I.C.R.S.S. coming to St. Joseph on October 15th

As recently announced by Mother Divine Mercy Parish, Archbishop Vigneron has asked a religious community, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICRSS), to come to Detroit. More specifically, the archbishop asked them to move into and care for St. Joseph Church. Restoration of old churches is a bit of a "charism" for the order as they are currently undergoing massive reconstruction of Chicago's Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest for the second time after a devastating fire last year. 

Two priests will begin ministry on October 15th and, as such, the new, non-territorial parish will be known as St. Joseph Oratory. St. Josaphat and Sweetest Heart of Mary will continue as Mother of Divine Mercy Parish. Details are still being finalized but Fr. Greg Tokarski will remain as pastor of Mother Divine Mercy.

ICRSS was established in 1990 by Monsignor Gilles Wach and Father Philippe Mora in the African nation of Gabon. The U.S. headquarters is in Chicago, with many oratories in the Midwest, but this is their first establishment in Michigan. Their international headquarters and seminary are in Tuscany, Italy. The community adheres to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite but a visiting priest will celebrate Saturday Vigil Mass in the Ordinary Form for those that desire it.

For more info about ICRSS: institute-christ-king.org

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

Nativity of Our Lord Parish

Nativity of Our Lord was established in 1911 in what was, at the time, the unincorporated village of Leesville. Prior to this, most Catholics in the area attended either St. Anthony to the south or Assumption Grotto to the north.

Founding pastor Fr. Frederick Heidenreich celebrated Mass in a school building at Gratiot and Harper until the fledgling parish built ts own school/church on McClellan Avenue a few years later. The first rectory was a converted barn. The school opened in 1914 with 400 students, a teaching staff six of Dominican Sisters and one lay teacher.

In 1916, a convent adjacent to the school was completed with the capacity to house twenty sisters. Beforehand, the sisters lived on the third floor of the school.

Edward A. Schilling of the firm Van Leyen, Shilling, Keogh and Reynolds was the architect of the permanent church while it was constructed by F. H. Goddard Co. Before construction started in 1924, Leesville was annexed by the City of Detroit and Nativity’s membership had grown enough to justify construction of the large edifice that still serves the parish today.

Even though construction was not yet complete, the first Mass held in the church was on Christmas Day, 1926. Fr. Heidenreich died in 1928 before the church was finished and his successor, Msgr. John S. Mies, oversaw the completion. Bishop Michael Gallagher dedicated the church in 1929. Fr. Bernard Geller succeeded to the pastorate in 1934 and served the parish for nearly 30 years. 

Stained-glass windows were fabricated by the Conrad Schmitt Studios of Milwaukee and installed in 1936.

Fr. Jerome Singer was appointed pastor in 1971 and maintained that role until his recent death on November 20, 2014, at the age of 77. Capuchins from St. Bonaventure are currently ministering to the parish but no long-term successor has assigned yet. Sr. Jolene Van Handel, a Dominican sister, has been at Nativity for nearly 50 years.

 

Nativity gained some parishioners following the closure of two nearby parishes: St. Anthony (1857-2006) as well as St. John Berchmans/St. Juliana (1932-2004). Nativity of Our Lord celebrated its 100th anniversary on October 9, 2011. As this time, the parish had 260 registered families.



The Detroit Mass Mob recently visited Nativity on December 7th.

Appropriate for a church by this name, an inscription on the high altar translates "come, let us adore Him," an excerpt from the Christmas hymn Adeste Fideles.

St. Anne with Child Mary, St. Joseph with Child Jesus, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus stand in the sanctuary.

Side altars to the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph are each covered by an ornate apse.

A large crucifix stands in the south transept near a window depicting St. Thomas Aquinas.

A replica of the Pieta stands in the rear of the nave, opposite a baptismal font .

Large, Corinthian columns line the aisles; murals adorn the walls of the transepts.


Floor tiles were made by Detroit's Pewabic Pottery.

Nativity of Our Lord stands near the intersection of Gratiot and I-94 on the eastside of Detroit. Saturday Vigil Mass is at 4:00pm while Sundays bring Mass at 8:30am and 11:00am. Daily Mass is celebrated every weekday, except for Wednesdays, in the rectory at 8:30am.

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100th Anniversary Mass: The Michigan Catholic
For more photos: Flickr, AOD Film Services, Detroit Mass Mob
For more info: parish website

St. Elizabeth Church

St. Elizabeth Parish was established in 1885 by a community of German and Belgian immigrants. Fannie Van Dyke donated land near McDougall and Willis for the first, temporary church. The current church, designed by Donaldson & Meier, is dated to 1892 and one block north of the predecessor.

St. Elizabeth is at the eastern end of a row of Catholic churches. St. Josaphat, Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Albertus, all on East Canfield Street, are less than one mile to the west. St. Hyacinth also stands half a mile to the north.

A large plaque remembers the founding pastor, Fr. Anthony Svensson, a native of Sweden. Fr. Svensson died in 1896 at the age of 44.

 

Rose windows appear in each transept.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus stands in the north transept while St. Anthony stands in the south.

The parish's namesake stands to the right of the main altar alongside Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

 

Icons of the evangelists overlook the choir loft.

 

Containers for holy oils and holy water are located near the vestibule.

In 2007, Fr. Norman Thomas was appointed to administrator in addition to his ongoing pastoral duties at Sacred Heart.

Mass is celebrated Sundays at Noon only unless otherwise announced.


For more photos: Flickr & AOD Film Services
For more info: parish website, waymarking.com, ancestry.com