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St. Josaphat Roman Catholic Church

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St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church
Facade
Religion
AffiliationRoman Catholic
LeadershipFr. Darrell Roman
Year consecrated1901
Location
LocationDetroit, Michigan,  United States
Geographic coordinates42°21′21″N 83°3′10″W / 42.35583°N 83.05278°W / 42.35583; -83.05278
Architecture
Architect(s)Joseph G. Kastler, William E. N. Hunter
Typechurch
StyleRomanesque Revival
Completed1901
Specifications
Capacity1,200
Length132 feet (40 m)
Width56 feet (17 m)
Height (max)200 feet (61 m)
Materialsbrick, limestone
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Added to NRHPDecember 8, 1982
NRHP Reference no.82000555[1]
Website
http://www.stjosaphatchurch.org

St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic church located at 715 E. Canfield Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982[1] and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1985.[2]

History

In 1889, the Polish community of St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church was outgrowing the capacity of the church, and the parish of St. Josaphat was started on June first[3] to serve the burgeoning community.[4] The church is named after St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, who was a Greek Catholic priest and was appointed archbishop of Polotsk, Poland in 1617.[5] He was martyred in 1623 but not canonized until 1867, which implies that this parish, founded only 22 years later, was one of the first to bear this name.

The church was located on Canfield not far west of the Sweetest Heart Of Mary Roman Catholic Church. It is possible that the choice of location was intended to compete with Sweetest Heart, which was at the time a Polish Catholic church unsanctioned by the diocese.[4] On February 2, 1890, the first building for the St. Josaphat parish, a combination church and school, was dedicated.[3] However, in the next decade, the church grew to over 1,000 families[4] under the leadership of Father Razadkowski.[5] In response, Razadkowski raised funds to build a new church, which is the one still extant today. The church was built in 1901, along with a rectory and janitor’s home.[4] A school was built in the 1920s.

By 1960, the Polish community that had once attended the church had scattered to the suburbs.[4] The school was closed and demolished, and St. Josaphat struggled with dwindling membership and the upkeep of tha aging church. However, the parish began a building rehabilitation program, and it continues to serve the Polish community.[4]

In 2004, St. Josaphat became the home for the Archdiocese of Detroit's first regular celebrations of the Tridentine Latin Mass since the liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council. Attendance at weekend Masses has significantly increased as people from all over southeastern Michigan travel to St. Josaphat for this liturgy. St. Josaphat has also developed a choir and music program to accompany the Tridentine Mass. Since Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 widened permission for the 1962 form to be used as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, St. Josaphat has added weekday and Holy Day Masses and special events for its Latin Mass Community.[6]

Architecture

The Victorian Romanesque style church was designed by Joseph G. Kastler and William E. N. Hunter. It was built by the Jermolowicz Brothers and local carpenters, Harcus and Lang.[3] The church measures 132 feet (40 m) by 56 feet (17 m), with a 65-foot (20 m) ceiling and a seating capacity of 1200.[3] The main steeple is 200 feet (61 m) tall, while the two side steeples are each 100 feet.[3] The exterior of the church is built from red and orange brick, extensively trimmed with Bedford Indiana buff limestone.[5] The stained glass windows, depicting Mary & Joseph and the twelve apostles, were made by the Detroit Stained Glass Works.

The interior of the church contains five altars. On the main altar there is a painting of St. Josaphat, dressed in the vestments of an eastern rite bishop.[3] The side altars are dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, and in the transept of the church are altars dedicated to Saints Anthony of Padua and Francis of Assisi.[3]

Main Altar and Reredos

The woodwork in the church is crafted of white oak, and there is an extensive collection of murals on the walls.[3]

Current information

The church is grouped in a cluster with the nearby Sweetest Heart and St. Joseph. Parish business is conducted at the rectory of Sweetest Heart of Mary.[7]

The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and received historic recognition from the city of Detroit in 1983 and the state of Michigan in 1985.[4]

Effective July 1, 2011, Fr. Darrell Roman was appointed the new Administrator. He will also be the Administrator for the other two churches in the cluster, St. Joseph, and Sweetest Heart of Mary.


See also

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "Saint Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church Complex". Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h History page at St. Josaphat
  4. ^ a b c d e f g St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church Complex from the city of Detroit.
  5. ^ a b c Saint Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church Local Complex from Detroit1701.org
  6. ^ Detroit Latin Mass Community
  7. ^ Schedule from St. Josaphat

Further reading

  • Godzak, Roman (2000). Archdiocese of Detroit (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738507972.
  • Godzak, Roman (2004). Catholic Churches of Detroit (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738532355.
  • Godzak, Roman (2000). Make Straight the Path: A 300 Year Pilgrimage Archdiocese of Detroit. Editions du Signe. ISBN 2746801450.
  • Tentler, Leslie Woodcock with forward by Edmund Cardinal Szoka (1992). Seasons of Grace: A History of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0814321062.
  • Tutag, Nola Huse with Lucy Hamilton (1988). Discovering Stained Glass in Detroit. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1875-4.
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