Upcoming events: December 11-13

Vigil of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Friday, December 11
St. Stephen-Mary, Mother of God Church
(Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish)
5:00pm Rosary
6:00pm Music & festivities
7:00pm Holy Mass with Archbishop Vigneron
AOD.org

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Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Saturday, December 12

Most Holy Redeemer Church
5:00am–7:00am Las Mañanitas
6:00pm Mass in Spanish
7:00pm Blessing of religious art
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Ste. Anne de Detroit Church
9:00am Las Mañanitas
10:00am Mass in Spanish
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St. Gabriel
5:00am Las Mañanitas
7:00pm Mass in Spanish
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St. Hedwig
600pm Las Mañanitas
7:00pm Mass in Spanish
calendar (page 3)

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Bowling Fundraiser for
Image of God Crisis Pregnancy Center
Saturday, December 12, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Hartfield Lanes, Berkley
Organized by Bishop Plagens Knights of Columbus council (Mother of Divine Mercy Parish). Bowling, pizza, games, raffles and fun for everyone! See any Knights member for tickets, or buy them at the door: $25 each, $45 couple. Even if you don't bowl - join us for the fun: $12 each, $20 couple.
flyer

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Opening Mass for Jubilee of Mercy
Sunday, December 13, 11:00am
Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
AOD.org

Ongoing Events During Advent

Ignatian Spirituality Series
GESU CHURCH
9:15am-10:15am first three Sundays of Advent
November 30, December 7 and 14
Fr. Nathan Wendt, SJ, leads introduction to spiritual exercises
Mass before and after; 8:00am and 10:30am
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Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe
ST. HEDWIG CHURCH
6:00pm everyday: Wednesday, December 3 - Thursday, December 11
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Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe
ALL SAINTS CHURCH
7:00pm everyday: Wednesday, December 3 - Thursday, December 11
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Traveling Icon* of Our Lady of Częstochowa
ST. FLORIAN CHURCH
Sunday, December 7 - Sunday, December 14
Church open everyday 8am-9pm
Weekday Mass everyday at 6:30pm
Evening prayer everyday at 9:00pm
*not the original icon, but a blessed replica and third-class relic
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Our Lady Queen of Angels

The first Mass at Our Lady Queen of Angels was celebrated on December 8, 1915 — the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The first pastor was Fr. Raymond Marciniec, a Conventual Franciscan, previously assigned to nearby St. Hedwig Parish.

The current church was built in 1952 on Martin Street, one block south of Michigan Avenue, in southwest Detroit. The crossed arms of Jesus and St. Anthony, a traditional Franciscan symbol, is shown in the apse.

A large mural of the Blessed Mother is shown above the side altar.

In 1959, an outdoor shrine to Our Lady of Fatima was added.

At the beginning of 2014, Our Lady Queen of Angels merged with St. Stephen – Mary,  Mother of the Church to form the new Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. As the name may suggest, a large part of the congregation is of Latino descent. Both locations, located 1/2 mile apart, are still active.

Most of the windows in the nave are geometric and feature pastel colors. Windows above the choir loft and alcoves are more colorful and narrow.

A common sight during the Easter season: an empty tomb in the sanctuary.

Fr. Marie-Elie Haby currently serves as pastor and Fr. Bernardo Cruz is associate pastor. Fr. Haby is also a Regional Vocation Coordinator wherein he promotes vocations in the Central Region of the Archdiocese.

Sunday Mass is at 10:00am (English) and Noon (Spanish). Thursday (Spanish) Mass is at 7:00pm. Confessions are heard at 9:15am on Sundays and at 6:00pm on Thursdays.

More about the parish: bulletin archive & The Michigan Catholic

More photos: AOD Film Services & Flickr

Other blog posts: Detroit 1701 & Creative Gene

St. Stephen – Mary, Mother of the Church

St. Stephen – Mary, Mother of the Church is situated on Central Ave, about 1/4 mile south of Michigan Avenue, in southwest Detroit. The history of this church is somewhat mysterious. An article in The Michigan Catholic states that it was founded in 1917. However, in the archdiocese directory of closed/current parishes, there is no reference to St. Stephen in Detroit until 1993.

One note that is obvious: this is a fairly new church and the cornerstone is dated 1967.

Like many churches in Detroit, St. Stephen – Mary, Mother of the Church has Polish roots. The former parochial school, much older than the church, is next door and currently houses a charter school. Looking at the inscription above the door, it is clear that this was once home to a Polish-speaking community.

A faded mural decorates the south wall of the school, facing towards the church.

The Infant of Prague stands in front of the rectory, across the street from the church.

All of the windows are plain and geometric stained-glass.  Large, wide window panes are displayed in the nave. Tall, thin windows are found at the sides of the altar and in the narthex.

A lovely statue of the Blessed Mother stands in one corner of the narthex. An inscription below her feet translates to "bless this request." The Stations of the Cross are fairly small and inconspicuous — possibly less than one square foot.

There is no choir loft: musicians are staged in front of the Sacred Heart altar. On the opposite side, Our Lady of the Rosary is flanked by St. Anne with child Mary as well as St. Theresé.

At the beginning of 2014, St. Stephen – Mary, Mother of the Church merged with Our Lady Queen of Angels (est. 1915) to form the new Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. As the name may suggest, a large part of the congregation is of Latino descent. With the exception of 9:00am Sunday Mass, all services are in Spanish.

Fr. Marie-Elie Haby currently serves as pastor and Fr. Bernardo Cruz is associate pastor. Fr. Haby is also a Regional Vocation Coordinator wherein he promotes vocations in the Central Region.

Sunday Mass is at 9:00am (English) and 11:00am (Spanish). Tuesday Mass and Saturday Vigil Mass are at 7:00pm and in Spanish. Confessions are heard 5:45pm–6:45pm on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Eucharistic Adoration is practiced on Tuesdays, 6:00pm–7:00pm, before Mass.

More photos: AOD Film Services

Bulletin archive: The Catholic Directory
Slideshow of school photos: YouTube

More info: Creative Gene

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

This feast day, December 12, is a huge celebration for Mexican Catholics as Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of Mexico. The large Catholic, Latino population in southwest Detroit had many celebrations at multiple churches throughout the day. I had the opportunity to celebrate the morning Las Mañanitas at Most Holy Redeemer. 

Las Mañanitas are traditional songs that Mexicans sing early in the morning on special holidays, including the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The celebration started with a group performance of traditional Aztec music and dance.

 

Afterwards, Auxiliary Bishop Donald Hanchon led a brief prayer service.

After prayer, the concert began. About a dozen Mexican folk music groups performed continuously for the next two hours. All of the songs were performed in a manner reminiscent of ad orientem, as the performers typically faced the altar.

I was pleased to see the church beyond capacity, to the point that hundreds of people had to stand in the side aisles.

Devotees commemorated the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe by placing votive candles and flowers at side altars. The high altar featured a large, decorated image of La Virgen.

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In the evening, I attended a Spanish Mass at St. Hedwig along with three friends. Many different flags were carried in the procession, including several representing Latin America, since Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of the Americas.

After the homily, parishioners did a representation of the Our Lady of Guadalupe apparitions.

Of course, images of Our Lady of Guadalupe were placed at the foot of the altar and many people brought flowers, prayed, and posed for pictures.

After Mass, everybody gathered in the social hall beneath the church for food, music, and dance performances. 

 

Here, we saw traditional Latin dancing, including more of the Aztec dances, but a majority of the dances had some Spanish influence.

YOU ARE INVITED

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