In the beginning.
Meet 176 Catholics who got us here. A history of our diocese.
By Bob Horning/Msgr. George Michalek
 Father Gabriel Richard The first priest elected to Congress.
On
June 11, 1805, a fire destroyed all but two of Detroit’s 300 buildings,
potentially ending the existence of the century old city. Many of the
discouraged, homeless residents were ready to leave. There was no city
authority to take charge of the situation.
Soon, though,
one man was seen walking up and down the Detroit River, on both the
American and Canadian sides, arranging quarters for the stricken in
homes of farmers, begging food and blankets and whatever else was
needed.
Father Gabriel Richard, pastor of St. Anne Church, was offering comfort and encouraging people not to abandon the city.
His work and leadership led to the gradual rebuilding, for which he has
been called the “second founder of Detroit.” His words, as he surveyed
the destruction, later became part of the seal of the city, “Speramus
meliora; resurget cineribus” (We hope for better things; it will arise
from its ashes).
The fire was a turning point
for Father Richard. Seeing the needs of his people, he abandoned plans
to return to his native France. He had escaped the terror of the French
Revolution in 1791, and possible arrest and death, with three other
Sulpician priests, and sailed to Baltimore to teach at St. Mary’s
Seminary and Georgetown College.
However, a lack of
students caused Bishop John Carroll to assign Father Richard to an
Indian mission in Kaskaskia, Ill., where he stayed for six years before
going to Detroit.
In the early 19th century, the village was uncivilized.
Father Richard dealt with poverty, mental and spiritual ignorance and
indifference, fire, famine, plague and the occupation of British forces
during the War of 1812. Not to mention controversies and litigation
because of the narrow-mindedness of some townsfolk.
He
envisioned culture and civilization, maybe because he had seen what was
possible in Europe. “God knows how many plans, great and small, for
schools and missions pass through my head for the Indians, for the
deaf-mute, for the children of the poor. My mind, my imagination, and still more, my heart, are full of projects which remain forever sterile,” he wrote in one letter.
Though
Father Richard didn’t see a number of his ideas accomplished during his
lifetime, they remained as blueprints for later innovators.
One of his successful projects was bringing a printing press 800 miles
by wagon to Detroit. With it, he published Michigan’s first newspaper,
The Michigan Essay, though it lasted only one issue. But with the
Richard Press, he printed books like The True Principles of a Catholic,
and The Child’s Spelling Book, which he probably wrote himself.
To
give residents access to local and national news, he appointed a town
crier, who would speak from the steps of St. Anne’s every Sunday.
Never losing sight of the need for education, Father Richard began
Spring Hill Community, a school for educating Indian and white children
together, to create understanding and break down barriers between
cultures. He also felt that the more he could civilize people, the
better chance he had of winning their souls. The school taught the 3
R’s, but also trades and agriculture for boys – and sewing, fine arts
and husbandry for the girls. Lack of land and federal funding kept the
school from succeeding, but 10 years after it closed, Father Richard’s
ideas were adopted by the U.S. government for educating Indians.
The priest was also one of the founders of the Michigan Historical
Society and a co-founder of the school that became the University of
Michigan. He served as its vice president from 1817-21.
Because the needs of his people were more than spiritual, he became involved in civic affairs.
He campaigned against selling liquor to the Indians, even threatening
excommunication to any parishioner who did. He also worked to enable
the Indians to keep any land they were settled on, or to get a fair
price for it from the government.
His
compassion and humane stance toward the Indians led Pokagon, chief of
the Potawatomi, to ask him to send his tribe a missionary. And
when Father Richard was imprisoned during the War of 1812 for refusing
to swear allegiance to the British when they captured Detroit, it was
Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief, who forced his release. Tecumseh said he
wouldn’t fight for the British, even though he hated Americans, until
Father Richard was freed.
Father Richard’s patriotism swayed Detroit to remain loyal to the U.S. during the war.
He even enlisted in the militia, ready to bear arms. After the war,
when crop seed and cattle were sent by the government to restock
desolate farms, Father Richard became the real, if unofficial, relief
administrator.
In 1823, Father Richard was
encouraged to run for Congress as a non-voting delegate to the U.S.
House of Representatives from the Northwest Territory. Figuring
it was another way to try to receive government aid for Michigan, he
agreed, and was the first priest elected to Congress. While there, he
was instrumental in getting approval for the road from Chicago to
Detroit (now Michigan Ave./Old U.S. 12), helping connect Michigan with
the rest of the country.
Father Richard’s tireless commitment to his people eventually led to his death.
Already weakened from years of service and travel throughout the lower
peninsula and other parts of the country, his resistance was low when
cholera hit Detroit in 1832.
Detroiter R.E. Roberts wrote this about him:
“Gabriel Richard might be seen clothed in the robes of his high
calling, pale and emaciated, with spectacles on his forehead and prayer
book in his hand, going from house to house of his parishioners,
encouraging the well, and administering spiritual consolation to the
sick and dying.”
Father Richard was the last victim of the epidemic. After
catching cholera, he died shortly, on Sept. 13, 1832. When given last
rites by Fathers Leo Badin and Frederic Baraga, his final words were
the Nunc Dimittus – “Now, O Lord, let thy servant depart in peace
according to thy word.”
His friend, Father Baraga, a fellow missionary to the Indians, gave the funeral eulogy. Two thousand people, of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds, attended – a number greater than the population of the whole city.
Father Richard’s Michigan milestones:
• Published Michigan’s first newspaper
• The second founder of Detroit
• First priest elected to congress
• One of the founders of the University of Michigan
• a founder of the Michigan Historical Society
• Built a school for Indian and white children
• Enlisted in the U.S. Militia
• Last victim of the cholera epidemic of 1832
Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac The Catholic founder of Detroit.
Cadillac
was in charge of the fort at Mackinac when he returned to France to
urge the establishment of a fort on the Detroit River. He argued that
it would be a better strategic position against the British, and would
centralize the fur trade with the Indians.
Permission was given, and on June 24, 1701, Cadillac arrived with a
group of colonists in what is now known as Detroit. He quickly erected
Fort Pontchartrain. The first building was St. Anne Church.
Bishop Fredric Baraga The snowshoe priest.
Some
days, Father Frederic Baraga traveled 40 miles through the snow from
his mission in the Upper Peninsula to visit someone in need. This was
in the mid 1800s, when travel was by foot, snowshoe or, sometimes, by
dog sled.
Father Baraga went where he was needed,
regardless of the distance or the number of people who required his
help. He became known as the “snowshoe priest,” because there were
winters he might walk 700 miles on snowshoe. He was motivated by his
missionary calling. He wrote once in a letter, “For of all the divine
things, the most divine is to cooperate with God in the salvation of
souls.”
As
a young man, Frederic studied law in his native Slovenia, and was
engaged to be married. But the influence of Father Clement Hofbauer of
Vienna, now a saint, was strong. Frederic felt a call to the
priesthood, and, orphaned, gave up a vast family inheritance when he
entered seminary.
Father Baraga was much-loved at his first parish, but due to the
harassment of fellow priests and his bishop, who had embraced the
Jansenist heresy, he decided to leave for America to work among the
Indians, where he could teach and preach the truth unhindered.
In
1831, he was in Arbre Croche, now Harbor Springs, near Petoskey. Over
the years, Father Baraga founded five missions in Michigan and
Wisconsin. But they didn’t remain true mission fields for long; Father
Baraga converted and baptized hundreds and thousands.
Father Baraga cared passionately for the Indians. He not only traveled
great distances to reach them, he fought the government’s attempts to
relocate them and to make unfair treaties. Likewise, sometimes at risk
of his safety, he fought the fur traders who exchanged worthless
trinkets or alcohol to the Indians for their furs. When Father Baraga
saw the devastating affects of alcohol upon the Indians, he formed
successful temperance societies for them.
After mastering their language, Father Baraga worked endlessly
on a grammar book and dictionary for the Ojibwas. Later, he wrote
prayer books, catechisms and meditations in three Indian languages. He
was known as the first among scholars of the Indian language, and many
of his books are still used today.
Because he had so much to do, and was often the only priest in the
Upper Peninsula, Father Baraga cut down on the time he spent eating and
sleeping. But he increased his time at prayer, rising at 3 a.m. or 4
a.m. to be with God. He reasoned that if he was trying to bring
spirituality to the Indians, he needed to be perfected himself.
While at L’ anse, he wrote, “I have few comforts here, often
times barely the necessities of life. But what consolation, what grand
reward, what unspeakable joy will it be for me on the day of judgment,
when some, hopefully all, of these my good children may surround me and
give me testimony before our final judge.”
Father Baraga wrote to his benefactors in Austria and Slovenia,
describing his work among the Indians. His letters were widely
published, so that he became famous throughout Europe. St. John Neumann
was so affected that he emigrated to the U.S. after reading Father
Baraga’s accounts. On the few occasions that Father Baraga traveled in
Europe, he drew large crowds. In Austria, he was presented with an
expensive jeweled crown and episcopal ring by Emperor Franz Joseph.
Knowing its worth, Father Baraga had a cheap imitation made to keep,
then sold the original to raise money for his work.
In 1853, the snowshoe priest was consecrated vicar apostolic of upper Michigan. As
a bishop, his territory increased. For the next 15 years, he continued
to travel by foot, dog sled, horse, canoe or steam engine – reaching
out to the copper and iron workers of the western Upper Peninsula.
At age 70, Bishop Baraga’s strength failed him and he died Jan.
19, 1868. A German author left this description of him, “Providence has
chosen him as a perfect pattern for all missionaries and has selected
him as a true apostle of the pagans. From him shines a high,
comprehensive learning and apostolic piety, coupled with an insatiable
zeal for the salvation of his faithful. God has endowed him with such
wisdom that not only all the Catholics love and respect him highly, but
also the Protestants and pagans esteem and revere him.”
St. Isaac Jogues Tomahawked!
Father Isaac Jogues was a young Jesuit literature
professor who left France to become a missionary in the New World. With
Charles Raymbault, he was the first white man to reach Sault Ste.
Marie. Here they established good relations with the Huron Indians,
making safe the expedition of Marquette and Joliet to discover the
Mississippi River 30 years later.
In 1642, Father Jogues was captured by the Iroquois, and lived as a
tortured slave for 13 months until he escaped and returned to France.
Due to his mutilated hands (at least two fingers had been bitten off),
beatings and other tortures, he was called a “martyr of Christ” by the
pope. The bravery of Father Jogues had caused even his captors to name
him “the indomitable one.”
But Father Jogues wasn’t content in France. He returned to what
is now upstate New York, back to his captors. He was actually welcomed,
except for a small faction that blamed him for recent sicknesses and
crop failure. That group lured him to a cabin on Oct. 18, 1646, and
tomahawked him to death.
A letter that he wrote before returning to the Indian village says, “My
heart tells me that if I have the happiness of being employed in this
mission, I shall go and shall not return, but I should be happy if our
Lord will complete the sacrifice where he has begun it, and make the
little blood I have shed in that land the earnest of what I would give
from every vein of my body and my heart. ... May our good Master, who
has purchased them in his blood, open to them the door of his Gospel
...”
Father Jogues and seven others were canonized in 1930 as the North
American martyrs. The Jesuit Relations is an account of their
missionary experiences.
Father Jacques
Marquette Voyageur priest
The
desire to be a missionary led Jacques Marquette to enter the Jesuit
novitiate in 1654 at age 17. Twelve years later, he was ordained a
priest, and that same desire took him to New France (Canada), where he
learned to speak fluently in six Indian languages.
When
Governor-General Comte de Frontenac sent an expedition to look for the
Mississippi River, he wanted Father Marquette to accompany explorer
Louis Joliet and five others. The French were hoping that the
Mississippi would lead to a trade route to the Far East via the Pacific
Ocean. Marquette’s knowledge of languages could help insure the group’s
safety with the Indians they met along the way.
Father Marquette himself was eager for the opportunity to bring
Catholicism to the Indians. An associate, Father Le Mercier, had said
about him, “Because of his wonderfully, gentle way, he is most
acceptable to the natives.”
In
1673, they left the mission that Father Marquette had founded at St.
Ignace, and, a month later, came to “the big river,” continuing 1,100
miles south to the mouth of the Arkansas River before turning back.
Two years later, Father Marquette returned to preach to the Illinois
Indians, but weakened by dysentery and his travels, he died in 1675. As
his friend, Father Claude, said, “The range of his zeal made him carry
faith to the ends of this new world.” Father Marquette died young, but
was instrumental in opening the area for future French missionaries.
Both Joliet and Father Marquette left journals of their expedition, but only Marquette’s remains.
Father Anton Kopp From Westphalia, Germany
to Westphalia, Michigan
Anton
Kopp was born June 7, 1796, in the province of Westphalia, Germany. He
was the eldest of Franz Joseph and Anna Klara Cramer Kopp’s six sons,
and his family had been blacksmiths in the region for six generations.
In 1819, Anton Kopp was ordained a Catholic priest; in 1836, he
emigrated to America aboard the Leontine – bound for New York City. He
and a group of German immigrants traveled to the See of Detroit, which
encompassed Michigan and the Northwest Territory. On Nov. 10, 1836,
Father Kopp and several other families founded St. Mary Parish in
Westphalia. This marked the beginning of the rural Catholic Church in
Michigan and was the first German Catholic settlement in central
Michigan.
– Evelyn Weiland, Westphalia Historical Society, contributed to this story.
The world that women ran. Religious sisters in Michigan.
Three
religious orders of sisters began in Michigan in the 1800s – the Adrian
Dominicans (OP), Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(IHM), and the Sisters of St. Joseph (SSJ).
The Adrian Dominicans
In the late 1870s, Mother Augustine Neuhierl of the Newburgh, N.Y.
Dominicans had a deathbed vision in which she saw a “peninsula in the
west dotted white with Dominican foundations.” Soon, sisters from her
congregation were sent to St. Mary Parish (1879) and St. Joseph Parish
(1880) in Adrian. In 1884, additional sisters were sent to establish a
hospital for injured railroad workers.
In 1892, Mother Camilla Madden was appointed the provincial for the new
St. Joseph Province. As the need for the hospital diminished, Mother
Camilla turned to education and opened St. Joseph Academy in 1896. At
the same time, the congregation was asked to staff schools in Michigan,
Illinois, Ohio and New Mexico. Mother Camilla Madden also opened St.
Joseph College in Adrian (now Siena Heights University).
In 1923, the St. Joseph Province separated from the Newburgh
Congregation under the title of Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary.
Mother Camilla was named mother-general and founder.
In 1962, Mother Mary Genevieve Weber of Chelsea was elected as the
mother general, and served six years. Maria Health Care Center and a
new novitiate, Weber Hall, were erected during this time. Weber Center
is well known to many as a place for retreats and programs on
spirituality, theology and personal development.
The Sisters of St. Joseph
In
1889, Mother Margaret Mary Lacy and 11 Sisters of St. Joseph arrived
from New York to establish a congregation in Nazareth, on the outskirts
of Kalamazoo. They came at the request of the Diocese of Detroit to
start a hospital, later named Borgess Hospital. They also began an
orphanage and a school, and built a motherhouse.
Over the years,
the congregation expanded throughout Michigan to include health care,
social work, education, parish ministry, spiritual development,
pastoral ministry, and ministry to the elderly, homeless and dying.
Two women from Bunker Hill served as superiors general of the order:
Mother Marion Hankerd, 1923-29, and Mother Scholastica Hankerd, 1953-59.
Sisters, Servants
of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary
At 18, Theresa Maxis helped found the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the
first congregation of women religious of color in the world. She was
born in Baltimore in 1810, of a Haitian mother and British father.
While general superior of the Oblates, Theresa met Louis Florent
Gillet, a Redemptorist priest, who was seeking women religious for
schools in Michigan. She agreed to help Gillet found a new congregation
in Monroe, which would be the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary. Education has been their main focus through the years.
Mother Ruth Hankerd, also from SS Cornelius and Cyprian in Bunker Hill,
was superior general of the order from 1930-42. She was succeeded by
Sister Teresa McGivney, originally from St. Augustine parish in
Deerfield. She served 12 years.
Our shepherds in Christ. The four bishops
of Lansing.
Since becoming a diocese in 1937, Lansing has had four bishops.
Joseph Albers was born in Cincinnati in 1891 and ordained a priest there in 1916. As a chaplain in World War I, he
was wounded three times and received the Silver Star for bravery. At
age 38, he was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Cincinnati, making him
one of the youngest bishops in the country. He was assigned to
establish the new Lansing Diocese in 1937.
On Oct. 7, 1964, the Most Rev. Bishop Alexander M. Zaleski
was sent from the Archdiocese of Detroit to new duties in Lansing, and
as eventual successor to the ailing Bishop Albers, who died on Dec. 1,
1965.
One of seven children, Zaleski was born in Laurel, N.Y., in
1906. He was ordained in 1931 in Louvain, Belgium. He had attended St.
Mary College in Orchard Lake and returned there to be a Scripture
professor. In 1950, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Detroit,
serving there until coming to Lansing. Bishop Zaleski had many
responsibilities in the church hierarchy nationally. He died in 1975.
Succeeding Bishop Zaleski was Kenneth Povish,
the only Diocese of Lansing bishop who was a Michigan native. Born in
1924 in Alpena, he was ordained a priest in 1950 for the Diocese of
Saginaw.
He was in that diocese until appointed as bishop of
Crookston, Minn. On Dec. 11, 1975, he was installed as Lansing’s third
bishop.
For a number of years, while a parish priest in the Saginaw Diocese,
Bishop Povish wrote a column for the Catholic Weekly newspaper. Then,
as bishop of Lansing, he was again a columnist for the newspaper, and
appeared on a regular television program, called Real to Reel.
After a long battle with cancer, Bishop Povish died on Sept. 5, 2003.
Our current bishop, Carl F. Mengeling,
was born Oct.22, 1930, in Hammond, Ind. He was ordained in 1957. In
1964, he earned a doctorate in sacred theology in Rome. He taught for
four years, then was a pastor at different parishes until coming to
Lansing as bishop on Jan. 25, 1996. He initiated the publication of
FAITH magazine.
An interesting footnote is that three of our
bishops (all except Bishop Povish) were present at the opening session
of the Second Vatican Council. Bishops Albers and Zaleski were
attending, and Father Mengeling was a page.
Michigan’s
fathers in faith
Father Patrick O’Kelly
Born in Ireland, Father O’Kelly served in New York before joining
Father Gabriel Richard at St. Anne in Detroit. He was the second Irish
priest to work in Michigan. In 1831, he was a circuit rider in
Washtenaw County, establishing St. Thomas and St. Patrick parishes. In
1843, he helped establish churches in Oakland and Livingston counties.
Father Patrick Clement Kelly
From 1893-1906, Father Kelly, who was born in Canada, was a pastor in
Lapeer, with mission churches in Davison and Otisville. In 1906, he
founded the Catholic Church Extension Society, which focused on poor,
rural Catholics in areas where priests were scarce. In1924, he became
the second bishop of Oklahoma. He wrote several books about
Catholicism, aimed at those indifferent to the faith.
Father Norman DuKette
Father Dukette was the the first black priest ordained in Michigan, in
1926. He founded Christ the King Church in Flint for black Catholics,
and DuKette Catholic School there is named for him. He was the
eighteenth of 27 siblings, and was known as a wonderful confessor.
Monsignor George Peek
He served as a pastor in Ypsilanti, 1932-1940, at St. Thomas in Ann
Arbor, 1940-1969, and was the dean of the Washtenaw County deanery for
many of those years.
Monsignor Earl V. Sheridan
Father Sheridan was the first Catholic Social Services director for the
diocese, leading it from 1940-65. He founded CSS in Genesee County, and
was pastor of St. Michael Parish in Flint from St. Patrick’s Day, 1950
until St. Patrick’s Day, 1975.
Monsignor Jerome V. MacEachin
He began the education office for the diocese in 1940 and originated
the teacher institute for all religious serving in diocesan schools.
Father MacEachin also founded the home-school council movement, which
was similar to the PTA in public schools.
Monsignor John Gabriels
At the invitation of WJIM radio in Lansing, Father Gabriels began
broadcasts of Mass in 1934. Still airing today, it is the longest
continuous radio broadcast of Mass in the U.S. He also founded Church
of the Resurrection in Lansing; and Gabriels High School on the east
side of Lansing was named after him (in 1970 it combined with
O’Rafferty High to form Lansing Catholic Central).
Father Maurice Chawke
Father Chawke, a native of Ireland, was pastor of St. Michael in Flint
from 1934-50. In 1933, he founded Camp Sancta Maria near Gaylord to
give a summer experience of “wholesome recreation in a religious
atmosphere” for boys aged 8-16.
Monsignor John Hackett
Intending to stay for only two years, Father Hackett became pastor of
St. Augustine in Kalamazoo in 1923, and ended up remaining 30 years. He
built the present St. Augustine Church, which became the cathedral when
Kalamazoo was made a diocese in 1971. Hackett Catholic Central High
School was named after him.
Monsignor John O’Rafferty
From 1915-1940, Father O’Rafferty was the pastor of St. Mary Cathedral
in Lansing. The high school on the west side of Lansing was named after
him, and he was influential in the founding of St. Lawrence Hospital.
Father O’Rafferty was known for driving his car to the countryside
during the Depression to get food from farmers that he would then
deliver to poor families in the city.
Monsignor
Eugene Cullinane
Known for his theatrical presentations of the passion on Good Friday,
Monsignor Cullinane was pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Jackson
from 1908 to 1944.
Priests from Michigan who
became bishops elsewhere:
Bishop James Sullivan
James Sullivan was born in Kalamazoo and was ordained in 1955 in the
Lansing diocese. He founded Liturgical Commission Publishings, which
offers priests daily commentaries for the Mass and homilies. He was
named auxiliary bishop in 1972 when Bishop Zaleski’s health was
failing. Upon Bishop Zaleski’s death, Bishop Sullivan was appointed
administrator of the diocese until the appointment of Bishop Povish. In
1978, Bishop Sullivan became a pastor for the first time at St. Thomas
Aquinas in East Lansing, where he remained until his appointment as
bishop of Fargo, N.D., in May 1985.
Bishop Joseph Rademacher
Though he never was a priest in the Lansing diocese, Joseph Rademacher
was born in the parish of St. Peter in Westphalia in 1840 and was the
first native son of the diocese to become a bishop of the church.
Father Rademacher was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fort Wayne
in August 1864, consecrated bishop of Nashville in 1883, then
transferred to Fort Wayne in 1893, where he died in 1900. Because of
his amiable, modest character, he was referred to as “good” Bishop
Rademacher.
Bishop Michael Joseph Green
Born in 1917 in St. Joseph, M. Joseph Green was ordained a priest on
July 14, 1946. Msgr. Green was consecrated as the first auxiliary
bishop of the diocese at St. Mary Cathedral on Aug. 28, 1962. In 1965,
he became the first episcopal moderator for the Cursillo movement, and
was the bishop of Reno, Nev. from 1967-74. After resigning there, he
was pastor of St. Joseph in Adrian until his retirement in 1979. He
died Aug. 30, 1982.
Bishop Paul Donovan
Paul Donovan was born in Iowa, but attended St. Mary Cathedral High
School in Lansing. He was pastor at Our Lady of Fatima, Michigan Center
and at St. Agnes in Flint, also serving as the head of the priests’
council, which advises the bishop. When Kalamazoo was created a diocese
in 1971, Father Donovan became its bishop. He served until he retired
in 1994.
Bishop James Murray
Father Murray was born in Jackson in 1932 and ordained a priest in
1958. He was rector at St. Mary Cathedral in Lansing for 25 years and
chancellor for the diocese from 1968-1998, when he was named the third
bishop of Kalamazoo.
Monsignor Albert Koenigsknecht, M.M.
A native of Most Holy Trinity Parish, Fowler, Albert Koenigsknecht
joined the Maryknoll Missioners and was ordained in 1945. In 1973,
Msgr. Koenigsknecht was appointed apostolic administrator of the Juli
Prelature in Peru. An apostolic administrator has the rank of a bishop
without the privilege to ordain. He died in an automobile accident in
February 1986 in Peru.
what was it like to be Catholic in Michigan in 1900?
Why Mike came back to the Catholic Church
By Eileen Gianodis
When
going to Mass at a rural church a century ago, you would arrive by
buggy and leave your horse in the horse shed. If the church were in
town, you could walk instead because you probably lived nearby. That is
why, today, you don’t find much parking at many urban churches.
Upon entering the church, you would sit in your pre-paid pew. Wealthier
parishioners paid more so they could sit “closer to Jesus” (the
tabernacle). There was medium-priced seating farther back, and the
least expensive was way at the back or in the balcony. Recent
immigrants usually sat in “the cheap seats.” Sometimes, name tags were
placed on the ends of pews. Paying a quarterly rent for a pew was the
primary source of income for parishes until the envelope system began
in the late 1920s or early ’30s.
You would bring a missal, since Mass was in Latin, or
a devotional book with the Mass prayers in it. Because many people had
to travel a considerable distance to Mass, they would often spend the
whole day at church. Anti-Catholic prejudice prevalent in America at
that time isolated Catholics from the rest of society, so their social
activity centered around the parish. After Mass, there might be a
potluck, catechism classes, socializing and meetings of groups like the
Altar/Rosary society, Holy Name Society, young ladies’ sodality, or
Children of Mary.
Since it could be a long day, and there was no indoor plumbing, an outhouse for each sex was a necessity. More affluent parishes had two-seaters and brick construction.
Not until after World War I were there enough priests to offer Mass at the mission churches every week.
Instead, a family would have their own devotions at home, like saying a
rosary. A priest might come through the area once a month.
Parishes sprang up farther and farther westward from Detroit, following the path of the railroad. Taking a train, then, in later years, an auto, enabled a priest to reach more parishes on Sunday or during the week.
The faithful were often called together by the ringing of a church bell when
the priest arrived. Everyone would drop what they were doing and go to
church. It was more common to go to confession before Mass then, so the
priest would try to arrive the night before. Fasting before Mass, with
no water, was from midnight until after the liturgy.
Every year, there would be a parish mission called the “Forty Hours,” lasting
from Sunday night through Tuesday night. Visiting priests stayed in the
third floor of the rectory, which was set up like a dormitory. They
would present the talks, and eucharistic adoration was available.
Since bishops were available less frequently, confirmation would take place whenever he was traveling through. That
meant that children were usually confirmed before their first
Communion, the latter not usually occurring until age 13 or 14. That
changed once Pope Pius X encouraged earlier and more frequent Communion.
Important church celebrations often coincided with a national holiday as
a way of demonstrating to non-Catholics that Catholics were patriotic,
and that their political allegiance was to the U.S., not to a foreign
power. Thus, the cornerstone for St. Mary Church in Lansing, now the
cathedral, was laid on July 4, 1911.
It wasn’t unusual for an entire church, or at least the foundation, to be built with fieldstone that farmers brought from their farms. For
example, in 1911, local craftsmen built St. Mary Church in Manchester
from fieldstones collected by farmers and salvaged from the foundation
of the hotel that had stood on the site. Father Edwin Fisher, the
pastor, designed the church and erected similar fieldstone churches at
his missions in Blissfield, Tecumseh and Brooklyn.
Early parishes in the Diocese of Lansing were Irish and German.
The first Polish parishes were in Jackson in 1902 and Flint in 1910.
Then Southern and Eastern Europeans arrived, building a Czech/Slovak
church (St. Mary) in Swartz Creek in 1912.
The growing Knights of Columbus reached
Michigan when a council was formed at Ann Arbor’s St. Thomas the
Apostle Church in 1901. Jackson had a council that same year, Flint the
following year, and Lansing in 1903.
Keeper of the archives.
Our history answer-man.
By Nancy Schertzing | Photography by Tom Gennara
 Msgr. George Michalek took on yet another role in the church and became the diocese’s first archivist in 1979.
This article, and much of this month’s issue, would have been blank
without his knowledge and input. We asked Msgr. Michalek to tell us a
little bit about what’s in the diocesan archives.
In 1937, when
Lansing was made a diocese, it was typical for episcopal sandals and
leggings to match the vestments. You can see these beautiful items of Bishop Joseph Albers in the diocesan archives, as well as his collection of relics.
There, too, you can find a 1685 copy of the Vulgate (Latin) Bible and a
1669 book from England on the lives of the saints. There is an 1840
letter from parishioners of St. Patrick Parish in Ann Arbor/Whitmore
Lake to the bishop of Detroit, asking for the return of their pastor
who had been transferred. With a little research, you discover that, in
1831, “Old St. Pat’s” became the first English speaking church in
Michigan. The deed for their land is in the archives, as is the one
from 1837 for St. John Parish in Hartland.
The
archive building is in the Zaleski Center, the former brothers’
residence for Lansing Catholic Central (that’s a bit of archives
trivia), now attached to Lansing Catholic Central High School. It is
open on Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., to anyone.
Besides artifacts, deeds and letters, the archives hold:
• books pertaining to Catholicism in Michigan and other parts of the country.
• books about religious orders that served in the diocese.
• papers of John Carroll, the first U.S. bishop.
• files and papers of deceased priests.
• sacramental records of closed parishes.
• parish records and directories .
• blueprints and specs of church buildings.
• the only collection of The Catholic Weekly newspaper.
The Catholic Weekly was the diocesan paper from 1954 until it went out
of business in 1991. One good result of its closure was that Msgr.
Michalek inherited all of their photographs. He had none when the
archives opened in 1979. He adds to the collection every year.
Msgr. Michalek took a one-semester class at the University of Michigan
in preparation for his job, in addition to working at Bentley
Historical Library for practical training during one semester. He is on
the national board of Catholic Diocesan Archivists.
If you’d like to look at documents in the archives, Msgr. Michalek
recommends calling ahead to make sure that what you are looking for is
actually there. Nothing
can be checked out of the archives, but you can peruse them at 501
Marshall St., Lansing. The phone number is 517.485.9902.
The Diocesan Archives is a chancery service supported by the D.S.A.
---
Irish roots 
Discover this traditional potato cake from the Emerald Isle.
Michelle Sessions DiFranco | Photography by Phillip
Shippert
I
discovered quite a bit on my recent trip to Ireland. First, traveling
overseas with a toddler and an infant is a great workout (which was a
good way to counteract the calorie-laden Guinness on tap). Second, the
Irish are excellent conversationalists with their quick wit and jovial
nature. And finally, I learned that no other country serves the potato
in so many different ways.
Yes, this beautiful green landscape,
where quiet sheep graze and old castles stand, offers perfect growing
conditions for the Irish staple. Since the late 1600s, potatoes have
thrived here – except during the great potato famine of 1845, when a
devastating blight wiped out most of Ireland’s potato crop and caused
thousands of Irish to starve or emigrate. The blight came at a time
when persecution of the Catholic faith was also bearing down on the
Irish people. Many who came to our country in those days equated the
potato famine with their struggle against religious oppression. Many
starving immigrants to the U.S. found a land of bounty – one that
provided safety and nourishment, both physically and spiritually. For
the Irish who were displaced from their country, the potato famine was
a nightmare. But it was also a critical part of their history that
pushed them to a land where they could celebrate their faith freely.
Today, the blight is a distant chapter in Irish history, and the potato
is still a staple of the country’s cuisine. Many traditional Irish
recipes survive today, and they are delicious. One of my favorites is
the potato cake, or boxty. Let me tell you, it appeared on menus at a
lot of restaurants and pubs in the smaller villages of Ireland.
Fittingly, this dish is traditionally prepared on the feast day of
Ireland’s own patron, Saint Brigid, which is celebrated Feb.1.
Thankfully, you don’t have to visit the Emerald Isle to enjoy this
tasty treat. In fact, it is among the hundreds of other potato recipes
our Catholic Irish immigrants brought to our country. So, gather the
ingredients and get ready to throw a few boxty in the frying pan. They
are a great addition to almost any main course and they are also a
great snack when curled up with a book of William Butler Yeats on a
cold overcast day.
- Irish Boxty
Ingredients:
1 cup (8 oz) mashed potatoes
1 cup (8 oz) finely grated raw potatoes
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter (for the pan)
In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with the raw
potatoes. Add the flour mixture and gently stir. Slowly add the
buttermilk to make a stiff batter (similar to that of cookie batter).
Do not over mix. Scoop out batter with a large spoon and slightly
flatten in the palm of hand. Place into a heated pan with melted butter
and cook until crispy and golden brown on both sides.
---
Directions
In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the mashed potatoes with the raw
potatoes. Add the flour mixture and gently stir. Slowly add the
buttermilk to make a stiff batter (similar to that of cookie batter).
Do not over mix. Scoop out batter with a large spoon and slightly
flatten in the palm of hand. Place into a heated pan with melted butter
and cook until crispy and golden brown on both sides.
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