Discovering St. Mary's of Redford

St. Mary’s of Redford is located on the northwest side of Detroit in the neighborhood known as  Old Redford. You enter the church through the large double wooden doors that look out on to Grand River Avenue. The vestibule is small with 2 beautiful stained glass windows each depicting Mary. As this church is named for the mother of Jesus you will find many images of her throughout the church.

Past the vestibule and through another set of wooden doors is the main church. There is a main aisle, with pews on either side, which leads up to the beautiful and ornate alter. The alter is large with a main area for the priest, lecturer and others. High above the alter is a large wooden beam with a statute of Jesus on the cross with Mary and Joseph on either side of him. The ceiling over this scene is dark blue with gold stars which gives the impression of a beautiful night sky. The scene reminds you of what you might see in a snow globe.

St. Mary’s of Redford was established in 1843. The church has a plaque on the front of the building with the date of 1849 AD signifying when this church was built. Of course, there have been updates and improvements over the years but you can definitely feel the history of the church from the old wooden doors and the bell tower that sits high above the church façade to the beautiful wooden pews, the stained glass windows and beautiful art work that are prominent throughout the church.

On our visit to St. Mary’s of Redford, there were approximately 30-40 people in attendance at the 4PM mass. There was a mix of young and old, black and white, single and families. Everyone was very friendly. During the sign of peace; most everyone left their pews to move around and offer peace and blessings. We were pleasantly surprised by this sign of friendship and welcoming spirit by the people of St. Mary’s.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to St. Mary’s of Redford. We were impressed with the people as well as the history and beauty of the church.

Up Next: St. Lawrence-Utica

Discovering the Churches of The Detroit Archdiocese-An Introduction

The Detroit Archdiocese was first established in 1833 as the diocese of Detroit. It was elevated to Archdiocese in 1937. Currently there are over 100 churches that help make up the Detroit Archdioceses. There is a unique and special quality about each of the churches that make up the Archdiocese of Detroit. They represent a blend of the history of the Detroit area and modern architecture design that makes each church worth exploring and discovering.

This year our family decided to begin its own journey of exploration and discovery of these fascinating and picturesque churches.  Once a month we will venture away from our home parish of Divine Child in Dearborn to visit the churches of the Detroit Archdiocese in order to explore and discover all they have to offer.

These are the stories of our family’s journey in words and pictures. Although each church collectively makes up the Detroit Archdiocese each one is as unique and diverse as the congregation that meets in them each week to listen and reflect on God’s words. We started our journey earlier this year. Here is a brief description of each of the churches we visited.

St. Scholastica-Detroit This was the first church we visited on our journey this past January. It is located on the west side of Detroit off Outer Drive.  The parish administrator was Fr. Timothy Babcock. We attended a Saturday afternoon mass which was held in a chapel at the back of the main church. Although, I’m not positive, I surmised that this was done in lieu of having to heat the entire church.  The chapel was beautiful with ample room for the 30 or so people that attended the mass. There was no music just one lady who led the congregation in the hymns and prayers. St. Scholastica was first established in 1928.

St. Michael-Livonia I remember my first visit to St. Michaels was just after the 9/11 attacks. The company I worked for was located down the street from the church and we were allowed to go to the church to pray for the victims during our lunch time. St. Michaels was established in 1931. On our recent visit we found the parishioners to be friendly and inviting. Fr. William Tindell was often humorous in his homily.

St. Joseph-Trenton  This is one of the oldest churches in the Detroit Archdiocese having been established in 1849. St. Joseph’s still retains quite a bit of its historical charm. The alter is surrounded on 3 sides which gives you a great view of it no matter where you sit. The day we visited Pope John Paul II was being beatified so there was special ceremony, led by Fr. Brad Forintos,  to mark the occasion which made our visit all the more special.

St. Matthews-Detroit Located on the east side of Detroit at Whittier and Harper, St. Matthews has preserved and remained a viable part of this community. Fr. Duane Novelly has worked hard to maintain the services necessary for the community and this church to survive. It hasn’t been easy though, Fr. Novelly told us of recent thefts at the church of copper piping and some brass fixtures. He asked the parishioners for their continued prayers as they continue to serve the area despite these setbacks. St. Matthews was established in 1927.

Divine Savior-Westland Divine Savior is nestled in a wooded area on the western edge of Westland. It is a beautiful church and the parishioners were very friendly. Fr. Alexander Kuras gave a brief but meaningful homily. Divine Savior was established in 1973.

St. Mary (Our Lady of the Snows)-Milford St. Mary in Milford was established in 1890. When we visited the church we were impressed with how the historical aspect of the church remained intact as some modern day enhancements added to the beauty and décor of the church. Fr. Ron Anderson is the presiding priest at St. Mary’s. His weekend assistant is Fr. Manny Chircop. Fr. Manny gave the homily at our visit.

These are the churches we visited so far. Future entries in this blog will have more detailed content as we continue our journey of exploring and discovering the churches of the Detroit Archdiocese.

Up Next: St. Mary of Redford-Detroit