St. John the Baptist (Dearborn Heights)
St. John the Baptist (Monroe)
St. John the Baptist (Ypsilanti)
St. John Bosco (St. John XXIII Parish, Redford Twp.)
St. Joseph (Erie)
St. Joseph (St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish, Ida)
St. Joseph (Divine Grace Parish, Maybee)
St. Joseph (St. Vincent Pallotti Parish, Wyandotte)
St. Joseph (St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Dearborn)
St. Joseph the Worker (Lake Orion)
St. Ladislaus (St. John Paul II Parish, Hamtramck)
St. Lawrence (Utica)
St. Mary (Royal Oak)
St. Mary (St. Clair)
St. Mary (Wayne)
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Monroe)
St. Mary, Our Lady of the Annunciation (Rockwood)
St. Mary Magdalen (Melvindale)
St. Matthew (Flint)
St. Michael the Archangel (Livonia)
St. Michael the Archangel (Monroe)
St. Patrick (Divine Grace Parish, Carleton)
St. Patrick (St. Vincent Pallotti Parish, Wyandotte)
St. Paul on the Lake (Grosse Pointe Farms)
St. Paul Albanian (Rochester Hills)
St. Pius X (Southgate)
St. Peter (Mt. Clemens)
St. Priscilla (Livonia)
St. Raphael (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Garden City)
St. Regis (Bloomfield Hills)
St. Robert Bellarmine (St. John XXIII Parish, Redford Twp.)
St. Sabina (Dearborn Heights)
St. Sebastian (Dearborn Heights)
St. Stephen (New Boston)
St. Theodore (St. Mary, Cause of Our Joy Parish, Westland)
St. Thomas the Apostle (Ann Arbor)
St. Veronica (Eastpointe)
St. Vincent de Paul (St. Damien of Molokai Parish, Pontiac)

Formally suppressed (resigned to profane use) since posting:
All Saints
Annunciation (Good Shepherd Parish)
Holy Family (Inkster)
Our Lady of Grace (Dearborn Heights)
St. Bartholomew  (St. Bartholomew–St. Rita Parish)
St. Leo (St. Charles Lwanga Parish)
St. Mel (Dearborn Heights)
Sacred Heart (St. Padre Pio Parish, Roseville)

Churches that no longer have regularly-scheduled Mass but have not been formally suppressed:
St. Louis the King #1 + St. Louis the King #2
St. Patrick (midtown Detroit)

Historic parishes (closed before posting):
St. John Cantius

Chapels & shrines:
Divine Mercy Center (Clinton Township)
Felician Motherhouse  (Livonia)
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery (Southfield)
Manresa Retreat House (Bloomfield Hills)
Mariannhill Mission Society  (Dearborn Heights)
Miles Christi Family Center (South Lyon)
Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament (Farmington Hills)
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Sacred Heart Chapel at Marygrove College
Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima (Riverview)
St. Albertus #1 + St. Albertus #2
St. Bonaventure Monastery
St. John's (Plymouth)
St. Joseph Chapel & IHM Shrine (Pontiac)
St. Mary Mercy Hospital Chapel (Livonia)
St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center

Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Most Blessed Sacrament Parish was established in 1905 in what was, at the time, the northern edge of Detroit. The building was designed by Cleveland-based architect Henry A. Walsh according to the Norman Gothic style. Financial problems delayed construction until 1913 and it continued slowly. The exterior was built out of Ohio sandstone and Indiana limestone.

 

The original organ was donated by Frederick Fisher in 1925. The interior of the church was not finished until 1930 and the first Mass was held on Thanksgiving of that year. The exterior would not be finished for decades.

 

The Diocese of Detroit was elevated to an archdiocese in 1937. Most Blessed Sacrament replaced St. Patrick, seat of the diocese since 1877, as the cathedral.

Walsh was unable to finish the project so Detroit architect George Diehl oversaw the completion. The towers and spire were not finished until 1951, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the city's founding.

Much of the statuary was created by local, prominent sculptor Corrado Parducci.

Pope St. John Paul II visited the U.S. in 1987 and Cardinal Archbishop Edmund Szoka convinced him to come to Detroit. The pope addressed a group at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral on September 18 of that year and stayed overnight at the archbishop's residence next door. See video below with Cathedral section starting at 2:21.

The cathedral was renovated in 2001 by local architect Gunnar Birkerts. Changes included a plaza on the north side of the building, a reconfigured sanctuary, new light fixtures, as well as a new cathedra, baptismal font and organ. At that time, the tabernacle was moved to the south transept and a chapel built around it.

The cathedra used by Pope St. John Paul II, along with other artifacts, on display in a breezeway along the south side.

 

A large plaque in the sacristy shows the vesting prayers traditionally said by clergy in preparation for Mass. Each prayer corresponds to a particular vestment (amice, alb, cincture, maniple, stole and chasuble).

As we covered in a previous post, there is a tradition of hanging a cardinal's galero from the cathedral ceiling after his death. Galeros from Cardinal Mooney and Cardinal Dearden hang above each transept. This tradition has fallen from practice and was not done following the death of Cardinal Szoka.

  

A bust of the retired Cardinal Archbishop Adam Maida in the narthex; St. Anne and Child Mary.

The large, ornate rose window above the choir loft; detail of a window in the lower-level of the nave

 

Large, colorful windows line the clerestory. Each features a gospel reference in the middle of the window and images of saints in the bottom.

Inscriptions in the sides of the columns along the side aisles.

The Cathedral is located at 9844 Woodward, just south of Highland Park and near the geographic center of Detroit.

Daily Mass is held at 8:00am in the chapel on Mondays and Thursday-Saturday. Sunday Mass is at 11:00am while confessions are heard on Saturdays at 2:30pm.

Rev. Gregory Deters is Associate Pastor and Msgr. Michael LeFevre is the current rector. However, LeFevre will soon move to St. John Fisher in Auburn Hills and replaced by Rev. J.J. Mech, presently at St. Anastasia in Troy.

For more photos: Flickr & AOD Film Services
For more about JP2's visit: The Michigan Catholic
For more info about the parish: bulletin archive & parish website

Upcoming events: May 14–17

Thursday, May 14, 7:00pm
ASCENSION OF THE LORD (TRIDENTINE MASS)
St. Josaphat Church
parish website

Saturday, May 16, 11:00am–7:00pm
PARISH FESTIVAL
Christ the King Church
Raffle, games, chicken dinner, bake sale, music, and more
parish website

Saturday, May 16, 1:00pm
"BLUE MASS" FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
St. Christopher Church
Mass celebrated by Bishop Hanchon in recognition of National Police Week
light reception afterwards
JPG flyer

Saturday, May 16, 7:30pm
CANTATA FOR A NEW PENTECOST
Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
The Archdiocesan Chorus of Detroit, Sacred Heart choir, and St. Gabriel Youth ensemble
PDF flyer

Sunday, May 17, 10:30am
TRAVELING CATHOLIC'S MASS MOB
St. Raymond–OurLady of Good Counsel
Polish dinner to follow
PDF flyer

Upcoming events: May 1-3

Friday, May 1, 7:00pm
MASS & PROCESSION FOR FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER
St. Joseph Church
7:00 p.m. Tridentine Sung Mass followed by St. Joseph Devotions, Outdoor Candlelight Procession and Veneration of St. Joseph's Relic.
The St. Joseph Cappella and members of the Assumption Grotto Choir will sing Missa Rosa Mystica by Carnevali
facebook | parish website

Saturday, May 2, 5:00pm-Midnight
Sunday, May 3, 1:00pm-10:00pm
ST. FLORIAN STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL
Firefighter's Parade Saturday at 3:30pm followed by 4:00pm Mass
Lots of Polish & American food, church tours, music, dancing, etc.
facebook | parish website

Sunday, May 3, Noon
MAIFEST: GERMAN MASS & MAY CROWNING
St. Joseph Church
Noon German Mass followed by German dinner
German-English Missals will be provided.
flyer | parish website

Sunday, May 3, Noon
DETROIT MASS MOB
Ste. Anne de Detroit Church
website

National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, "the Little Flower," was canonized on May 17, 1925. The next year, a parish under her patronage was established in a largely-Protestant area of Royal Oak. Two weeks after it opened, the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross in front of the church. 

Construction of the current church was funded by the proceeds of the radio ministry of the controversial pastor, Fr. Charles Coughlin, who broadcast from the tower during the 1930s. The church was constructed in two stages between 1931 and 1936. On St. Patrick's Day of 1936, the original wood church was destroyed by fire.

The first section to be completed was the Charity Crucifixion Tower. The central figure is 25' tall crucifix on the Woodward side. It and other figures were created by Rene Paul Chambellan, a New Jersey-based sculptor. The top corners of the tower feature symbols of the four evangelists. Beneath the crucifix are the Seven Last Words.

Henry J. McGill, of the New York firm McGill and Hamlin, designed the current church in the Art Deco style and its built of granite and limestone.

In 1998, it became one of the first five churches in the country given the National Shrine designation by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Archbishop Allen Vigneron announced on January 31, 2015 that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, granted the title of Minor Basilica to the National Shrine of the Little Flower. The title is given to churches around the world to denote a particular importance in liturgical and pastoral life and a closer relationship with the pope. This is the second church in Michigan, after Basilica of St. Adalbert in Grand Rapids, and 82nd in the U.S. to be declared a basilica.

The octagonal nave supposedly seats 3,000 on two levels. There were nearly 2,000 present for the Mass of Thanksgiving on April 22, 1025.

Via The Michigan Catholic

It is the third-largest building in the city of Royal Oak, standing at the northeast corner of Woodward and 12 Mile. One of the archdiocese's largest parishes, Shrine consists of more than 3,500 families and operates its own grade school and high school. 

A large baldacchino hangs above the altar.

Like many churches, the basilica is formed in the shape of a cross with the tabernacle at the head of the cross. Now that Shrine is a basilica, there are some signs denoting such, including white and gold banners. The traditional ombrellino (red & gold umbrella) and tintinnabulum (bell) are yet be added but will soon be installed in the sanctuary.

A statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands in the southeast transept while St. Jude is in the northwest.

Octagonal alcoves with St. Joseph and St. Mary, Queen of All Saints, flank the tabernacle.

The pulpit, on the second level, features intricate carvings on its facade.

A depiction of the Holy Spirit appears above the pulpit.

A skylight, above the tabernacle, on the second level.

The marble altar measures 12' long x 4'10" wide x 3' tall. The Lamb of God is engraved on the side that faces the tabernacle.

Two peacocks are shown on the opposite side of the altar. In early Christianity, peacocks represented immortality because it was believed their bodies did not decay after death. The "eyes" in a peacock's feathers also represent the all-seeing God.

The Stations of the Cross were created by noteworthy sculptor Corrado Parducci. He also created work for Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, University of Detroit, several Detroit office builldings, and much more.

 

The St. Thérèse chapel, including the baptismal font, is located opposite the tabernacle at the southwest corner of the basilica.

Statues of St. Anthony and St. Christopher in a hallway.

Daily Mass is celebrated at 6:30am and 8:30am, Monday-Friday. Saturday Vigil Mass is at 4:30pm and 6:30pm. Mass is celebrated six times every Sunday, beginning at 7:30am, 9:00am, 10:45am, 12:30pm, 4:00pm (Spanish) and 6:00pm. Confessions are heard after the 6:30am daily Mass as well as before and after 4:30pm Saturday Mass.

Fr. Robert Fisher has been pastor for about a year; since the death of longtime pastor Msgr. William Easton. Fr. Fisher is assisted by associate pastors Fr. Joseph Lang, Fr. Patrick Gonyeau and Fr. Ryan Adams as well as Deacon Thomas Avery.

National Shrine of the Little Flower is one of few parishes that has a perpetual adoration chapel, located just southeast of the church. A depiction of the Last Supper is located outside the chapel.

A statue of the patroness stands near the adoration chapel along with Stations of the Cross.

 

For more info: parish website
3-D virtual tour, which includes the sacristy: Detroit Free Press