| The nucleus of Detroit's first Polish settlement was formed by a number of Poles who arrived in the city during the middle of the 1850s. As former residents of the Pomerania and Poznan sections of the partitioned Poland, then under Prussian rule, the newly arrived Poles settled in and around the city's German-speaking community. Even though few of these Poles attended St. Mary's German Roman Catholic Church on the corner of St. Antoine and Croghan (Monroe) Streets, the majority utilized the facilities of St. Joseph's German Roman Catholic Church first located on Gratiot between Riopelle and Orleans Streets and later on the southeast corner of Orleans and Jay Street. But the Poles were not satisfied with this arrangement. Desiring to praise God in their native tongue, they began to take steps to organize their own parish in 1870. Guided by Fr. Simon Wieczorek CR, who had come down occasionally from Parisville, Huron County, Michigan, to attend to the spiritual needs of his countrymen in Detroit, the Poles organized the St. Stanislaus Kostka Society and began to collect funds for the building of a church. Even though he had some misgivings about the Poles' ability to successfully finance the project, Bishop Caspar Henry Borgess granted his approval. The plot purchased by the parish committee composed of John Lemke, John Kolodziejczky, Anthony Treppa, and Anthony Ostrowski comprised lot thirty-six of the old French St. Aubin Farm. Measuring 100 feet wide and 270 feet deep, situated on the western side of St. Aubin Avenue below the southern corner of Fremont (East Canfield) Street, the land cost $600 which was paid in full to the owner Phillip Beaubien. The transaction was completed November 9, 1871. On this first parcel of St. Albertus Parish's real estate property arose the congregation's first "church and priesthouse." The building contract, dated October 11, 1871, was signed by architect John Wiesenhoffèr and thirty charter members of the parish. Construction
of the frame church was begun on June 13, 1872. Bishop Borgess The
opening of St. Albertus led to the movement of the Poles into the
neighborhood of St. Aubin and Fremont in order to be close to their
own church. This migration resulted in the establishment of Detroit's
first Polish neighborhood, known among Detroiters as "Poletown"
to the Poles, however, it was "Wojciechowo," the "District
of St. Albertus."
On March 30, 1882, Fr. Wollowski's pastorate was terminated by Bishop Borgess. Fr. Wollowski's successor was Fr. Dominic Kolasinski, newly arrived in Detroit from the Diocese of Krakow. Sociable, relatively young, and energetic, the new pastor soon won the devotion and loyalty of his parishioners. Appealing to their national pride, he urged the erection of a church more in keeping with the Polish tradition. After 13 years of service to a constantly growing Polish community in Detroit, the original Church was replaced by a new and larger structure designed by architect Henry Engelbert and built on the site of the first school by the Spitzely Brothers of Detroit between the years of 1883-1885. The cost was $61,000. It was the largest Catholic Church in the State of Michigan at the time of its construction with a seating capacity of 2500, and was the first in the city of Detroit to be equipped with steam heat and electrical lighting. The brick western-Polish Gothic edifice was dedicated by Bishop Borgess on July 4, 1885. An imposing structure, 200 feet long and 70 feet wide with a spire of 280 feet high, it was at that time, the second largest Polish Roman Catholic Church in the United States. In 1889, one of the parish's own sons, John A. Lemke, said his first Mass after he was ordained at St. Albertus. It was a proud day for the parishioners! The
Church is similar in appearance to churches found in Prussian Poland.
The present Church was built to serve a Polish Community in Detroit
estimated at 22,000. The original spire of the Church housed four
large bells. It was shortened after a windstorm on Good Friday of
1913 caused extensive damage. The original wooden church building
was raffled off in 1888 and removed from the property allowing room
for the present rectory to be built in 1891, the previous rectory
being donated to the newly formed St. Josaphat Parish. The interior of St. Albertus is consistently treated in the medieval style. In this it reflects late nineteenth century practice rather than the historic Polish churches, for the latter are usually encrusted with Baroque work. Along with the marble altars and communion rail, fittings added before 1913 include a marble pulpit and baptismal font and patterned terra-cotta wainscot. There are sixty-three pieces of painted plaster sculpture within the church, including the fourteen stations of the cross, St. Albertus above the main altar, a large Pieta, and the like. The windows consist generally of medieval styled stained glass. The north wall of the third bay has the most recent addition, commemorating one thousand years of Christianity in Poland. St.
Albertus, then, is a splendid example of a church whose architectural
function was to provide a familiar setting to those Polish immigrants
who emigrated to Detroit during the last quarter of the nineteenth
century. The building's historic and architectural significance
has been recognized. The church was declared a State
of Michigan Historic Site and placed on the National
Register of Historic Places by the United States Department
of the Interior. In 1975 its State Historic Marker was dedicated. If you'd like to learn more about the history of this church, I can recommend some excellent books that may be available at your local library:
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Graphics By Jann Web Design |
blessed
and dedicated the church to St. Wojciech on July 14. Due to difficulties
in finding a correct English equivalent for their Polish-Bohemian
patron, St. Wojciech, the early pastors and parishioners borrowed
the erroneous Latin equivalent Adalbertus, translating into English
as St. Albertus or St. Albert.
The
first St. Albertus School building was completed in 1873 and opened
early in 1874 under the direction of the parish's second pastor
Fr. Theodore Gieryk with 97 students. The two story frame building
was located on the corner of St. Aubin and Canfield where the present
Church stands. The original Church was on the lot directly to the
south of the school and the first rectory stood behind the church.
During his pastorate, Fr. Theodore Gieryk formally opened the school,
laid the foundation of the later Polish Roman Catholic Union,
and brought the first Polish Catholic newspaper to Detroit Gazeta
Polska Katolicka.