Saints Peter and Paul is the oldest church building in continuous use in the City of Detroit.
Detroit was founded by the French in 1701 and after periods of both French and British rule, it passed into American control in 1796. The Diocese of Detroit was founded in 1833, even before Michigan became a state in 1837. About that time, there were 18 priests, 30 churches, and some 24,000 Catholics in the Detroit diocese, which then covered the entire State of Michigan; there were only 3 Catholic churches within what were then the Detroit city limits (Ste. Anne, Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s). The population of Detroit in 1840 was 9,102.
Saints Peter and Paul is the oldest church building in continuous use remaining in the City of Detroit. It was Detroit’s original, consecrated cathedral for just shy of 30 years. The cornerstone was laid by Bishop Peter Paul LeFevere in 1844, but the building was constructed on a pay-as-you-go basis (debt-free) and was not finished until 1848. The building was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The church was designed in late neo-classic style by Francis Letourneau; the construction was under the supervision of Vicar-General Rev. Peter Kindekens. It measures 80 feet by 180 feet. The entire building is approximately 30,000 square feet of space.
When first opened, there was no heat at all in the church. The original lighting was gas and during the 1850-80s the heating system was simply wood burning stoves in each of the four corners. The 10 pillars holding up the church roof are tree trunks from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, brought down on a barge. There is no metal in the frame of the building. The church was designed to have a tall spire, but this was never built. In 1879, parishioner Ann Koveney donated the nine chimes that are in the church tower.
Bishop Peter Paul LeFevere was a French speaking Belgian, who had been a missionary priest in Missouri before coming to Detroit, appointed as co-adjutor bishop in 1841. The previous Bishop Rese had become ill and returned to Europe, but never officially resigned his post, thus Bishop LeFevere was technically Bishop of Zela acting in Detroit. In 1848 he transferred his residence from the French parish of Ste. Anne to the newly constructed church in an effort to promote the American development of Detroit Catholic life.
The new church was consecrated by the ranking clergyman at the time, the Archbishop of Baltimore. It was dedicated the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul on June 29, 1848, the feast day of Ss. Peter and Paul, and named after the patron saints of Bishop LeFevere.
In July, 1848 the old Holy Trinity church on Cadillac Square was closed and its congregation was transferred to the new cathedral. Thus, the parish population was primarily made up of Irish and French-Canadian parishioners until the early 1900s when the congregation became more diversified.
Bishop LeFevere died in 1869 and was buried in the crypt located under the stairs leading to altar. In 1939, his body was moved to Holy Sepulchre cemetery.
Most of the exterior of the church, the organ case and the baptismal font date to 1848. The original organ was made by the famous organ builder Henry Erben of New York City. At the time of its completion, it was said to be the second largest organ in the United States. The original organ case and most pipes are still in the old choir loft, though modified many times over the years. The organ and pipes were completely refurbished in 2007.
Completion of the church revealed its faulty acoustic qualities. Therefore, in 1857 the size of the columns was reduced by two-thirds, and the ceiling was arched and decorated. About that time, Angelo Paldi (a Mexican War and later Civil War officer and parishioner) was the mural artist for the church.
Our first Pastor in 1848 was Fr. Edgar Evelyn St. Michael Shawe, an Englishman who fought in the battle of Waterloo (1812) where he was badly wounded and almost left for dead. His mother nursed him to health. Afterwards, he became a Teutonic Knight, but decided that life was not for him. Instead, he converted to Catholicism, entered the priesthood, and was then transferred to the outpost of Detroit.
Fr. Shawe was said to have been a spell-binding preacher. He died in 1851 in a freak carriage accident on his way to laying the cornerstone of Assumption Grotto Church and is buried at Mt. Elliot cemetery.
By 1877, the population in Detroit had grown to 115,000. Bishop Caspar Henry Borgess succeeded Bishop LeFevere in 1870 and worked to establish a school of higher education in Detroit. He invited the Society of Jesus to return to the area to establish a Catholic institution (currently the University of Detroit Mercy). To entice the Jesuits, the bishop offered to give them his cathedral parish. The cathedral was deeded to the Jesuits and the cathedral was renamed Ss. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church. It was last used as a cathedral on September 14, 1877.
In 1877, Bishop John Miege SJ was the first president of Detroit College (later UDM) and the rector of Ss. Peter and Paul. For about 25 years the president of the college was also the church rector. Our first Jesuit pastor was Fr. James Walshe (1880-85).
The building is still owned and operated by the Jesuit order, now based in Chicago.
The first renovation since the 1850s began in 1892. Two additional doors were added to the front of the building; new confessionals and pews were installed; and heating and electric lighting of the church was introduced. The organ loft was enlarged and the tribune or “prayer box”, above the east side wall was built to allow Jesuits in the adjoining rectory (now part of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law) to enter the church with ease and participate in worship services.
The Jesuits had the two side altars installed in the 1880s. They are made of wood and include the statues of Jesuit saints. On the west side is the Sacred Heart of Jesus with Ss. Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier.
On the east side is the Blessed Mother with Ss. Aloysius Gonzaga and Stanislaus Kostka, two young men studying for the priesthood when they died. The Stations of the Cross were nothing too special when installed, but became very valuable when the artist broke his molds.
The marble Fleitz Memorial Altar depicting the crucifixion scene was consecrated in 1908 and a relic of Jesuit St. Francis Borgia was added to those transferred from the old altar. The altar was consecrated by Bishop Foley and was designed by a local Detroit architect, Gustave Mueller.
It depicts Jesus on the cross, with Mary, his mother, Mary Magdalene and John at the foot of the cross. The carving was completed in Italy and shipped in pieces to Detroit. It took 6 months to re-construct here. The altar and candelabrae memorialize a former parishioner, Mrs. E. M. Fleitz, and was paid for by her family. It is entirely made from Carrara marble and cost about $25,000.
A major renovation in 1917 included the marble wainscoting around the church, the two spiral staircases leading to the choir loft, the marble communion rail, a new marble pulpit (which replaced a wooden one), and new windows. The Dinan brothers paid all those expenses.
A major renovation in 1917-18 included the marble wainscoting around the church, the two spiral staircases leading to the choir loft, the marble communion rail, a new marble pulpit (which replaced a wooden one), and new windows. Parishioners, the Dinan brothers, paid all those expenses. John and Michael Dinan were wealthy Detroit grocery purveyors and real estate investors who lived simply and donated their wealth to many Catholic charities. They were made members of the Knights of St. Gregory the Great by the Pope, the highest honor for Catholic laymen, for their charity to the Church.
The present-day wooden altar, ambo, table and sanctuary chairs were all designed and crafted by Jesuit Fr. Geinzen and made of oak from the 100 -year- old church pews. These were donated by Mr./Mrs. John and Anne Politzer and installed in 1995.
On the ceiling are paintings of Ss. Peter and Paul, some of the apostles and St. Mark and St. Luke, the Gospel writers. These were painted on canvas and affixed to the plaster and have been retouched over the years. Also on the molding around the church are the names of Jesus in several different languages, added in the 1998 150th anniversary renovation. The church interior was entirely repainted too. Another renovation in 1998 resulted in a new roof, courtyard entrance with handicapped ramp, a hot water boiler, and sound system. The sculpture of St. Ignatius receiving the Cross from Christ in the courtyard and restoration of the baptismal font also date from the 150th anniversary.
Mechanical improvements throughout the facility in 2012 included a new boiler system, air conditioning and ventilation of all spaces and an electrical upgrade. In 2014, another renovation of the hallway adjacent to the church allowed for a larger cross-aisle entrance into the church. New lighting, flooring, a Bride’s Room and baby changing area were included. Updated LED lights in the church ceiling highlight the paintings of the saints. Sound system upgrades have also been installed.
On the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, June 28, 2015, the Homeless Jesus sculpture, by Timothy Schmalz, graciously donated by an anonymous patron, has been installed on Jefferson.
Our parishioners for the first 70 years or so were 95% Irish, with the remainder French Canadian. Many of these were prominent Detroit families who lived along Jefferson, and for whom Detroit streets were later named (such as Beaufait, Moran and Willis). The area was heavily residential until the turn of the 20th century.
Ss. Peter and Paul Parish School for boys was established in 1856 on property behind the church on Larned St. It was operated by the Christian Brothers from 1856-1859, by lay teachers from 1860-1864 and by the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters from 1864-1888.
In 1882, the former Academy of the Sacred Heart building, located across Jefferson from the church, became the parish school for girls until 1903. Madames of the Sacred Heart were the teachers.
In 1889, a new parish school for boys was built on the northeast corner of E. Larned St. It was placed under the auspices of the Sisters of Charity sisters who operated the school for 75 years. It became co-educational in 1903. In 1919 a new convent building for the sisters was erected next to the school. The school closed in 1964.
The Immigrant Society and St. Elizabeth Benevolent Society were established during the church’s early years and the parish helped support the first orphanage in the city too. Our second Jesuit pastor, Fr. Friedan, started the first St. Vincent DePaul conference in the Detroit diocese in 1886 at Ss. Peter and Paul.
In the early 1900s, the neighborhood was changing, with Italian, Lebanese/Syrian immigrants moving in. African-Americans had always been present on/near Congress and Hastings Street. By 1920, the neighborhood was known as “Little Sicily”. Immigrants from Sicily and southern Italy settled in the area between Congress and the Detroit River.
In 1904, Fr. Ferdinand Weinman SJ learned Italian and began to reach out to the immigrants by walking the streets ringing a hand-bell and telling Gospel stories to the children; he was taking a census too. With the aid of parishioners, he opened a settlement house for the youth, who were otherwise prone to join gangs, on Woodbridge near Rivard in parishioner Francis Palms’ barn. Provided were recreation, a library, religious instruction and other classes. The Italian immigrants then began to worship at Ss. Peter and Paul.
Fr. Weinman died in 1906 but his work was carried on by female parishioners who began a group called the Weinman Club which operated a permanent settlement house at 425 E. Larned. It served Italian, Syrian and Lebanese immigrants and later the African-American community. Called the Weinman Settlement House, it was operated until 1946 by the League of Catholic Women (now Matrix Human Services), which was also founded by a Ss. Peter and Paul parishioner, Mrs. Charles W. (Annie) Casgrain. The need for an Italian speaking priest became evident and in 1907 Fr. Giovanni Boschi, SJ arrived from Italy to establish an Italian parish. In 1909, the Church of the Holy Family, or Santa Famiglia, was opened with the help and some funding from Ss. Peter and Paul. It is currently located just north of here on the I-375 service drive.
Of importance during this time was the work of Josephine Van Dyke Brownson, a parishioner who founded the Weinman Club in 1906 and also started the Catholic Instruction League in the parish school basement. This provided catechism instruction for children attending public schools. It later expanded under her supervision and became the church-wide Confraternity of Christian Doctrine program. Ms. Brownson received the Pro Ecclesia medal from Pope Pius XI in 1933, the Laetare Medal from Notre Dame in 1939 and an honorary doctorate from the University of Detroit in 1939 because of this important work she did for the church.
Ss. Peter and Paul served the Maronite (Lebanese) community for many years. Baptisms and weddings were celebrated here in St. Catherine’s Chapel until 1916, when St. Maron Maronite Church was built in Detroit on Kercheval. Also, for a brief while, French-speaking Catholics held services in St. Catherine’s chapel until their own parish, St. Joachim, was established.
The fortunes of the church and the Jesuit mission have always been closely entwined. Until the 1930s, Ss. Peter and Paul was the focal point of Jesuit activities in Detroit — retreats, lectures, religious devotions, the University of Detroit, and University of Detroit High School were based here. The church was the site of the first Red Mass for the legal profession in the United States in 1877, a tradition that continues to this day.
In the 1920s and 30s, the Jesuits grew their mission projects in Detroit, but in so doing, the importance of Ss. Peter and Paul declined. It was no longer the focal point of everything Jesuit. Most of the University of Detroit moved to the new McNichols campus in 1924, Gesu Church was established as another Jesuit parish, Manresa Jesuit Retreat house opened and University of Detroit High School moved to Seven Mile Road. Thus, activities that had drawn people to Ss. Peter and Paul were no longer at the “mother church”. However, until the late 1950s the lecture series given by various Jesuits at Ss. Peter and Paul was said to still draw very large crowds.
In 1937, Detroit was elevated to an Archdiocese and Edward Francis Mooney was named as the first Archbishop and later Cardinal. At that point the Archdiocese had more than 800 priests, 345 parishes, serving 602,000 Catholics. The population of Detroit was about 1.5 million in the 1930s and topped out at 1.85 million in the 1950s.
By the 1960s, the downtown area had become mainly commercial. With urban renewal and freeway construction, the parish lost its neighborhood and much of its congregation. It was largely sustained by former parishioners from those prominent families that had moved away, the Friends of Ss. Peter and Paul. In 1971, a decision was made by the Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus to close the parish and convert the church into a Law Library. At the “Last Mass” celebration in September 1971 Pastor Clement Singer, SJ announced a last-minute reprieve had been granted – the parish would stay open on a week-to-week basis.
Lay members of the parish had taken the Jesuit Province to court and won an out of court settlement that kept the parish open, but it was still struggling.
In the late 1970s, Fr. Joseph Tobin, SJ did an outreach project with Filipinos who worked at nearby hospital and nursing facilities and, as a result, the parish gained a sizeable number of Filipino families who attended until the 1990s.
Former Pastor, Robert Hartigan, SJ (who died in the church rectory on Christmas Eve 1998) began outreach to the poor and homeless in 1988, inviting them in from the cold downtown streets during the winter months. The church vestibule and side hallway were used for this purpose. Today, we still minister to this population through the Pope Francis Center, which was incorporated as a separate nonprofit in 2014. The center is open six days a week from 7am to 11am throughout the year. Our guests are welcome to come in and have a safe place to rest, get a warm cup of coffee and a meal. We offer shower and laundry facilities along with use of a phone and to receive mail. There are also medical, legal and other social services, including housing placements provided. We serve as many as 200 guests on average per day.
Today, many of our parishioners are from the suburbs, but about half are Detroiters who live downtown, on the Riverfront, in Lafayette Park and Midtown areas, or on East Jefferson. Ss. Peter and Paul is a popular place for weddings, most of which are for non-parishioners and couples living away from local family. By our 175th anniversary in 2023, we will have celebrated 7,000 weddings.
Today Ss. Peter and Paul is beginning of a new chapter in the parish’s history. We are the partnered Jesuit parish with Gesu church — another new collaboration for growth.
God has been busy planting seeds of new life among us – some have already sprouted, a few are in full bloom, and some are still germinating, waiting for their time to come. We average one new household registration nearly every week. Babies have been born to our younger parishioners. Babies have grown and we now have started a children’s liturgy program! Newly- interested young adults connect with us through programs begun by Pastor Gary Wright, SJ, Faith in the D and Contemplative Leaders in Action. Our ministry to the homeless has grown and matured into an independent operation, the Pope Francis Center. We cannot help but be joyfully grateful for all this new life. Yet more is on the way: a thousand new housing units will be built in our parish area in the next few years. So, we must also be on our knees in earnest prayer that, as a community, we can rise to what this new life requires of us: that we can engage enough people and resources to provide the ministry and spiritual nourishment that people need in order to find a spiritual home here, and to continue bringing the welcoming Light of Christ into the heart of the city.