Journey to the Catholic Churches of Detroit.: February 2015

St. John Neumann in Canton, MI was established in 1976. The patron saint is John Neumann of Philadelphia. He was born 1811 in Bohemia in what is now a part of the Czech Republic. He emigrated to the United States and eventually became the 4^th Bishop of Philadelphia where he served from 1852 until his death in 1860. He is, thus far, the only American Bishop to be canonized and his feast day is January 5.

Attending a mass at St. John Neumann was a bit of a homecoming for me. It is where I met and married my wife, Maria, and it is where our children were baptized into the Catholic faith. Of course, most of the people we knew at that time (the 90’s) are no longer there but much of what use to be still is today.

St. John Neumann has a very modern feel to it. It was built in a town (Canton) in the 70’s that was just starting out itself so it took on the more modernistic feel of the surrounding community. There are no pews or kneelers at St. John Neumann instead everyone sits in very comfortable cloth chairs. The altar is simply designed. It and the matching lectern are oak and had green clothes draped over them. There is a, sort, of art-deco designed crucifix that hangs over the altar.

Fr. Ron Richards is now the pastor at St. John Neumann. At the mass we attended, retired priest and weekend assistant, Fr. Manny Chircop, presented the homily. He spoke on the need for all of us to venture outside of our comfort zone to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to all those we come into contact with.

In many ways, St. John Neumann hasn’t changed much since we last attended masses here over 15 years old ago. It still has some wonderful parishioners who greeted us as we enter the church. The spirit and love for God resonated throughout the church. So we enjoyed our coming home to St. John Neumann; in fact, it almost felt like we had never left.

UP NEXT: St. Justin-Hazel Park