The
historic old St. Mary’s Catholic Church is located in the Greektown section of
Downtown Detroit. St. Mary’s was founded
in 1834 by Fr. Martin Kundig. The current church was built in 1884-1885 and is
the 3rd oldest parish in Detroit.
The
historical significance of St. Mary’s is evident from the moment you set eyes
on it. The outer facade is a brick structure with its steeple that is crowned
with a cross visible from great distances and it has four bells that were given
to the church by Antoine Beaubien and his wife.
You continue to see and feel the historic significances of St. Mary’s as
you enter the church through large wooden doors. The glorious proportions are
evident throughout the church from the highly polished granite columns to the
richly frescoed ceilings. There are also many striking paintings and sculptures
at St Mary’s that help complete the look of this glorious church. One of the
more prominent paintings at St. Mary’s is of the church patroness; the Virgin
Mary that is located on the ceiling of the church. The high altar of the church
was retained from the original church and is a great example of the hand carved
handiwork that is prevalent throughout St. Mary’s.
St.
Mary’s is also known as the church of the grottos; it houses 3 of them within
its sanctuary. They are; The Gethsemane which depicts God’s agony; The
Baptismal which depicts Jesus baptism and the Lourdes; a replica of the French
Shrine. Together, they add to the charm and awe of the church.
Fr.
Wayne Epperley is the current pastor at St. Mary’s and he gave the homily at
the Sunday afternoon mass that we attended. In his homily he implored the
congregation to focus on being faithful to God and being willing to receive
Jesus in our hearts and minds in order to protect us from all the evil and
destruction that is in our world. He said we should turn to God for his love
and guidance.
We
thoroughly enjoyed our visit to St. Mary’s in Greektown and the opportunity to
tour the church and to immerse ourselves in its history. We marveled at the
hand carved sculptures, the ceiling paintings and all the richness of its times
past and the beauty of its present.
St.
Mary’s is one the true gems of the Detroit Archdiocese and we will remember our
visit for a long time to come.
Up Next: Holy
Family-Novi
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| Old St. Mary's in Downtown Detroit |
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| St. Mary's historical plaque |
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| Sculpture of Mary w/ baby Jesus at entrance to church |
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| View of outside of church |
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| Doors to St. Mary's |
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| view one of the steeples |
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| Welcome to St. Mary's |
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| one of the many sculptures at St. Mary's |
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| Jesus on the cross |
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| The baptismal grotto |
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| The altar at St. Mary's |
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| Sculptures of St. Anthony flanked by St. Rita to the left and St. Theresa on the right |
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| Jesus at Gethesemane grotto |
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| Old St. Mary's in Downtown Detroit |
