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Home / History of the Archdiocese / This Month in Archdiocese History

This Month in Archdiocese of Detroit History
January 20 1928 Our Lady of Good Counsel (Detroit) established 
1937 Bishop Gallagher dies
January 26 1837 Michigan becomes a state
1847 St. Mary parish (in what is now Greektown) is signed over to the Redemptorist order for a term of 500 years.
January 29 1959 John Dearden installed as 7th Bishop/2nd Archbishop of Detroit.

February 2 1705 Marie Therese Cadillac is the first child baptized in Detroit.
February 7 1926 Fr. Norman DuKette, first African-American priest in the Diocese of Detroit, is ordained. He is only the 5th African American man to be ordained in the US.
February 18 1894 After years on controversy and occasional riots, Fr. Dominic Kolasinski and followers are welcomed back into the Archdiocese of Detroit.
1946 Archbishop Mooney named a Cardinal.
February 22 1926 St. John the Baptist Parish established in Dearborn Hts.
February 28 2001 Cardinal Szoka named President of Vatican City State.

March 2 Fr. Gabriel Richard makes his only speech on record in Congress, asking for money to build a road from Detroit to Chicago.
March 4 1869 Bishop Lefevere dies.
March 5 2007 Our Lady on the River parish in Marine City established.
March 8 1833 Pope Gregory XVI forms Diocese of Detroit.
1968 Focus:Hope founded by Fr. Bill Cunningham and Eleanor Josiatis.
March 13 1975 St. Michael Parish in Sterling Heights established.
March 17 1847 St. Patrick Parish established in Carleton.
1880 Holy Redeemer Parish established.
March 19 1889 St. Joseph parish established in Maybee.
1922 Gesu Parish established.
March 20 1827 Pope Leo XII issues a Papal Bull erecting the Diocese of Detroit but controversy over the possibility of elevating Fr. Gabriel Richard to Bishop prevents any action from being taken for another six years.
March 22 1958 St. Regis Parish established in Bloomfield Hills.
March 30 1969 "Synod 69," the end result of three years of dialogue on Archdiocesan Renewal and involvment of the laity, is celebrated at Cobo Hall.
March 31 1980 Fr. Norman DuKette, 1st African American priest in the Archdiocese of Detroit dies (second in the US).

April 1 1945 St. Anne in Warren established.
April 6 1924 SS Andrew and Benedict Parish established in Detroit.
April 13 1960 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish in Emmet established.
April 15 1927 Babe Ruth visits the Shrine Church of the Little Flower.
April 20 1924 St. Barbara parish established in Dearborn.
April 28 1969 Archbishop Dearden named Cardinal.
1990 Cardinal Szoka named President of Vatican Prefecture of Economic Affairs.

May 1 1866 First Mass of St. Lawrence Parish in Utica.
1917 Our Lady Queen of Apostles parish established.
May 3 1890 Bishop Borgess dies.
1925 Shrine Church of the Little Flower established.
May 5 2007 Holy Family Parish in Memphis established.
May 8 1905 Holy Cross Parish, Detroit established.
May 10 1921 St. Cecilia Parish established, in a building that formerly housed a saloon.
May 11 1927 St. Matthew Parish established in Detroit.
May 12 1940, Fr. Charles Coughlin's final "Golden Hour" broadcast.
1976 St. John Neumann parish established in Canton.
May 13 1904 Fire sweeps through city of Utica, destroying St. Lawrence church.
May 14 1851 St. Vincent de Paul parish established in Pontiac.
May 17 1981 Edmund Szoka installed 8th Bishop/3rd Archbishop of Detroit.
May 26 1997 Fr. William Cunningham, co-founder of Focus:Hope dies.
May 29 1947 Articles of Amendment filed to change "Presentation Junior College" to "Madonna College."

June 1 1861 Sacred Heart parish in Roseville established.
June 3 1798 Fr. Gabriel Richard arrives in Detroit.
June 9 1845 The first hospital in Michigan, St. Vincent's, run by the Sisters of Charity, opens.
June 11 1805 Ash from baker John Harvey's pipe ignates a blaze that destroys the entire 3-acre city of Detroit, including the second Ste. Anne's church.
1829 Bishop Fenwick of Diocese of Cincinnati dedicates church to St. Felicity--later lost to rising Lake St. Clair.
June 12 1990 Adam Maida installed 9th Bishop/4th Archbishop of Detroit.
June 13 1924 Church of the Madonna Parish established.
1951 St. Aloysius Parish in Romulus, St. Philomena established.
June 14 1966 St. Hubert parish established.
June 15 1950 Divine Child, St. Dennis, St. Pius X, Our Lady of Fatima parishes established.
June 16 1865 Assumption Grotto parish established.
June 17 1958 St. Athanasius and St. Fabian and St. Valerie of Ravenna parish established.
June 18 2005 St. Catherine of Siena parish established in Detroit.
June 19 1962 St. Edith, St. Kieran, St. Martin de Porres, and St. Owen parishes established.
June 20 1963 St. Aidan Parish, St. Louise, St. Theodore of Canterbury, and St. Thomas More parishes established in Livonia.
1967 St. Blase parish and St. Clare of Assisi and St. Iranaeus and St. Kenneth parish established.
June 21 1957 St. Dunstan parish, St. Germaine, St. Isidore, St. Sabina parishes established.
1961 St. Alexander parish, St. Daniel parish, St. Edmund, and St. Cletus St. Priscilla established.
June 22 1956 St. John Bosco, St. Linus, St. Mel, St. Paschal parishes established.
1979 Mother Teresa visits Detroit to found a convent of Missionaries of Charity at St. Agnes Parish.
June 23 1889 St. Francis Home for Boys, an orphanage run by the Sisters of St. Joseph opens in Monroe.
June 24 1955 St. Albert the Great parish, St. Cyprian parish, St. Damian parish, St. Mary of Port Huron, and St. Thomas Aquinas (last new church built in Detroit) established.
1960 St. Colman parish, St. Nicholas, St. Richard parishes established.
1964 St. Gerard parish, St. Matthias, and St. Maurice established.
June 25 1953 Holy Innocents parish established.
1954 Our Lady Star of the Sea parish, St. Anselm, St. Hilary, St. Isaac Jogues, and St. Martha parishes established.
June 26 1953 Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Redford, St. Columban, St. Angela, St. Peter the apostle, St. Robert Bellarmine Parishes established.
1959 St. Genevieve, SS. Simon and Jude, and St. Sylvester parish established.
1970 St. Colette parish established.
June 27 1947 St. Frances Cabrini and St. Valentine parish established.
1952 St. Thecla parish established.
June 28 1988 Archbishop Szoka named Cardinal.
June 29 1844 Cornerstone of SS Peter and Paul (Jesuit) Church laid - oldest church building in Detroit.
1973 Prince of Peace Parish established.
June 30 1989 St. James parish established in Novi.

July 1 2006 Corpus Christi and Good Shepherd Parishes established in Detroit 2007 St. Teresa of Avila parish established.
July 2 1952 St. Basil the Great Parish established.
July 5 1939 St. Clement of Rome parish established in Romeo.
July 6 1947 St. Mary Mystical Rose parish established.
July 8 1941 St. Christopher, St. Jude, and St. Raymond parishes established in Detroit.
1944 Our Lady of Grace parish in Dearborn Heights established.
July 9 1931 St. Michael Parish established in Livonia.
July 10 1995 Solanus Casey declared "Venerable" by Pope John Paul II.
July 12 1971 St. Ronald Parish established.
July 21 1901 Bernard Casey professes simple vows at St. Benedict chapel, takes the name "Solanus." 
1949 St. Sebastian parish established.
July 24 1701 Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac lands on the bank of the river and names the spot "Detroit."
July 26 1701 St. Anne parish founded by Nicholas Constantine del Halle, one of the priests traveling with Cadillac.
1905 Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament established.
July 27 1947 Christ the Good Shepherd Parish in Lincoln Park founded.
July 29 1920 Diocese of Detroit buys the Michigan Catholic Newspaper.
July 31 1957 Fr. Solanus Casey dies at age 86.

August 1 1942 St. Mark parish established in Warren 1988 Cardinal Dearden dies.
August 2 1937 Archdiocese of Detroit created by Pope Pius XII and Edward Mooney installed at 6th Bishop/1st Archbishop of Detroit.
August 3 1927 St. Cunegunda parish established.
August 7 1973 Divine Savior parish, Westland, founded.
August 10 1923 St. Louis the King parish established.
August 12 1983 Msgr. Weier, founder of Divine Child parish and schools, dies.
August 15 1889 St. Leo Parish established.
August 16 1983 Fr. Clement Kern dies.
1986 St. Paul of Tarsus parish established.
August 25 1928 St. Scholastica parish established.
August 26 1817 The act creating a school known as the "Catholipistemiad" is signed. The school headed by Fr. Gabriel Richard and a Protestant Minister named John Montieth. In 1821, this school will be re-named "University of Michigan."
1917 fire destroys the church, rectory, school, and convent of Immaculate Conception Parish in Ira Twp.

September 3 1877 The University of Detroit starts classes with 84 students.
September 8 1970 St. Rene Goupil parish established.
September 11 1927 Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington established.
September 12 1915 St. Benedict parish established.
1832 Fr. Garbriel Richard dies.
September 13 1877 Bishop Borgess, after returning from Rome, celebrates the return of the Jesuits to Detroit with a torchlight procession to SS Peter and Paul church.
1947 First day of classes at Madonna college.
September 16 1916 St. Ambrose parish established.
1929 Our Lady Queen of Heaven established.
September 17 1957 St. Bernardine of Siena parish established.
September 18 1987 Pope John Paul II arrives in Detroit.
September 19 1937 First day of classes at Presentation Junior College--the future Madonna University.
1987 Pope John Paul II says mass at the Pontiac Silverdome for 90,000 people.
September 20 1919 St. Michael parish established in Pontiac.
September 22 1969 then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyla celebrates mass at St. Florian parish in Hamtramck.
September 24 1948 Our Lady of the Lakes in Waterford Parish established.
September 25 1920 St. Stephen parish established in New Boston.
September 28 1872 "Western Home Journal," forerunner of "The Michigan Catholic" published.
September 30 1882 Felician Sisters move their mother house from Polonia, Wisconsin to Detroit.
1975 St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish establish.

October 1 1728 Fr. de la Richardie leaves the Jesuit mission at St. Ignace to come minister to the Huron tribes around Detroit.
1721 Charles-Ange Collet is born in St. Joseph, the first Michigan-born person to become a priest.
October 3 1951 Our Lady Queen of Martyrs established.
1957 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Temperance, St. Cornelius, and St. Victor Parishes established.
October 5 1703 Fire destroys the first Ste. Anne church building.
October 6 1833 Frederic John Conrad Rese named first bishop of Detroit.
1889 St. Josaphat parish established.
October 7 1956 First Mass held at St. Mary church in Port Huron.
October 12 1919 St. James parish established in Ferndale.
October 13 1917 The St. Francis Home for Boys moves to 2701 Fenkell, on a 19 acre plot donated by Henry Ford.
October 15 1920 St. Andrew Parish established in Detroit.
October 17 1926 Fr. Charles Coughlin begins "Golden Hour" broadcasts.
October 19 1958 First Mass celebrated at St. Germaine.
1989 St. Andrew Kim Korean Community established.
October 21 1945 Holy Family parish, Inkster, established.
October 22 1944 St. Irene Parish established.
October 24 1823 Fr. Richard elected to the US House of Representatives as the delegate from the Michigan Territory.
1980 St. John Vianney parish established.
October 27 1923 Our Lady of Victory parish in Northville established.
1979 Fr. Charles Coughlin dies.
October 28 1958 Bishop Mooney dies in Rome.

November 1 1896 All Saints Parish in Detroit established.
1915 St. Gabriel parish established.
2000 Archdiocese of Detroit welcomes St. Ignatius parish in Grand Cayman into the fold.
November 3 1925 St. Clare of Montefalco parish established.
November 4 1888 John Samuel Foley installed as 4th Bishop of Detroit.
November 5 1995 Divers from Dossin Great Lakes Museum locate site of former St. Felicity church in Lake St. Clair.
November 6 1941 Our Lady of Refuge in Orchard Lake established.
November 7 1926 St. Louis parish established in Clinton Twp.
November 8 1958 St. Mary Queen of Creation church destroyed by fire.
November 10 1845 Order of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, forms in Monroe.
November 11 1936 St. Christopher parish established in Marysville.
November 12 1909 The Wayne County Road Commission opens the first concrete paved stretch of road in the US - Woodward, from Six Mile to Seven Mile roads.
1974 Holy Family Parish in Novi established.
November 17 1951 The consecration of the completed Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament broadcast live on television.
November 18 1918 Michael James Gallagher installed as 5th Bishop of Detroit.
November 19 1982 First Catholic programming begins to air on local cable stations.
November 20 1920 Our Lady of Good Counsel, Plymouth established 1946 St. Suzanne parish established in Detroit.
November 21 1841 Peter Paul Lefevere installed as second Bishop of Detroit.
1949 Home Visitors of Mary Order founded in Detroit.
November 26 1914 Bishop Foley dedicates St. Peter Claver, the first African-American parish in the Diocese of Detroit (would eventually become Sacred Heart, Detroit).
1994 Archbishop Maida named Cardinal.
November 27 2005 St. Peter Claver parish established.
November 30 1885 Controversial priest and founder of Sweetest Heart of Mary parish, Fr. Dominic Kolasinski suspended from the priesthood. Riots by his supporters would follow.

December 5 1957 St. Vincent Ferrer parish established.
December 8 1823 Fr. Gabriel Richard attends the opening session of the 18th United States Congress as the representative of the Michigan Territory.
1906 St. Anthony parish established in Temperance.
1927 St. Joan of Arc parish established.
December 17 2007 Sr. Mary Schutz, foundress of the Home Visitors of Mary order dies in Detroit.
December 19 1978 Holy Spirit, Highland parish established.
1990 University of Detroit merges with Mercy College to become UofD Mercy.
December 23 1932 Fire destroys Our Lady of Good Counsel church in Plymouth.
December 24 1896 Bernard Casey arrives at St. Bonaventure monastery.
December 25 1875 Most Holy Trinity celebrates the first Mass lit by electric lights in the US.
1923 SS Peter and Paul (Westside) parish established in Detroit.
1927 Christ the King Parish established.
December 27 1984 Mother Angelica's 3 year old Eternal Word Television Network begins broadcasting in Detroit on Continental Cablevision.
December 30 1871 Caspar Henry Borgess installed third Bishop of Detroit on the same day that Bishop Rese dies.
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