St. Joseph Catholic Church, Detroit
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| St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Detroit, Michigan |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1870 |
| Architect: | Francis X. Himpler; Donaldson & Meier (boundary increase) |
| Architectural style(s): | Late Gothic Revival; Prairie School, Gothic, Italianate (boundary increase) |
| Added to NRHP: | December 08, 1972 January 28, 1992 (boundary increase) |
| NRHP Reference#: | 72000670, 91002013 (boundary increase)[1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
Saint Joseph Detroit, 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 just outside of downtown Detroit. Its building is on the National Register of Historic Places and deemed 'of national importance.'
The German-inspired Gothic structure had its cornerstone laid in 1870 and was dedicated in 1873, making it one of the oldest extant churches in Detroit. Francis G. Himpler, a Munich-born New York architect, designed the building which is considered one of the Midwest's best displays of Victorian gothic architecture, especially due to the fact that the structure is effectively unaltered. The building is also distinguished by its stained glass, notable in its intricate designs and wide usage. Located at 1828 Jay Street, the church is still in full operation today, with two Masses every Sunday and Daily Mass on certain weekdays.
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[edit] Traditional worship
St. Joseph Parish has kept up traditional worship throughout its history, maintaining the Latin language, alongside vernacular German and English, in its Novus Ordo Masses after the Second Vatican Council. In Fall 2007, after a 37 year absence, the parish re-instated the Latin Tridentine Mass which was effectively replaced, but never banned, when the Catholic Church created the Novus Ordo Mass in 1962. St. Joseph joins nearby St. Josaphat Parish and Assumption Grotto Parish as one of the few midwestern parishes offering the old Mass. St. Joseph offers it on the fourth Sunday of every month and on some feast days. St. Joseph also maintains German language Masses on the fourth Sunday of every month, being a historically German parish.
The parish is known for its musical heritage, offering orchestral Masses composed by the likes of Mozart, Hadyn, and lesser known composers on certain Sundays and Holy Days, and maintaining traditional choir and organ music. The St. Joseph organ is a powerful instrument in a fine acoustical space. Contemporary worship songs have been shunned by the St. Joseph music ministry, and the ministry has often trended toward simple chanted ordinaries, especially at the Latin masses.
While not unique in being respective of tradition and creating solemnity in this manner, St. Joseph Parish lies outside the mainstream of contemporary American Catholic worship.
[edit] The parish today
St. Joseph is clustered with two neighboring Polish-heritage parishes, St. Josaphat and Sweetest Heart of Mary, both on nearby Canfield Street. Due to tight archdiocesan finances, a priest shortage, and metro Detroit sprawl which has dispersed Catholics, one pastor services these three parishes, with some help from other archdiocesan priests. They coordinate their Mass schedules such that daily Mass is at various churches throughout the week.
[edit] See also
[edit] References and further reading
- Godzak, Roman (2004). Catholic Churches of Detroit (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-3235-5.
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2008-04-15).
[edit] External links
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