St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Monroe)

The original church and cemetery
In January of 1788, Fr. François-Xavier Dufaux, from Windsor's Assumption Parish noticed that there were 32 farms near the Sturgeon River (now called River Raisin) with 100 farms staked-out for future settlement. Dufaux wrote to Bishop Jean-François Hubert, of Québec City, that the River Raisin residents were in desperate need of a priest. Dufaux made plans for the religious needs of the settlers and intended to lay-out a cemetery in the spring, but not bless it until a chapel or rectory for a priest was built.

Bishop Hubert tasked Fr. Pierre Fréchette, pastor of St. Anne's parish in Detroit, to organize and prepare the River Raisin settlers for the establishment of a mission, later a parish, under the Diocese of Québec. Saint-Antoine sur la Rivière-aux-Raisins was founded on October 15 of that year on the western edge of what is now the city of Monroe. Burke was sent back to Quebec in 1796 and, in 1817, he was appointed the first bishop of Nova Scotia and died there three years later. Pictured below: (left) parish records 1794-1844 and (right) Bishop Burke.

  

Historical markers of the first church & cemetery

A historical marker (front) was placed at the site of the first church in 1959. Source

A new housing development was scheduled nearby but human bones were unearthed at the proposed site in 1999. By September of that year, further examination found a total of 45 tombs. The City of Monroe bought the site from the developer, reinterred the remains in a formal ceremony, and another monument was placed at the site.

St. Joseph Cemetery
Another, larger cemetery was established circa 1801 on the northern edge of Monroe. For many years, St. Joseph Cemetery was administered by all of the Monroe parishes until the archdiocese took control in 2013. It is steeped in the early history of the region: many settlers, missionaries and soldiers are buried there.

   

Dozens of priests are interred at St. Joseph, including several Comboni Missionaries who ministered at St. Mary Parish. Hundreds of IHM Sisters are also interred at St. Joseph Cemetery as well as the neighboring St. Mary Cemetery.

   

Many war veterans are interred in St. Joseph Cemetery, some preceding the Civil War, as well as Congressman John Camillus Lehr, who served Michigan in the U.S. Congress 1933-1935. A smaller, open graveyard stands just south of St. Joseph Cemetery. Here are also many graves from the 1800s.

   

The current church & school

St. Mary Church and rectory, circa 1910. Source

The War of 1812 caused great damage in the area, many residents fled and the parish was without a resident priest. However, Fr. Gabriel Richard ministered to the area during wartime. During and after the war, Fr. Richard was critical of abuses performed by the British military and he was placed under custody of a loyalist priest in Windsor. In 1815, Fr. Richard was released and he sought to build a new, stone church. Several influential parishioners living near the center of what would become downtown Monroe proposed that the parish sell the old property and build a new church near the center of the village.

    

Construction of the current church began in 1834, two miles downstream from the previous location. The church was consecrated five years later and renamed as Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in 1845. The same year, the parish fell under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Detroit and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM Sisters) were established in Monroe. Two schools were established the following year: St. Mary Academy, an all-girls school, and Monroe Catholic Central, an all-boys school.

A hand-colored postcard of the all-girls school, circa 1910. Source

A centennial marker was placed at the southeast corner of the church in 1888 and remains there today. The church was expanded in 1903 and, that same year, St. Mary Parochial Elementary School opened. The current rectory was added to the north side of the church in the 1920s.

The church was listed as a Michigan Historic Site and added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1982. The two high schools eventually merged in 1986 to form the coeducational St. Mary Catholic Central High School and remains in operation today.

A mosaic in memory of Roy and Elizabeth Palmer was added to the façade after 2002.

   

Queen of Angels in the west transept and Corpus Christi in the east

  

A shrine in the west transept houses statues of St. Anthony of Padua, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Joseph. The Sacred Heart of Jesus in the east transept.

    

Contemporary Stations of the Cross line the walls of the nave

   

Stained-glass window above the main door

The church has a barrel vault ceiling. The high altar was removed at some point but the tabernacle remains at the original location.

Windows in the apse depict scenes from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sedes Sapientiæ or "Throne of Wisdom" pictured above the altar.

Geometric windows line the nave, the top of each shows symbols of Christ and the sacraments

      

More about the parish:  parish website
More history: Google site + Wikipedia + Ancestry
More about St. Joseph Cemetery: The Michigan Catholic + CFCS Detroit

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

St. John the Baptist (Monroe)

St. John the Baptist Church and rectory as painted by Monroe artist Karen McLaughlin

Rev. Fr. Camillus P. Maes organized St. John the Baptist Parish in 1872 to serve Monroe's Irish population, which had struggled to form an English-speaking parish over a forty year period. On September 12, 1872, Fr. Maes purchased a 100' x 150' plot of land, at the corner of Fifth and Monroe Streets, for a  cost of $900.

Bishop Borgess blessed and placed the cornerstone on June 24 (Nativity of St. John the Baptist) in 1873. Messre, Phelan and Bodell oversaw the construction.

   

In January, 1892, fire destroyed the interior of the church as well as the steeple. Fortunately, exterior walls survived the fire and remained when the church was rebuilt. Detroit architects Donaldson and Meier led the reconstruction effort and the building was rededicated the following October.

After nearly a century, St. John returned to its original appearance when the steeple was reconstructed in 1991 as part of a year-long, $1 million restoration project.

Alpha and Omega cover the reredos, beneath the Baptism in the Jordan

Side altars along with processional banners for St. Mary and St. Joseph, respectively.

  

Windows depicting St. Thomas More, Pope St. Pius X, and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. These were likely later additions during the mid-20th century.

    

Symbolic windows in the narthex.

  

St. Jude, St. Anthony of Padua, and the Infant of Prague in the narthex.

      

Rev. Fr. James Smalarz has been pastor since 2010. Saturday Vigil Mass is at 5:30pm preceded by Confessions at 4:30pm. Sunday Mass is at 8:00am, 10:00am, and Noon. Weekdays Mass, followed by Rosary, is at 8:15am on Tuesday, Wednesday, and First Friday.

For more info: parish website + bulletin archive
Another blog post: Discovering Detroit Catholic Churches