"This is the one German parish that has hung on to its tradition in a city once filled with German parishes," said Fr. Borkowski, parish administrator.

The Catholics from southern Germany who founded the parish 150 years age probably could not have imagined a German ever becoming pope, he continued.

Fr. Borkowski said it is natural for the people of St. Joseph to feel a connection to the new pope because of the parish's German heritage, "but we must also feel it in our prayers, as we pray for him and for our Church."

Pat Sikora

Perhaps, he continued, the election of a German pope will spark "a renewed interest and enthusiasm in all things German – if that happens, St. Joseph's is here."

Although the other two parishes clustered with St. Joseph – Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Josaphat – are historically Polish, Fr. Borkowski assured the congregation that their members also share in the joy over the selection of the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

He added that all Catholics should be thankful the College of Cardinals "chose such a fine man to lead the Church – a man who understands the 2,000-year-old tradition of the Church."

After Mass, St. Joseph parishioner Kathleen Heimiller, who said she is half-German and half-Irish, said she has great hopes for Benedict XVI's papacy. "I feel he's very conservative, which I like. I believe he'll help make the liturgy a little more reverent," she said.

William Worden

Not everybody who came to the Mass was of German descent. "I'm very, very happy to see that the cardinals were inspired by the Holy Spirit to have the insight to vote for someone like Benedict XVI," said Pat Sikora, a Polish-American and member of Transfiguration Parish, Detroit.

Evette Aubrey, of Lebanese descent and a member of Our Lady of Redemption (Melkite) Parish in Warren, said the first time she had ever seen Cardinal Ratzinger was when he conducted the funeral Mass for Pope John Paul on television, but she formed a very favorable impression. "I could see Jesus Christ in this man – he is so humble," she said.

"He's going to have a very heavy load, but I have confidence in him, because he was the right hand of Pope John Paul II," Aubrey added.

Mike Joy

Mike Joy, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Roseville, said he had been hoping the cardinals would choose an African or Latin American cardinal instead. "But the Lord works in mysterious ways – hopefully, he'll be a good pope," said Joy, who said he himself was of Irish ethnicity.

William Worden, St. Joseph's director of music, who said he was "very slightly German, but mostly Alsatian," was more excited about Benedict's musical background: "He plays the piano very well."

St. J oseph maintains the Bavarian tradition of orchestral Masses, Worden continued: "What we do here, except for the difference in resources, is exactly what the pope would have been familiar with from the dom (cathedral) in Munich when he was archbishop there. If he ever comes to Detroit, he's got to come to our parish."

St. Joseph Church is at 1828 Jay St. at Orleans, just off Gratiot Avenue at the mouth of the Fisher Freeway in Detroit. For more information, call (313) 393-8212 or access its Internet site at www.saint-joseph-detroit.org.