The Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament is a Neo-Gothic style

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the United States. It is the seat of the archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

. The metropolitan archdiocese for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Detroit includes all dioceses in the state of Michigan; in addition, in 2000 the archdiocese accepted pastoral responsibility for the Roman Catholic Church in the Cayman Islands, which consists of Saint Ignatius Parish on

Grand Cayman Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles (1 ...

(the Archdiocese of Kingston maintains a ''

mission sui iuris A mission ''sui iuris'', or in Latin ''missio sui iuris'' (plural ''missions sui iuris''); also spelled mission(s) sui juris), also known as an independent mission, is a rare type of Roman Catholic (term), Roman Catholic Church, Catholic mission ...

'' jurisdiction over the Cayman Islands). The cathedral is located at 9844

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects th ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, adjacent to Detroit's Boston-Edison Historic District. The cathedral was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1982.

History

Most Blessed Sacrament

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

was established in 1905 in what was then the northern city limits of Detroit. The parish was initially plagued with financial problems. Construction of the church started in 1913, but proceeded rather slowly. The interior was finished in 1930, with the dedication of the interior on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

of that year. Detroit was elevated to an archdiocese in 1937, and Most Blessed Sacrament was chosen to be the cathedral church replacing St. Patrick's which served as cathedral since 1890. However, construction of the exterior, including the twin towers on the west facade and the

flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire *Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing) The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée. Background ...

at the crossing, was not completed until 1951, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of Detroit's founding. The consecration on November 17, 1951, was broadcast live on local television. Plans also called for spires topping the towers, however these remain unbuilt. Starting in 1985, and lasting until the early 2000s, Gunnar Birkerts, a well-known local architect was commissioned to redesign the interior of the cathedral, as well as designing the furniture for the papal visit, some of which is still in existence at the cathedral.

Architecture

The cathedral's

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

was Henry A. Walsh of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, who designed the cathedral in a Norman Gothic style. Due to the length of the construction, Walsh was unable to see the project to completion, and Detroit architect George Diehl was chosen to succeed him for the construction of the towers in 1950. The building's exterior is made of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

, with

Indiana limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

used for

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

facings, traceries, and doorways. The cathedral includes external and internal statuary by sculptor

Corrado Parducci Corrado Giuseppe Parducci (March 10, 1900 – November 22, 1981) was an Italian-American architectural sculptor who was a celebrated artist for his numerous early-20th century works. Early life and education Parducci was born in Buti, Italy, a ...

.Foot, Andrew (June 29, 2006)
"International Metropolis"
. Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrement. ''Diehl & Diehl Archives'', photo inside Corrado Parducci's studio. Retrieved on July 24, 2009. In 2001, Gunnar Birkerts was selected to update the cathedral. Changes included a plaza on the north side of the structure, reconfigured interior spaces, a new sanctuary, cathedra, baptismal font and organ. The original organ was installed the west gallery by

Casavant Frères Casavant Frères is a Canadian organ building company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been building pipe organs since 1879. As of 2014, the company has produced more than 3,900 organs. Company history Brothers Joseph-Claver (1855–1 ...

in 1925 as a gift from Frederick Fisher of Fisher Body. During the renovations, this three manual/50 rank instrument was restored and a second organ was installed in the apse. The new organ is opus 2785 of Austin Organs, Inc. with two manuals and 32 ranks and is connected to the gallery organ allowing them to be played as one instrument from the new console. The new organ was first played at the rededication ceremony March 25, 2003. Papal Throne - Cathedral Of The Blessed Sacrament, Detroit

Papal Throne - Cathedral Of The Blessed Sacrament, Detroit

Papal visit of 1987

Although

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's 1987 visit to the United States originally included only stops in the southern and western parts of the country, Detroit's cardinal archbishop, Edmund Szoka, campaigned for him to include the Detroit area. Szoka made a direct request to the Pope during a visit to

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. In addition to Archbishop Szoka's personal appeal, the Vatican realized there was no scheduled meeting with permanent deacons, and the Pope would not have given a major address on social justice, which he did at Hart Plaza. The Pope arrived in Detroit on September 18, 1987, and spoke before large crowds in

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the fellow enclave city of Hi ...

, to permanent deacons from across the United States at Ford Auditorium, adjacent to

Hart Plaza Philip A. Hart Plaza, in downtown Detroit, is a city plaza along the Detroit River. It is located more or less on the site at which Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701 when he founded '' Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit' ...

and the

Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...

. During John Paul II's visit, he visited guests at the cathedral and lodged at the adjacent archbishop's residence.Houston, Kay (September 1, 1999)
"When the Pope visited Detroit"
. ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

''. Retrieved on December 26, 2009.

References

External links

Official Cathedral Site

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral Of The Most Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic churches in Detroit Gothic Revival church buildings in Michigan Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Most Blessed Sacrament, Cathedral of the Christian organizations established in 1905 Buildings with sculpture by Corrado Parducci Roman Catholic churches completed in 1915 1905 establishments in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Detroit 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

History

Architecture

Papal visit of 1987

See also

References

Further reading

External links