St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church
Encyclopedia
St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church is a church located at 4231 St. Aubin Street in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 in the Forest Park neighborhood area on the city's central East side. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1978.

History

The rise of Detroit brought a number of Polish immigrants into the city in the 19th century; by the mid-1850s, the number of Polish families who had settled in the city was significant. These Polish immigrants were primarily from the Prussian-controlled sections of the partitioned Poland, and naturally settled in and near the German-speaking sections of Detroit. Many of these Poles first attended St. Joseph's
St. Joseph Catholic Church, Detroit
Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, 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 area just outside of downtown Detroit on the city's central east side...

, which was at the time a German-speaking church. However, the Polish congregants were dissatisfied, and agitated for a Polish church.

In 1870, aided by Father Simon Wieczorek, the Poles took steps to organize their own parish. They organized the St. Stanislaus Kostka Society and, with the blessing then-administrator Bishop Caspar Borgess
Caspar Henry Borgess
Caspar Henry Borgess was the second Roman Catholic bishop of Detroit, Michigan.He was born in Hanover, Germany, and emigrated to the United States as a child. He completed his classical and theological studies at St. Xavier's College in Cincinnati and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia...

, began to collect funds to build of a church. In 1871, St. Albertus Parish was organized with three hundred or so Polish families. That same year, the parish purchased a plot of land, 100 feet wide and 270 feet deep, on the western side of St. Aubin Avenue and what is now East Canfield Street. They hired architect John Wiesenhoffèr, and construction of a frame church began in 1872.

The church was dedicated to St. Wojciech; early pastors borrowed the erroneous Latin equivalent Adalbertus, which is St. Albertus or St. Albert in English. The establishment of St. Albertus led to an influx of Poles into the immediate neighborhood in order to be close to the church. This influx resulted in Detroit's first Polish neighborhood, known among Detroiters as "Poletown."

St. Albertus went through four pastors until, in 1882, the charismatic Father Dominic Hippolytus Kolasiñski was appointed to the post. Appealing to his parishioners' national pride, he urged the construction of a larger church. The parish contracted architect Henry Engelbert
Henry Engelbert
Henry Engelbert was an architect best known for buildings in the French Second Empire style, which emphasized elaborate mansard roofs with dormers. New York's Grand Hotel on Broadway is the most noteworthy extant example of Engelbert's work in the French Second Empire Style...

 to design a church to seat 2500 people, and the Spitzely Brothers of Detroit to build it for a cost of $61,000. Construction began in 1883, and the church was dedicated on July 4, 1885. At the time, the St. Albertus was the largest Catholic church in Michigan, and was the first in the City of Detroit to feature steam heat and electrical lighting.

Unfortunately, Father Kolasiñski was a very controversial priest, and in November 1885 the parish became factionalized which resulted in his suspension. Kolasiñski initially refused to leave his post, appealing his suspension to the bishop. However, pressure was brought to bear, and Kolasiñski eventually left Detroit for a pastorate in the Dakota Territory.

Kolasiñski's followers, however, remained estranged from the other St. Albertus congregants, and established their own church school. When John Foley
John Samuel Foley
John Samuel Foley was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Detroit from 1888 until his death in 1918.-Biography:...

 became Bishop of Detroit in 1888, Father Kolasiñski returned to the city and established the Parish of the Sweetest Heart of Mary
Sweetest Heart Of Mary Roman Catholic Church
Sweetest Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church is located at 4440 Russell Street in Detroit, Michigan in the Forest Park neighborhood on the city's central East side. The Gothic Revival Cathedral styled Church is the largest of the Roman Catholic Churches in the City of Detroit...

 outside the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne...

. Although subsequent years in the parish have been less tumultuous, St. Albertus is the mother church of more than 30 Polish Catholic churches, including Sweetest Heart of Mary, St. Josaphat, and St. Stanislaus
St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church
The St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church is a church located at 5818 Dubois Street in Detroit, Michigan. The church is now used by the Promise Land Missionary Baptist Church and the school is used by the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences. The church was listed on the...

.

A rectory building was constructed adjacent to the church in 1891 and a school was built immediately behind the church in 1917, replacing two earlier school buildings. The parish was closed in 1990 as part of a reorganization by the Archdiocese of Detroit. In 1991, a group of parishioners formed The Polish American Historic Site Association (PAHSA) to maintain and preserve this St. Albertus. The church still hosts monthly masses in Polish, English, and Latin, and is open for tours and weddings.

Rev. John A. Lemke, who was born in Detroit on February 10, 1866 as the son of Prussian-Polish immigrants, was the first native-born Roman Catholic priest of Polish descent to be ordained in the United States. He was baptized at nearby St. Mary's Church
St. Mary Roman Catholic Church (Detroit, Michigan)
St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, formally the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the third oldest parish in Detroit, Michigan. It is located at 646 Monroe Street in heart of Greektown Historic District within Detroit's downtown area. It is often called Old St. Mary's...

 and attended St. Albertus for his primary education.

Description

St. Albertus is a brick building 200 ft (61 m) long and 70 ft (21.3 m) wide, with a spire originally 280 ft (85.3 m) tall. The original spire of was shortened after being damaged in a windstorm on Good Friday of 1913.

Contrasting with the plain brick of the exterior, the interior of St. Albertus has an ornate Medieval flair. The altars, baptismal font, and the wainscot are made of patterned terra-cotta. The ceiling is ornately painted. Sixty-three pieces of painted plaster sculpture are within the church, and the windows are decorated with Medieval-style stained glass.

Further reading

  • Orson, Lawrence, (1981) Polish Detroit and the Kolasinski Affair Detroit: Wayne State University Press
    Wayne State University Press
    Wayne State University Press , founded in 1941, is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Painted Turtle and Great Lakes Books....

    . 268 pages. ISBN 0814316719; ISBN 978-0814316719.
  • Serafino, Frank, (1983) West of Warsaw. Avenue Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-910977-00-5 ISBN 0-910977-00-3.
  • Skendzel, Eduard Adam Kolasinski in the Evening News, 1881-1899 ASIN: B000722P40.

External links

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