Sacred Heart Chapel at Marygrove College

Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) opened St. Mary Academy in 1846 in Monroe. The school grew to include college-level classes and St. Mary College was established in 1905. Five years later, the State of Michigan empowered the college to grant degrees, and in 1914, the State Department of Education authorized it to grant teaching certificates. Those original charters are still in effect at Marygrove today.

Enrollment outgrew the confines in Monroe during the early 1920s. Bishop Gallagher and Mother Domitilla Donohue sought to move the college to Detroit. Mother Domitilla purchased an 80-acre wooded tract in a developing area of northwest Detroit in March, 1922, for $241,000. Indianapolis architects D.A. Bohlen & Son designed the Liberal Arts building (which houses the chapel) as well as the neighboring Madame Cadillac residence hall.

The new site suggested a new name, and in 1925, with the laying of the cornerstone of the present Liberal Arts Building, St. Mary College became Marygrove College.

The chapel features the traditional side altars to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, respectively.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is depicted atop the main altar.

Fine woodworking details on the ends of the pews.

An interesting detail that I've never seen in a pew before: hinges cover small storage compartments on the top of each pew.

Large, white marble Stations of the Cross line the walls of the chapel.

Stained-glass windows depict scenes in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary: the Annunciation (left) and the Visitation (right).

The Presentation in the Temple (left) and the Wedding at Cana (right).

A large Casavant organ is housed in the choir loft. 

Parishioners of St. Peter Claver noticed water and plaster damage to the church's ceiling a few months ago. Concerned for safety, they soon moved their regularly-scheduled Sunday Mass to the Sacred Heart Chapel at Marygrove College. On January 2, the roof of the church collapsed. While the damage is extensive, there were no injuries.

The collapsed roof and leaning walls at St. Peter Claver - Source

To make matters even worse for the parish, a longtime pastor, Fr. James O'Reilly, passed away a few days after the roof collapsed.

St. Peter Claver will continue to hold its 10am Sunday Mass at Marygrove until they find a permanent home. Daily Mass is celebrated in the rectory next to the former Precious Blood Church.

General info about Marygrove: Marygrove.edu
Most photos of the stained glass: MarysRosaries.com On the damage to St. Peter Claver: The Michigan Catholic + Loyola High School
About the plan to close the undergrad college: Crain's Detroit, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News

Final Mass at Precious Blood Church on October 4th

Precious Blood Church, a part of St. Peter Claver Parish, will host its final Mass on Sunday, October 4, at 10:00am. A meeting for parishioners is scheduled to follow Mass this Sunday to discuss it further. A Mass for Precious Blood School alumni is scheduled for next Sunday, September 27.

The parish office will continue to occupy the nearby rectory until both the rectory and church are sold. St. Peter Claver's "annex" location, the former St. Francis de Sales, will remain open. For several years, Precious Blood Church has been open only May-September since the small parish cannot afford to heat the large building.

Precious Blood church is located at 13305 Grove, near McNichols and the Lodge.

For more info, see the bulletin

St. Peter Claver (formerly Precious Blood)

Precious Blood Parish was established in 1929, near McNichols and Schaefer, in northwest Detroit. The current church was designed by the firm of Maguolo & Quick and built in the early 1950s. The exterior columns are made of granite while walls are composed of sandstone.

An inscription outside the main entrance quotes Genesis 28:17b "this is nothing else but the house of God, the gateway to heaven."


Excerpts from the gospel are found on the walls of the nave.

The tabernacle is located in a chapel on the west side of the church.

Above one doorway is an inscription that translates as "this place is holy" and also shows Cardinal Mooney's coat of arms.

A mural depicting the Holy Trinity adorns the apse.

Bishop Moses Anderson, the first and only African-American bishop in the AOD, was consecrated as bishop in 1983. In addition to his duties of auxiliary bishop, overseeing parishes in the Central Region, he also served as pastor of Precious Blood 1992-2001. He later retired in 2003 when he reached the age of 75 and died January 1, 2013.

In 2005, Precious Blood merged with St. Francis de Sales to form St. Peter Claver Parish. The Precious Blood location is the primary location though the "annex" location at St. Francis de Sales is often used.


Sunday Mass is at 10:00am, Easter-Advent, at the former Precious Blood. During the winter, Mass is held at the much smaller St. Francis de Sales to lower utility expenses.


A prayer group frequently gathers in the church at 11:00am on Saturdays.

Fr. James O'Reilly, SJ, is the current pastor of St. Peter Claver as well as counselor at Loyola High School.

For more photos: Flickr
For more about the parish: parish website & bulletin archive

For more about Bishop Anderson: Detroit Free Press

St. Peter Claver (formerly St. Francis de Sales)

St. Peter Claver Catholic Community, in northwest Detroit, is the result of a 2005 merger between Precious Blood (est. 1929) and St. Francis de Sales (est. 1927).

The current parish maintains both of the worship sites. The primary site being the former Precious Blood Parish, located at 13305 Grove St., near McNichols and Schaefer. However, in effort to reduce utility usage, the former Precious Blood Church is not used during the winter. Many services are held at the "annex," a chapel located at the rear of the original St. Francis de Sales. It appears that the original church, at 10600 Fenkell, is no longer used.

Mass is celebrated on First Fridays at 6:30pm and Sundays at 10:00am. Reconciliation is on Saturdays at 4:00pm.

The windows are fairly plain, clear glass.

The altar canopy and tabernacle seem to be rather old, likely from the original church.

Fr. James O'Reilly, SJ, serves as pastor and also is an instructor at neighboring Loyola High School, one of three Catholic high schools remaining in the city.

Deacon Wyatt L. Jones, Jr., the former administrator of Precious Blood, serves as a permanent deacon.

       

For more info, check the parish website and/or bulletin archive