One Hundred Twenty-Five Years... and Then Some!
A Brief History of St. Mary Parish
Written by Mr. Ken Haldeman and Fr. Nick Zukowski
The history of St. Mary Parish in New Baltimore begins back in December 1875, with the appointment of Fr. Aloysius Lambert as the first resident pastor. Detroit's second bishop, Bishop Caspar H. Borgess, made the appointment for the New Year of Grace, so we begin counting from the year 1876. Prior to this, the Catholic community in New Baltimore was ministered by priests from Anchorville who celebrated Mass in private homes from 1853 until 1875. Our Catholic roots can be traced back as far as 1805 with settlers named Meldrum and Duprai (Dupre, Duprey), familiar names in today's church register. Even before 1853, Catholic communities along Anchor Bay practiced their faith with the assistance of "horseback priests," who came from Jesuit missions in Canada as well as the revered Capuchin Fathers from Detroit.
Fr. Lambert served St. Mary's for thirteen years. Although rather old for the task to found and support a parish in the frontier, this saintly priest's untiring efforts established a church and chapel, a grade school and a rectory. A legend supporting the saintliness of this priest has it that in 1876, "an horrendous fire" on the bay front involving a lumber mill and warehouse was showering the frame houses of the town and threatened to ignite everything. Fr. Lambert, who was helping with the local fire brigade, knelt down and prayed for divine help. The wind miraculously changed and commenced to blow over the bay, sparing the town. After ten years of faithful service, Fr. Lambert had his salary increased to $58.33 per month. Eventually, Fr. Lambert's health would decline, forcing him to retire in 1892.
Once again, St. Mary's would become a mission parish of Anchorville until three years later, when Detroit's next Bishop, John S. Foley, appointed Fr. Charles J. Koenig as pastor of St. Mary's. This assignment was Fr. Koenig's first assignment after his ordination as a priest. He began his service to God and to the Church with no experience, about thirty to forty families, a parish $1,820.00 in debt, and a rectory which was "more down than up." For the next thirty-six years, St. Mary's would grow and mature under Fr. Koenig's guidance.
By 1905, the congregation of St. Mary's numbered 125 families, worshipping and receiving Catholic education in their own parish school. The Married Ladies Sodality was a young eight years old. Two years later, improvements (and the subsequent parish debt) surged. The church received a new heating system, and a steeple with belfry were added to the church roof. A new rectory was built in 1913 at the then handsome price of $14,000.00. That same year, the Detroit United Railway Company put in a train line through New Baltimore to accommodate the increasing number of tourists visiting the area. The major advocate of this project was the Village President, who just happened to be Fr. Charles Koenig, pastor of St. Mary's!
1921 was a banner year for our parish. The Heuser block of land across the street from the church was purchased for $11,500. On the 300-by-300-foot square piece of land stood a small two-story building, a former brewery, which would be used as a convent for three Dominican Sisters from Adrian, Michigan who took charge of the religious and educational programs. The parish school population was growing, and necessitated a larger building.
On July 4, 1926, work started on the foundation of the new school, and the cornerstone was dedicated that fall by Bishop Michael Gallagher of Detroit. While unearthing the foundation, the skeleton of a young man was found. He was later identified as the man who mysteriously disappeared over thirty years earlier, following an altercation outside a local drinking establishment. The remains were carefully removed and buried at St. Mary's Parish Cemetery by Fr. Koenig.
By 1930, St. Mary's numbered some 655 members from about 130 families. A year later, Fr. Koenig left St. Mary's for a well-deserved retirement. Fr. Elmer Betzing arrived from Holy Rosary Parish in Detroit. His brief pastorate ended in 1932 with the arrival of Fr. Leo Gaffney, who came from Christ the King Parish in Redford, near Detroit. The following thirteen years under Fr. Gaffney's stewardship were truly remarkable. The parish mortgage was paid off and burned in 1938. The parish became totally debt-free by 1940, and a new organ was installed in time for Christmas. It had five ranks, and was built by the Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois at a cost of $1890.00. But along with the joy came deep sadness. Fr. Gaffney became a "wartime pastor," consoling the five families whose sons were killed in combat all in the same year -- 1944. In May 1949, Fr. Gaffney dedicated a war memorial shrine at the parish cemetery, and then retired the following month.
The next pastor of St. Mary's was Fr. Francis Juras. During Fr. Juras' appointment, St. Mary underwent a series of building and re-building programs. In 1950, the school was renovated to provide four additional classrooms. A new gymnasium and parish hall were started. Completion was in time for the start of the academic year of 1951. In 1956, a new convent was constructed.
The greatest challenge for all occurred on November 8, 1958. Our parish church was completely destroyed by fire. The 83-year-old wooden structure burned out of control. Except for the contents of the tabernacle and some religious articles in the sacristy which were retrieved by one of the firemen, nothing survived.
For the next several years, the new gymnasium served as a temporary church. The 650 families in the parish rallied and began immediate planning for a new church building. Ground was broken in June, 1962, with the cornerstone in place by April, 1963. On December 19, 1962, Archbishop John F. Dearden dedicated the church to the patronage of St. Mary Queen of Creation, the title given to Mary by Pope Pius XII and adopted by Fr. Juras during the Marian year 1954.
In the 1960's, a local conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded and continues to serve the poor. Another legacy began in the school year 1959-1960, when seventh-grader Mary Jane Plague (Schmid) began her music ministry at St. Mary's! Fr. Juras enjoyed sixteen years as our pastor, retiring in 1965.
Fr. Albert Zinger arrived at St. Mary's during a time of change in our country and in our Church. The loss of state funding forced the closure of many Catholic schools, including St. Mary's. The parish elementary school was consolidated with Immaculate Conception School in Anchorville. The parish high school was renamed Anchor Bay Catholic. Attempts at keeping the schools solvent failed, and both schools were closed.
During the 1970's, the winds of the Second Vatican Council swept through the Catholic Church, calling us to a renewal of identity, mission, ministry and service. This showed itself in the liturgical reforms which saw a greater participation by lay people in the liturgical roles of Lector and Eucharistic Minister, all under the guidance of Fr. Zinger. The concept of parish pastoral councils and commissions developed to advise the pastor in the administration of the parish. Youth ministry began with the establishment of "Teens Loving Christ" -- "TLC."
In May 1971, St. Mary's hosted the Ordination Mass and First Mass of Thanksgiving for Fr. Leonard Gendernalik, the only recent priestly vocation from our parish. Our vocations to the religious life of sisters included: Sr. Loretta Demick, Sr. Margaret Ringel, Sr. Ellen Leo Marcero and Sr. Ellen Burkhardt, all Adrian Dominicans.
In 1974, a very special Dominican Sister, Sr. Loretta Demick, arrived. Sr. Loretta would bless St. Mary's as Director of Religious Education, and then as Christian Service Coordinator and Parish Minister. Her 22 years of loving ministry and dedicated service would touch the lives of hundreds of poor, elderly and infirmed parishioners. She established ìSr. Lorettaís Closetî which later became the St. Mary Food Pantry.
That same year, Fr. Walter Schweihofer achieved "Senior Priest" status, and at age 70, made his permanent home in New Baltimore. Fr. Walter would serve St. Mary's for many years after his official "retirement." When ill health prevented him from serving at St. Maryís, he moved to Presbyterian Village East and served as ìunofficialî chaplain to all the residents and staff, celebrating Mass daily in his room. Before his death on November 17, 2002, Fr. Walter was the oldest living priest in the Archdiocese of Detroit at age 98.
Also in 1974, the former convent became home to ten special women who are developmentally disabled. As parish space needs grew in recent years, the ìladiesî found new housing in the fall of 2002, with St. Maryís and the Knights of Columbus helping in the transition. The former convent has now been renovated, its rooms to be used for offices and meeting space.
1976 saw the celebration of two birthdays. Our nation was 200 years old, and our parish was 100! The first century of parish life was reflected in the joy that in 1883 there were 202 registered parishioners, and by 1975 there were 1250 registered households. The 1970 census listed the City of New Baltimore as having 4,132 people. Fr. Zinger retired in 1976 and died two years later.
Into this first spurt of population growth came Fr. James Wysocki. Largely through his leadership, St. Mary's saw the expansion of our worship life, especially in the development of the ministry of cantor, and the expansion of our music ministry. The "soul" of our liturgical music ministry hadbeen guided for many years by Mary Jane Schmid, Peggy Beauvais and, from 1984 to 2006, Catherine Russman Schultz. The "muscle" of our music ministry is our mechanical action, or "tracker" organ, built in 1980-1981 by David Wigton as his first opus. It was first used for the feast of Christ the King in 1981, and was dedicated on Sunday, April 18, 1982. It has 33 ranks, 26 stops, 29 voices and 1821 pipes. The total cost of $59,900 was donated by parishioners prior to its construction and installation.
The ministry of Permanent Deacon would arrive in 1977 with Deacon Anthony Lewandoski and his wife, Alice. This would provide an opportunity for St. Mary's to expand its concept of parish sacramental life. In 1981, Fr. Wysocki organized a committee to build a new parish center complete with offices, parish hall and a large commercial kitchen. The hall has been "home" for scores of parish celebrations, including an expanded parish festival. Once the parish center was completed, the rectory was remodeled and is now used as a private home for the priests of St. Mary's.
A Eucharistic Chapel was created in our church. It is still used by our parish charismatic prayer group and for our Sunday Liturgy of the Word for Children.
St. Mary's began to honor her parish volunteers with the acknowledgment of the "Man of the Year" and "Woman of the Year." Parish registration and enrollment in the religious education program began to swell, as home construction began to mushroom once again. The annual parish festival was expanded at that time to three days.
By 1985, St. Mary's needed additional sacramental assistance. This was accomplished with the dedication and hard work of our Assistant Priests and Associate Pastors. They include (past and present): Fathers Peter VanderLinden, John Smith, Erwin Bauer, James Macy, Edmund Schwager, the P.I.M.E. Fathers, Arthur Bell, Douglas Terrien, Robert Tucker, Kenneth Chase, John LaCasse, Matthew Ellis, Thomas McWilliams, Salvino Briffa, Bradley Forintos, Patrick Casey, Stephen Vileo and Michael Prince. Fr. Todd Lajiness, from Sacred Heart Seminary, now helps us on the weekends.
In 1985, a 1,020 pound bell and a new carillon system were installed in the once vacant bell tower and both were dedicated on May 18, 1986. The previous year, bells on a much smaller scale -- handbells -- arrived to enhance our music ministry. In 1988, our beloved "Senior Priest" -- Fr. Walter Schweihofer -- celebrated fifty years of priestly ministry. In 1988, Sr. Maryetta Churches arrived as Director of Religious Education and Parish Minister. By 1989, the parish census doubled to over 2000 families. Sr. Loretta Demick, our Parish Minster, celebrated her fifty years of religious life. And, after two years of study and consultation, a church renovation committee oversaw the initial planning stages. Renovation began in March, 1990, at an estimated cost of $600,000.
It would fall upon the next pastor of St. Mary's, Fr. James Jagielski, to oversee the many revisions of the church renovation project. In three short years, Fr. Jagielski improved the physical plant of the parish -- his crowning achievement being our new, contemporary worship space. The new space was dedicated by Archbishop Adam Maida on August 18, 1991. Fr. Salvino Briffa arrived earlier that year as Associate Pastor. In addition to the physical improvements, Fr. Jagielski reorganized the administration of the parish, including staff and employees. With the assistance of long-time cemetery sexton Edward Gillett, the parish cemetery received loving care and attention.
In July, 1993, our current pastor, Fr. Nicholas Zukowski, arrived as the ninth pastor of St. Mary's. His has been the task to oversee the ongoing spiritual growth by expanding our parish staff to meet ever-increasing needs in ministry and service. During his pastorate, youth and young adult ministries were enhanced with the arrival of Dan White as director. Fr. Bradley Forintos arrived as Associate Pastor, with duties as part-time chaplain at Cardinal Mooney College Preparatory High School in Marine City.
JoAnn Loria arrived as the new Director of Religious Education, enhancing the adult education and formation of our parishioners. Jacquelin Stringer became our new Christian Service Coordinator, and Julie Schmid joined the pastoral staff as Worship Coordinator. Parish Secretary, Shirley Luther, retired after 13 years of dedicated service, and Betty Tamer came on board as parish secretary and office manager. 1995 saw the development of a youth choir, who sing on a regular basis at Sunday liturgy, and a Children's Liturgy of the Word at the 9:30 and 11:30 liturgies. We also welcomed Michelle Szczepanski as our new Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.
Our outreach to the poor found its expression in housing the homeless members of the Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Teams -- "MCREST." 1996 saw the retirement of Sr. Loretta Demick, and the start of a program which she leaves as a legacy to continue ministry to the hospitalized and the homebound -- our parish nursing program. Mary Fran Van Hollenbeck and later, Kathy Carten and Glorianne Gauvreau continued this ministry. Sue Lugo and Albert Verbrugge currently minister in this capacity with many nurses and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion visiting the sick. We have tried to involve ourselves in other issues of social justice: adopting a mission high school in Appalachia, making all lay liturgical ministries at St. Maryís open to Catholic men, women and young adults; hosting a Mass for persons touched by HIV/AIDS; conducting annual prayer vigils for Respect Life; and raising parish salaries up to Archdiocesan standards.
Being responsible stewards of our parish buildings saw the ongoing renovation of our church, the upgrading of our parish center, and the enhancement of our former school. Five additional acres were purchased for future burials in our parish cemetery. New rules and regulations were established for the uniform operation of the cemetery, and Charles Demick was our cemetery sexton for three years. Our parish maintenance staff now cares for our parish buildings and our parish cemetery.
In 1996, a new parish, St. Maximilian Kolbe, was formed to the west of us to help meet the pastoral need created by the ongoing home building boom. We re-aligned the parish boundaries of St. Maryís and St. Maximilianís which will benefit both parishes. A large Hispanic community has moved into the area, and we are looking at creative ways to meet their unique pastoral needs. Since the Together in Faith process initiated by the Archdiocese of Detroit, St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish has merged with the parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Ray Township. Plans are underway to purchase land and build a permanent church somewhere near Gratiot Avenue between 24 and 26 Mile Road.
Fr. Nick Zukowski, our pastor, continues to call us to a deeper understanding of our Catholic Christian heritage, quality worship, ongoing faith formation and responsible stewardship. Efforts continue to reach out to our brother and sister Christian churches in the area through ecumenical prayer services and fellowship. With our participation in the Archdiocesan "Stewards for Tomorrow" Education Endowment, we hope to subsidize the ongoing formation programs for adults in the parish, as well as providing additional tuition assistance for our parish children who attend Catholic Schools. With an anticipated commitment of 5% of our Sunday collection to a vicariate-wide subsidy program, St. Maryís is putting our money where our mouth is!
In speaking of Catholic education, we salute the many Dominican Sisters who brought the Good News to us in our parish school and religious education/faith formation and other parish ministries. Our Faith Formation and young adult ministry have been enhanced with the presence and ministry of Jane McKenzie, Sr. Maryetta Churches, JoAnn Loria, and Carolyn Bissett, who arrived in 1996 as the current Director of Religious Education/Faith Formation.
Sharon Hagemann continued to serve St. Mary’s with great love and care as Religious Education Secretary since 1976 In 1998, Sr. Jude VanBaalen arrived in the newly-created position of Adult Formation Coordinator. Ed Kuhle joined us in the Fall of 2000 as our youth minister, and retired in July of 2007.
In 1998, St. Mary's conducted a survey to better meet the spiritual, religious, and material needs of our people. A pastoral visit by our regional bishop, Bishop Bernard J. Harrington in November, 1997 resulted in our improved efforts in the areas of evangelization/outreach, the R.C.I.A., stewardship and vocations.
St. Mary’s rejoices in producing a vocation to the permanent diaconate: Deacon Richard Damaske was ordained on October 2, 1999. St. Mary's has been his only assignment. Deacon Richard's beloved wife Merry died in October 2005. Deacon Tony Lewandoski and his wife Alice recently marked over 30 years of ministry and service here at St. Mary’s.
Our most pressing challenge is to find the space to accommodate a parish which has doubled in size in only 25 years. In 1999, a space needs committee was formed from our Stewardship Commission, and in the Jubilee Year of Christianity, 2000, a building committee was formed. Unfortunately, the poor economic situation in Michigan and other factors put our expansion plans on hold.
In May of 2001, St. Mary’s officially celebrated our 125th anniversary as a parish community dedicated to faith, worship and stewardship. Cardinal Adam Maida celebrated a glorious jubilee Mass, attended by hundreds of past and present parishioners and former students of the parish school. Dozens of priests, religious sisters and former staff joined in the festivities. It truly was a memorable weekend at St. Mary’s!
St. Mary’s joined our “mother parish” -- Immaculate Conception in Anchorville -- in a pulpit exchange and in the promise to share programs and events in the future. “Living Room Dialogues” and a parish mission nourished the spirit. Our parish music ministry recorded two CD’s featuring our extremely gifted voices and musicians.
Also as part of our Jubilee celebration, our parish choir and music ministry sponsored a concert series and a pilgrimage to Rome, along with the choir of St. Germaine Parish in St. Clair Shores. The combined choir was proclaimed one of the finest American choirs ever to sing in St. Peter’s Basilica by the Director of the Vatican Schola Choir. It was our honor and thrill to sing before our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, at his Wednesday audience on Ash Wednesday, 2001.
2002 saw the retirement of two long-term parish ministers. Mary Jane Schmid retired as Director of Music Ministries, and Sharon Hagemann retired as Religious Education Secretary. While no one could duplicate Mary Jane’s 43 years or Sharon’s 25 years, we are grateful that Dave Warren has accepted the new role of “Director of Liturgy and Music” and that he has continued our tradition of exceptional liturgical music.
Transition is always a part of parish life. Among our newest members of the parish staff are Anna Bissett as our Religious Education/Faith Formation Secretary, Sr. Pat Whalen, CSJ as our new Worship Coordinator, Jan Boswell as our new Choir Director, Debbie Warren as our new Christian Service Coordinator and George Moomaw as our new Adult Formation Coordinator. While George oversees the R.C.I.A. process here at St. Mary’s, Michele Koehler coordinates the sacramental initiation of children who are out of sequence with the children in our mainstream religious education/faith formation program. Kristyn Coules has come on board, fresh from college, as the new Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.
Our Sunday liturgies are enhanced with the Liturgy of the Word for Children, where the Sunday readings are explained in words and at a level children aged five years old to fifth grade can understand. During the school year, we offer a nursery service in the Annex during the 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM Sunday Liturgies.
The people who attend daily services at St. Mary’s offer the recitation of the rosary and a special prayer for vocations every time they gather for prayer. Our Charismatic prayer group helps to “make holy” the space which we claim as our spiritual home. The local council of the Knights of Columbus has proven time and time again their dedication to their parish, their financial support of the mentally disabled, and their loyalty to their Chaplain, Fr. Nick Zukowski.
We are looking at an ambitious parish Master Plan of building and expansion; in the interim we are using our existing buildings as efficiently as possible. We are discerning the will of the Holy Spirit along with all the other parishes in the our vicariate as we share in long-range planning and the sharing of resources and personnel to meet present and future needs of the Catholic Church in northeast Macomb and St. Clair Counties. In 2006, the Blue Water Vicariate and the Port Huron Vicariate merged to become the Blue Water Vicariate. There are now four regions and only sixteen vicariates in the Archdiocese of Detroit, again as a result of the Together in Faith process.
Since 1876, we can be proud of our Catholic presence, ministry and service in this community and of our parish mission statement "to be Christ for each other." We pray:
FOR ALL THAT HAS BEEN, "THANKS!" FOR ALL THAT WILL BE, "YES!"