13. St Joseph

Name: St. Joseph
Location: Detroit: Gratiot and St. Aubin, near Eastern Market and north end of Dequindre Cut
Parish Founded/Church built: 1855/1873(ish)
Date Visited: March 19, 2010 5-10pm

I used to use the spire of St. Joseph to help me find Eastern Market. Visible from miles away, once I find that I can easily get to Eastern Market. St. Joseph was originally a German parish whose parishioners came from Old St. Mary's. They built an ornate building that has stood the test of time.

We were luck enough to visit on the feast of St. Joseph, and there were all day events going on. We came at 5 for an organ concert, then went to Fish Fry at Sweetest Heart of Mary, then returned for mass and a tour of the wonderful building. It was a great way to spend a Friday night.

Both the outside and inside of St. Joseph are grand beyond anything built in the last 70 years. They really outdid themselves with the details and statues of each saint. The windows are incredible, including one that was imported from Austria using a glass technique that can no longer be reproduced. It is said that window is worth more than all other stained glass windows in all Detroit put together.

St. Joseph has a very active music ministry, and we were able to enjoy the organ concert and get a feel for the power of the instrument. We listened for an hour, taking in the great church and walking around to each altar and statue. After some time we went to their social hall where they had a traditional St. Joseph shrine where people brought food for his feast day that would later be distributed.

After having Detroit's best Fish Fry at Sweetest Heart, we returned for mass. It was my first Latin Trinetine mass experience. This was mass in Extraordinary form, the way it was back in the day. The priest faces the altar, back to the congregations, with the aid of many deacons who sit, stand, kneel and genuflect in military uniform. Not all masses at St. Joseph are like this. They have masses each Sunday in English, Latin, and sometimes German.

Seeing as how it wasn't a normal Sunday mass, I don't want to judge certain aspects of the experience just on this visit. But for the architecture and artwork alone, it's worth the trip.