Detroit Church Blog: St. Paul on the Lake (Grosse Pointe Farms)

Thursday, September 10, 2015

St. Paul on the Lake (Grosse Pointe Farms)

Farmers began settling along Lake St. Clair in the late 1700s and French priests began ministering to people there in the 1790s. Fr. Francis Badin dedicated a log church in 1825 and the parish was formally organized nine years later.

A chapel was built in 1848 and construction of the current church began at the same site in 1895. The church was designed in a French Gothic style by Harry J. Rill, also architect of St. Leo's Church. Construction was finished in 1899 at a cost of $23,000 or approximately $600,000 today.

Stained-glass windows were made by Fredericks & Wolfram Art Glass Company of Detroit (installed in 1901) and Franz Mayer & Company of Munich, Germany (installed in 1924).

A rectory was added in 1911. A Neo-Tudor style school and Elizabethan Revival convent were designed in 1927 by the firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls. Additions to the school were completed in 1951 and 1953. The parish grounds were designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1992 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Msgr. Patrick Halfpenny is the current pastor; Fr. Joseph Kirkconnell and Fr. Thomas Slowinski are associate pastors. William Jamieson is as permanent deacon.

The southwest transept shows the Adoration of the Magi.

The northeast transept features a depiction of St. Paul preaching.

The church recently reopened after two weeks closure. The plaster ceiling needs repair and nets were added to prevent further damage as the parish seeks a contractor to fix it.

Daily Mass is at 6:30am and 8:15am Monday-Friday.

Saturday morning Mass is at 8:15am with Vigil Mass at 4:30pm. During the summer, the parish has a 6:00pm outdoor, Saturday Vigil. Confessions are heard on Saturdays at 3:45pm.