The Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Convent and Rectory is a Roman Catholic church complex located at 1000 Eliot Street in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 and 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 1980.

History

Sacred Heart, built in 1875, was the third German Roman Catholic church constructed in Detroit.Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church Complex
from Detroit1701 The parish was founded to serve the German members of the Detroit community, not only with the church itself, but also with its primary and secondary schools. The church continued as a primarily German parish until after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, when large numbers of blacks moved into Detroit and settled along Hastings Street. The German population slowly moved out at this time. In 1911, some of the newer black residents of the Catholic faith established a chapel at old St. Mary's.Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
history In 1914, the growing congregation moved to a converted Episcopalian church at Eliot and Beaubien. The church flourished, and in the late 1930s, the congregation petitioned to move to the nearby Sacred Heart, due in part to the school building on the site. In 1938, Sacred Heart was converted from a German parish to an African American parish. The congregation at this time measured approximately 1500 members, and they quickly utilized the school at Sacred Heart, graduating the first high school class in 1945. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Interstate 75 freeway was built through the area, displacing the black parishioners living on Hastings. In 1957, the parish closed its secondary school and, eight years later, its primary school. However, the church still continues to offer weekly mass.

Architecture

The Sacred Heart church is a red brick, pedimented Italianate structure with an entrance projecting toward the street. The wood belfry and spire are painted a cream color, contrasting with the deep red of the brick walls. Six bays with two-story windows line both sides of this church. The seventh bay houses the sacristy and service rooms are located in the seventh bays.

References

External links

Sacred Heart Church
official website
Sacred Heart Parish
from the archdiocese of Detroit {{Authority control African-American history in Detroit Roman Catholic churches in Detroit German-American culture in Detroit Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Romanesque Revival church buildings in Michigan Italianate architecture in Michigan Roman Catholic churches completed in 1875 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Michigan State Historic Sites German-American history National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Italianate church buildings in the United States African-American Roman Catholic churches

History

Architecture

See also

References

Further reading

External links