St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church
Encyclopedia
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 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1985.
was outgrowing the capacity of the church, and the parish of St. Josaphat was started on June first to serve the burgeoning community. The church is named after St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, who was a Greek Catholic
priest and was appointed archbishop of Polotsk, Poland in 1617. 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. On February 2, 1890, the first building for the St. Josaphat parish, a combination church and school, was dedicated. However, in the next decade, the church grew to over 1,000 families under the leadership of Father Razadkowski. 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. A school was built in the 1920s.
By 1960, the Polish community that had once attended the church had scattered to the suburbs. 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.
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.
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. The church measures 132 feet (40.2 m) by 56 feet (17.1 m), with a 65 feet (19.8 m) ceiling and a seating capacity of 1200. The main steeple is 200 feet (61 m) tall, while the two side steeples are each 100 feet. The exterior of the church is built from red and orange brick, extensively trimmed with Bedford Indiana buff limestone. 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. 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.
The woodwork in the church is crafted of white oak, and there is an extensive collection of murals on the walls.
and St. Joseph
. Parish business is conducted at the rectory of Sweetest Heart of Mary.
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.
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.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1982 and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1985.
History
In 1889, the Polish community of St. Albertus Roman Catholic ChurchSt. Albertus Roman Catholic Church
St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church is a church located at 4231 St. Aubin Street in Detroit, Michigan in the Forest Park neighborhood area on the city's central East side...
was outgrowing the capacity of the church, and the parish of St. Josaphat was started on June first to serve the burgeoning community. The church is named after St. Josaphat Kuntsevych, who was a Greek Catholic
Belarusian Greek Catholic Church
The Belarusian Greek Catholic Church , sometimes called, in reference to its Byzantine Rite, the Belarusian Byzantine Catholic Church, is the heir within Belarus of the Union of Brest...
priest and was appointed archbishop of Polotsk, Poland in 1617. 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
Sweetest Heart Of Mary Roman Catholic Church
Sweetest Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church is located at 4440 Russell Street in Detroit, Michigan in the Forest Park neighborhood on the city's central East side. The Gothic Revival Cathedral styled Church is the largest of the Roman Catholic Churches in the City of Detroit...
. 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. On February 2, 1890, the first building for the St. Josaphat parish, a combination church and school, was dedicated. However, in the next decade, the church grew to over 1,000 families under the leadership of Father Razadkowski. 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. A school was built in the 1920s.
By 1960, the Polish community that had once attended the church had scattered to the suburbs. 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.
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
Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite
"An extraordinary form of the Roman Rite" is a phrase used in Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum to describe the liturgy of the 1962 Roman Missal, widely referred to as the "Tridentine Mass"...
, St. Josaphat has added weekday and Holy Day Masses and special events for its Latin Mass Community.
Architecture
The Victorian RomanesqueRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
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. The church measures 132 feet (40.2 m) by 56 feet (17.1 m), with a 65 feet (19.8 m) ceiling and a seating capacity of 1200. The main steeple is 200 feet (61 m) tall, while the two side steeples are each 100 feet. The exterior of the church is built from red and orange brick, extensively trimmed with Bedford Indiana buff limestone. 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. 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.
Current information
The church is grouped in a cluster with the nearby Sweetest HeartSweetest Heart Of Mary Roman Catholic Church
Sweetest Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church is located at 4440 Russell Street in Detroit, Michigan in the Forest Park neighborhood on the city's central East side. The Gothic Revival Cathedral styled Church is the largest of the Roman Catholic Churches in the City of Detroit...
and St. Joseph
St. Joseph Catholic Church, Detroit
Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1855, is a historic German Catholic parish with a landmark church located at 1828 Jay Street in the Eastern Market - Lafayette Park neighborhood area just outside of downtown Detroit on the city's central east side...
. Parish business is conducted at the rectory of Sweetest Heart of Mary.
The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1982, and received historic recognition from the city of Detroit in 1983 and the state of Michigan in 1985.
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.
External links
- Official site of St. Josaphat parish.
- St. Josaphat from the Archdiocese of Detroit.