St. Ladislaus and St. Florian plan to merge

For the last two years, St. Ladislaus has been preparing for closure. Currently, it is part of St. John Paul II Parish, along with Transfiguration/Our Lady Help of Christians. As reported recently by The Michigan Catholic,  St. Lad's may soon become a chapel of its nearby mother parish of St. Florian.

As chapel, St. Ladislaus would hold a regular Mass schedule and funerals but baptisms, weddings, etc. would be at St. Florian. While the transition is not yet official, St. Florian's latest bulletin lists St. Ladislaus as a chapel.


For more info: St. Florian website + St. Florian bulletin
A 2014 article: The Hamtramck Review

Christmas concert on Sunday, January 24

Christmas isn't over yet! Traditionally, Christmas doesn't end until February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation a.k.a. Candlemas. This is especially true among Polonia.

As such, St. Florian Parish in Hamtramck will host a free Christmas concert on January 24 with several choirs.

http://www.stflorianparish.org/koncert-koled-2016/ 

Return to St. Florian

St. Florian Parish was established in 1907 and the current edifice was finished in 1928. The church is the tallest building in Hamtramck as its spire reaches a height of nearly 200 feet.

Detailed Stations of the Cross mimic the Neo-Gothic architecture of the building.

Scenes from the Gospel are featured among the intricate high altar.

An elaborate ceiling features angels adoring the Blessed Sacrament.


The St. Joseph side altar; a large crucifix near the Blessed Mother's side altar.
  

The Feast of St. Florian falls on May 4 and the parish always celebrates with a large festival during the first weekend of May. The annual Strawberry Festival features Polish food/drink, church tours, as well as polka music and dancing.

St. Florian is the patron of firefighters and, on the first Saturday of May, a parade of firefighters marches to the church and joins in the procession for Mass.

Images of the patron are found throughout the church.

Murals of St. Florian and St. Maximilian Kolbe adorn the rear of the nave.

A chapel to Our Lady of Częstochowa is located in the east side of the vestibule.

A Divine Mercy chapel is located on the west side of the vestibule. Here, relics and memorabilia from Pope St. John Paul II are on display.

Pope St. John Paul II visited Hamtramck twice. In 1969, while still a cardinal, he celebrated Mass at St. Florian. In 1987, he addressed the public nearby.

As expected, JP2's likeness is found throughout the church.


Pope Park, a memorial of Karol Wojtyła's first visit to Hamtramck,  stands a few blocks away from St. Florian. A volunteer group is planning to renovate the park by fixing broken pavers and adding more lights.

The parish is administered by the Society of Christ — a religious order whose mission is to serve people of Polish descent living outside of Poland. Fr. Mirosław Frankowski, S.Chr., serves as pastor with the assistance of Deacon Arthur Majkowski.

MASS SCHEDULE

Sun  10am (Polish), Noon (English), 6:30 pm (Polish)

Mon 8am (Polish)

Tue   6:30pm (English)

Wed 8am (Polish)

Thu  6:30pm (English)

Fri    6:30pm (Polish)

Sat    8am (Polish), 4pm (English)

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Fri     3:00pm – 6:00pm

For more info: parish website & Wikipedia
Previous posts about St. Florian: here & here
More photos: AOD Fim Services, Sherlock Photo, Flickr

Another upcoming Church tour March 18

For those interested in Polish culture and Churches in Detroit, this is one for you. I saw a blurb in the church bulletin, and I thought I should share it with the internet.

Here is the schedule for March 18, 2012:

11:00-12:10- Mass at St. Hyacinth (Priest Janusz Iwan)(St. Joseph’s Day)*
12:10-12:30- Tour of St. Hyacinth -(Dennis Orlowski painting included)
12:30-1:00- Box Lunch at St. Hyacinth (call Stewart before tour with your choice of four types of Subway sandwiches—EAT HEALTHY!!)
1:00- Board Motor Coach and drive to St. Albertus (Terrific Driver is Henry)
1:10- 1:50- Tour St. Albertus with Teri -(Oldest Polish Church in Michigan)
2:00-2:45- Tour Sweetest Heart of Mary with Geri- (Detroit’s most beautiful church)(one of three Polish churches in a row on Canfield —The three churches include St. Albertus, “Sweetest Heart”, & St. Josephat.
3:00-3:50- Tour St. Florian Church In Hamtramck with Greg Kowalski
4:00-4:40- Shop at Srodek’s and Polish Art Center (possibly longer)
4:55-6:05- Dinner at the fantastic Polonia Restaurant in Hamtramck**
6:45- We should be back at St Hyacinth by 6:45 .

Check out the website for further information. All of these churches have been featured here before. Click on the labels to find the posts.

Mr. McMillin has some other interesting tours planned. Check out the rest of his offerings.

Church Festivals: St. Florian Strawberry Festival May 7-8

It's Spring, so it is the beginning of Church Festival season!

I probably missed one already, but tonight starts the St. Florian Strawberry Festival!

This is as good of an excuse as any (except Holy Mass, but you can go to that too) to visit 1929's best new church! Here is the Schedule:


If you come you can see vestments of Blessed John Paul II which are on display in the Sanctuary. (Or at least they have been all week) Other features to check out are the Divine Mercy and Our Lady of Czestochowa chapels which are located off of the vestibule. I don't know if they have guided tours, but the Church will be open.

Vestments worn by JP2 in his 1987 visit to Hamtramck

I'll try to keep you all apprised of other Festivals. These festivals are a great way to support the historical and beautiful Churches of Detroit!

What are you waiting for? Get down to St. Florian!

If you would like your church's festival featured send me an e-mail or write in the comments.

St. Florian and Polish Village Cafe

We are going to step out of Detroit for a moment, but not for very long. We are still sort of in Detroit, but really in the enclave city of Hamtramck. Hamtramck at one time was 90% Polish, and still holds on to its Polish heritage (people of Polish descent still held a plurality of the population in the 2000 census) despite it now being more diverse.

In 1907/8 the first church was established in the then Village of Hamtramck. This church is St. Florian. By the mid 1920s, St. Florian had become the 2nd largest church in Detroit (Hamtramck's population increased by 1266% between the censuses of 1910 and 1920) and was in need of a new building for worship. Ralph Adams Cram was chosen for the upgrade. In terms of Ecclesiastical Architecture, Cram is kind of a big deal. The lion's share of his work was for Episcopal/Anglican churches (he was a High Church Anglican) which includes the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit. The designs of Cram and the sacrifice of the parishioners paid off and American Architect magazine chose St. Florian's as the Best new church of 1929 according to this here historical marker:

It was the best new Church in 1929, and it remains one of the best in my opinion. I have more pictures, but this is one that should be on your list for seeing in person. They have evening masses during the week, so it could be easily fit into a working person's schedule.

Here is the sanctuary at St. Florian. I visited on January 18th, so of course it was still decorated for Christmas.

This shot of the Sanctuary lamp gives also a glimpse of the detail on the Reredos. I think these reliefs are carved wood.

St. Florian and St. Maximilian Kolbe are on the back wall:

Facade on a snowy night:

St. Florian has produced a book for their 100th anniversary. It looks rather handsome and full of great pictures, but it is pricey at $50. If you are interested in this parish and its history, this may be a nice addition to your library.


While you are in Hamtramck, how could you NOT want to have some Polish food? I naturally headed over to the Polish Village Cafe which is on Yemans street. Once a cellar beer garden in a gentlemen's hotel, it has been the restaurant since 1976. The gołabki are great, but I didn't have any on the night I stopped in. I opted for the fresh sausage in beer sauce. When the waiter asked if I would like horseradish, I nearly burst with excitement. Love me some horseradish. The main course was great, but it really shared billing with the cup of dill pickle soup. You simply must try it.

Quick Links:

• St. Florian Website
• Polish Village Cafe Website
• More Images from St. Florian (Start here and click the right arrow to view the next Keep clicking until they are no longer St. Florian images, or keep going...)