St. Louis the King

I went to Holy Thursday Mass in 2011 at St. Louis the King. This was part of a tour that I went on. (Yes it took  me 1 year to get a post up.)  St. Louis the King was founded in 1923, and its current edifice was built in 1959.  When I walked in and looked about I was reminded of St. Barbara in Dearborn. (Founded 1924, Built 1955)  It is similar in some ways to St. Peter and Paul (West Side, founded 1923, church probably built in the '50s as well) as well.  The Poles were spreading out in the '20s and building their churches in the 50's apparently! (Yes these are all Polish churches.)  While these lack the grandeur and decoration of the  Polish churches before the turn of the 20th Century, these churches are still dignified in construction, and you know where the focus belongs.

The parish has been merged with St. Ladislaus (Hamtramck) and Transfiguration/Our Lady Help of Christians to form Blessed John Paul II Parish.  It appears as though all three churches have weekly masses, if the Genesis Vicariate website is up to date.  I wonder if the bass who sang the lowest Panis Angelicus anyone could ever hear has been retained.

I didn't get a very good picture of the sanctuary, but please see that and some more of my pictures below.

 Things are more on the simple side here, but still dignified and the focus is on the cross and the tabernacle.

 This is the altar of repose.

 A Polish tradition they have retained: the Tomb of Christ

 St. Maximilian Kolbe who just over 8 months after this became more significant to me.

 Perpetual Help niche.

St. Louis the King himself, well a statue of him.

East Catholic High School Demolished

The most recent print edition of the Michigan Catholic had a short article about the Demolition of East Catholic High School. I will update once I get the information, because there was a note in the article about how alumni could get souvenir bricks form the demolition company.

Last year I visited St. Anthony (closed 2005, sold 2010) with a reader, fellow Detroit Church enthusiast/photographer Andy aka cath4ever. We didn't get inside, and frankly I wouldn't have wanted to, but I have a few external photos I would like to share to mark the formal end to the edifice of East Catholic. Alumni may pick up souvenir bricks through Adamo Demolition. Google tells me their number is 313-892-7330.

Facade of St. Anthony.

East Catholic, former home of the Chargers.

A view of the Farnsworth side.

Erected AD 1926 to foster religion, knowledge, and virtue.

True story.

Good Friday in the Cluster

I would like to share a few photos from the clustered parishes of Sweetest Heart of Mary, St. Josaphat, and St. Joseph.

High Altar at its most austere.

Fr. Roman leads the people in Gorskie żale.

Stations

The 11th Stations

I was particularly struck by the 11th station as I stood under it. The Lord's eyes looking back at you. "See how much I love you," they seem to say.

St. Josaphat before the Good Friday Liturgy in the Extraordinary Form

The tomb.

Bishop Reese and Abbé Connaughton before the Liturgy

Abbé Connaughton chants the lesson

Ecce Lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pependit.

Venite adoremus.

Patrick arranges flowers on the high altar at St. Joseph

Dorothy tends to the altar cloths.

Relic of the true cross on the high altar.

Almost ready for the great vigil.

Sanctuary lamp is out.

Back to Sweetest Heart for a rare Good Friday Fish Fry.

Which ended up making us late for tenebrae.

Tenebrae ends at the tomb.

And so we wait. St. Joseph's tonight for the Great Vigil!