.The parish was founded in 1834 with Father Martin Kundig as its first pastor. The first St. Mary's church building was built in 1841. Its replacement, built in the same location, was dedicated in 1884. The church had various orders of priest as caretakers of the parish; first the Redemptorists, then the Franciscans and finally the Spiritans.
Since 1893, the Holy Ghost Fathers [Spiritans] have faithfully served Old St. Mary's Church. The Spiritan Fathers continue to exercise their rule of Faith by making themselves advocates, supporters, and defenders of the weak and little ones.
Old St. Mary's is a spiritual oasis in Downtown Detroit. Daily Mass at 12:15 attracts the business community, government, and court employees as well as out of town visitors. The Church is open Monday thru Sunday prior to Mass until 2pm, at which time the outside doors will be locked.
Before she gained the title "Old", St. Mary's was known for many years as the "Church of the Grottos." There are three: the grotto of Gethesemane, depicting Christ's agony in the Garden of Olives; the Baptismal Grotto, depicting Christ's Baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist complete with running water; and the Lourdes Grotto which is a replica of that French shrine.
A revised publication that provides tidbits of the history of this church.
The button below will take you to a series of pages that provide the history of the parish as presented in 1984.
Clicking on the button will take you to a page where various videos on Old St. Mary's were made.
The button below will take you to photo slideshows of Church events that occurred two years and past.
Past Events
Historical Slideshows
The button below will take you to slideshows showing either the exterior or interior of the church.
The Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans) first came to Michigan in 1885 when they took of the administration of St. Joachim parish (Detroit) in 1885. In 1893 they took over the management of Old St. Mary's. Over the years they managed nine parishes and a seminary in Michigan. To get more information, click on the button below.