July 26: St. Anne's of Detroit

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is July 26th, and our story is St. Anne's of Detroit. The French who settled Detroit in 1701 had their priorities straight. On July 24th of that year, Antoine de Lamothe, Sieur de Cadillac, and a group of French artisans, farmers, soldiers, and tradesmen arrived at the straits of Lake Erie, where they planned to build a fort and a city.

Two days later, on July 26, 1701, they began building St. Anne's Catholic Church, the second oldest continuously operating parish in the United States. St. Anne's was the first building constructed in what became Fort Pontchartrain-du-Detroit. It also was the most frequently constructed, burning to the ground three times in its 200-plus year history, including once by the settlers themselves, and falling under the wrecking ball a few more times.

In the early years, though, perpetual construction wasn't the parish's primary concern. That honor belonged to the local Native Americans who seemed to enjoy shooting flaming arrows at the church, and who kidnapped St. Anne's first pastor, Fr. Nicholas Constantin de Halle, in 1706. Although the French settlers successfully negotiated Del Halle's release from the Ottawa's, another Native American shot and killed the priest as he walked back to the fort. As the 18th century passed, so too did French control of Detroit, first to the British, then to the Americans.

The parish itself carried on the French Catholic traditions of its founders, continuing to offer at least one mass with a French sermon until 1942. Soon after, St. Anne's priests began preaching some sermons in Spanish in order to serve the parish's growing Hispanic population. The current St. Anne's Church is the eighth building the parish is occupied.

Completed in 1886, the Gothic Revival Church bears traces of its colorful past, with remnants of its former incarnations, including an altar, communion rail, statues, bells, and even a cornerstone incorporated into its design. And one of her former pastors, Father Gabriel Richard, U.S. Congressman and University of Michigan co-founder, Entombed within. St. Anne's history shows resilience and adaptability. From fires to cultural shifts, the parish endured and evolved, embracing new populations while preserving tradition.

The church's layered architecture, with relics from prior buildings, is a metaphor for continuity amid change, showing how the past can coexist with the present to inspire future generations. Reflect on a community or institution you are part of. How can you preserve its core values while adapting to new challenges or audiences?

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, July 27th, for another story of faith and courage in America.