Location: Detroit, I-75 and Canfield (between Warren and Mack exits)
Parish Founded/Church built 1889/1901
Date visited: 4/11/10 12pm
St. Josaphat is the three steepled church that mimics the Renaissance center's pattern when coming into Detroit south on I-75. Beautiful on the outside as well as the inside, this church made me feel a connection to the past as we went through mass.
We attended the Sunday after Easter, also called Divine Mercy Sunday. It just happened that the day before a plane carrying dozens of the Polish military and government leaders crashed in Russia on the way to commemorate the many thousands of Poles killed by the Soviets in 1940. The visiting priest, himself from Poland in front of a largely Polish American congregation spoke of these tragedies, and the capacity for forgiveness.
The church building has held up well against the passing of a century. I felt a deep connection to the history of this parish, as plaques honor the parishioners who volunteered for WWI and WWII. Murals depicting great moments in the history of Polish Catholicism offer a history lesson on the ceilings.
St. Josaphat is one of the many Detroit churches where you can attend Tridentine (Latin) mass at 9:30 on Sunday mornings and 7pm on Mondays. Along with the members of their cluster parishes, Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Joseph, they have many offerings in the way of committees, special events, and other offerings. Go to any of these churches (or all three) and you are in for a great mass experience where thousands of parishioners have worshiped before. It is truly a great feeling.
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