St. Joseph Shrine (formerly St. Joseph Oratory and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church), founded in 1855, is a historic

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church located at 1828 Jay Street in the Eastern Market– Lafayette Park neighborhood area just outside downtown

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, on the city's central east side. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1972, and deemed "of national importance" because of its stained glass. Three subsidiary buildings—the rectory, convent, and the Wermers House—were added to the listing in 1992. It is under the jurisdiction of the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...

, and presently a

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

dedicated to the celebration of the pre-

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilic ...

liturgy (the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or ''usus antiquior'' (), Vetus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in ...

) under the care of the canons of the

Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, , abbreviated as ICKSP and ICRSS, is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right in communion with the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The institute has the stated goal of honouring God and ...

Architecture

The Gothic structure of the church, inspired by Himpler's church St. Katharina (1860-1863) in

Wallerfangen Wallerfangen (; , ) is a municipality of Saarlouis district, Saarland, Germany. Located west of Saarlouis and along the French border, it is the seat of the villages of Ittersdorf, Ihn, Leidingen, St. Barbara, Kerlingen, Gisingen, Rammelfangen, ...

(

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

), had its cornerstone laid in 1870 and was dedicated in 1873, making it one of the oldest extant churches in Detroit. Francis G. Himpler, an Ottweiler (Germany)-born New York architect, designed the building which is considered one of the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

's best examples of Victorian Gothic architecture, especially so because the structure is effectively unaltered. The building is distinguished by its

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

, notable in its intricate designs and wide usage. Also of note is the woodwork, statuary, and original

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

in the interior. St. Joseph Church was placed on the

in 1972; the buildings in the surrounding complex were added in 1992.

Traditional worship

In its time as a parish church, St. Joseph continued traditional worship throughout its history, maintaining the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

language, alongside vernacular

and English, in its Novus Ordo Masses after the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. Many Masses were celebrated ad orientem, with a free-standing altar available for priests who preferred it. In Fall 2007, after a 37-year absence, the parish reinstated the Latin

, which was widely replaced when

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

promulgated the Novus Ordo Mass in 1969. The parish is known for its musical heritage, offering orchestral Masses composed by the likes of

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, and lesser known composers on certain Sundays and Holy Days, and maintaining traditional choir and organ music. The St. Joseph tracker organ is a powerful instrument in a fine acoustical space. Originally built by J. H. & C. S. Odell for the present Church structure in 1873, the organ was greatly altered around 1910 and again in the early 1940s. Having declined into unplayability, it was replaced for the celebration of the church building's centennial in 1973 by the organ builder William M. Worden, using many of the Odell pipes. It currently contains twenty-nine stops.

Current status

On June 19, 2013, by a decree from

Allen H. Vigneron Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit, Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan and Mission sui iuris o ...

, Archbishop of Detroit, the clustered parishes of St. Joseph, Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Josaphat were merged to create the new Mother of Divine Mercy Parish. On August 29, 2016, Archbishop Vigneron announced that effective October 2016, St. Joseph Church would be separated from Mother of Divine Mercy Parish to become St. Joseph Oratory under the care of the

and would be dedicated to the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass. The first Mass under the watch of the canons of the Institute was celebrated on October 16, 2016. The Reverend Canon Jean-Baptiste Commins currently serves as rector of the shrine. Previously on the verge of closing, after the Institute of Christ the King priests arrived, the parish has seen large growth, especially amongst young people and young families. In March 2020, Archbishop Vigneron granted the church the title of "shrine". The church was featured in a 2022 article by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' about the Latin Mass in the United States following '' Traditionis custodes'', an apostolic letter issued by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

limiting the use of the traditional Latin Mass.

Gallery

Image:Saint Joseph Catholic Church (Detroit, MI) - exterior.jpg, Façade of the church Image:Saint Joseph Catholic Church (Detroit, MI) - portal.jpg, Portal Image:Saint Joseph Catholic Church (Detroit, MI) - cornerstone, 1870.jpg, Cornerstone Image:StJosephsParishHouse.jpg, Parish

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

house next door to the church

References

External links

St. Joseph Shrine websiteFrancis G. Himpler, architect
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Detroit, Michigan Roman Catholic churches in Detroit German-American culture in Detroit Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Religious organizations established in 1855 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1873 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan German-American history 1855 establishments in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit