Ste. Anne

Name: Ste. Anne de Detroit
Location: Southwest Detroit in the shadow of the Ambassador Bridge, look for the twin steeples
Parish Founded/Church Built: 1701/1886
Date Visited: several times in childhood, most recently March 28th, 2010 (Palm Sunday) 12pm


The formal name: Ste. Anne de Detroit is telling of Detroit's French roots. Founded two days after the French landed on the banks of what would become Detroit, Ste. Anne is the second oldest continually running parish in the USA (trailing only a parish in St. Augustine, they always win the Oldest Contest). The Basilian Fathers - an order with post-revolution French roots run the parish.

On Palm Sunday, heavy rains kept the usual outdoor Palm ceremony and procession inside the church vestibule. As a child I remember coming to Ste. Anne for Spanish Mass. While the Southwest Detroit area has the area's largest Spanish speaking population, this mass was in English and the enormous church was filled to capacity for the third mass of the day. The priest, keeping the congregation mindful of the start of Holy Week, gave a wonderful sermon about the importance of Reconciliation (confession). This is not something that would normally come from my line of thinking, but it made me want to go to confession.

Of course the building itself is a masterpiece. It is 124 years old and just as beautiful as 20 churches built in the last 75 years put together. Beautiful stained glass windows, a ceiling resembling the starry heavens, and awe inspiring altars. It is always a great experience to enter into Ste. Anne's.

Coming up at the end of this month is a great opportunity to worship and celebrate at Ste. Anne. The 100th Annual Novena will happen from July 17-July 26 (the feast day of Sts. Anne and Joachim. Each night will celebrate a different ethnic group, and all are welcome to participate in as many or as few nights as possible. For more information, see this article in the Michigan Catholic.

For those who are wondering, Ste. Anne is the mother of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It was her pregnancy with Mary that is referred to as the Immaculate Conception - meaning Mary was conceived without sin so that she could one day become the mother of Jesus. St. Joachim was her husband, the father of Mary.

Harvard's Pluralism Project also has a great profile of Ste. Anne's history and community.