The crowd which attended yesterday’s holy mass and picnic at St. Albertus Church (Kościół Świętego Wojciecha) was perhaps not very large but considering the heat – the church is not air conditioned – it was a very good turnout for this annual event.
Although there is no longer a St. Albertus parish (it was closed in 1990), and the St. Albertus church (now a historic site) is not a place where regular religious services can be performed, a few times a year Catholic masses are held there. As we learned from Celeste Grabowski, the Polish American Historical Site Association’s (PASHA) recording secretary and a tour guide, every year the Society, who owns the church, asks the Detroit Archbishop for permission to have a few special masses there. The masses are closely connected with the Polish heritage and the permission is always granted.
Yesterday’s mass, celebrated by Reverend Cannon Walter Ptak, was one of these special services, as it was held on the 153rd anniversary of the founding of the St Albertus Roman Catholic Parish, the very first Polish parish in Detroit. The mass was said in Polish and in English, with some Latin at the very end, which – puzzling at first – was a perfect reminder of the fact that in1872 what parishioners of St. Albertus heard in their church was mostly Latin.
During the mass, and later at the picnic, the attendees enjoyed music performed by St. Florian’s Choir, under the direction of Antoni Mączka.
Among the worshipers was Albert Titran, who rode his motorcycle to St. Albertus to pray for his friend, Robert, who used to attend St. Albertus. Albert, a devout Catholic is not Polish. Also in attendance was Wawrzyniec Chomiński of New Baltimore, a member of the St. Florian’s choir. Mr. Chomiński’s deep emotional connection to St. Albertus is through his great-grandparents, Józef and Maria Zdrojewscy who came to the US in 1899, settled in Detroit and joined St. Albertus parish. Mr. Chomiński, 79, speaks Polish fluently and still works full time at the hospital in New Baltimore.
Built in 1885, St. Albertus Church is arguably one of the most important Polish heritage sites in Metropolitan Detroit. That it is still in such excellent shape and remains an active cultural and spiritual place is due to the efforts of a group of passionate people who first saved the church from possibly being demolished and continue to take great care of it.
In 1990 they formed the Polish American Historical Site Association (PASHA), which succeeded in buying the church from the Detroit Archdiocese for one dollar.
Just for context, it is helpful to remember that in 1989, during the massive reorganization of the Detroit Archdiocese, 30 churches were permanently closed while an additional 25 were put on fiscal probation. A year later, five of 25, including St. Albertus, failed to improve and were closed. The closures of 1989-1990 constituted the largest Catholic churches closedowns in the US history. The Polish church of St. Thomas the Apostle was closed in 1989 and demolished in 1993. Another Polish church, St. Stanislaus was also closed in 1989 and sold the same year to University of Michigan organist Sam Koontz of Ann Arbor. After his death, the property changed hands, deteriorated and now is facing likely demolition.
In this context PASHA accomplishments shine brightly and deserve huge appreciation and gratitude. PASHA needs to be creative and flexible. In the past, the church was used as a movie set and is also on occasion the venue for non-Catholic wedding ceremonies. This, in addition to four seasonal fundraising dinners, and renting out rooms in the rectory provide some revenue and helps with the monthly bills. A major cash injection, however, happened in 2019 when PASHA sold the school building for close to half-a-million dollars to a developer who planned to convert it into residences. A different developer owns it now, but no signs of remodeling are visible yet. The money allowed for comprehensive brick tuck-pointing work and now the church walls are in very good shape; so is the copper roof.
The interior of this beautiful Gothic revival church is still breathtaking, despite some peeling of the plaster and paint, the result of a heating problem a few years back, which luckily was solved.
Volunteers are the people who do all the cleaning and decorating of the church. Every second Saturday of the month there is the cleaning at 10 am, either inside or outside the church and everybody is invited to pitch in. Last May Polish dance schools came to help, while in September boys from De La Salle Collegiate High School did some outside work. In addition, people donate to the church. Last May, for instance, a substantial check from an estate came in. The expenses however are high. Right now, work on the church organ is being done. In addition, a new bathroom and windows are being installed in the rectory, which will help to keep the heating cost down.
The next catholic mass, and a tour of the church following the mass is scheduled for Sunday August 10th, on the weekend of the Pierogi festival in the nearby Sweetest Heart of Mary Church. The celebrant will be again Canon Walter Ptak, whose dedication to St. Albertus is very much appreciated.
We invite you to come out on August 10th, enjoy one of the most beautiful of the Detroit Polish churches, and support this important historic and cultural landmark.
