Saying goodbye
Our Lady Help of Christians celebrates last Mass before merger
Deb Anderson, Special to The Michigan Catholic
Published November 3, 2006
Detroit Our Lady Help of Christians Parish has been called the "smallest parish with the biggest heart." And during its last Mass on Sunday, the parish showed that the heart of the community is still beating strong.
The predominantly Polish congregation is merging with Tranfiguration Parish in Detroit, but many of the church's contents including pews, the altar, vestments and sacred vessels are going to help start a new church in Poland.
Fr. Swierad Pettke, CCG, Provincial of the Brothers of Our Lady of Gethsemane, was among those in the full church for Our Lady Help of Christian's closing Mass Oct. 29.
He was there from Poland to accept the church's contents for his own congregation, Our Lady of Fatima in Poland.
Fr. George Rutkowski, pastor emeritus of Our Lady Help of Christians, had served at the Detroit parish from 1980 to 2004. Before Sunday's Mass, he said he was glad that the furniture and sacred object in the Detroit church could help out a parish in Poland.
"It's being reborn in Poland as a Catholic church," he said.
For many last Sunday, sadness mingled with a celebration of the church's heritage. Fr. Rutkowski said the church began in 1923 "at the request of the Polish community in this neighborhood."
He noted, ironically, that there were 130 families in the parish when it began, and roughly the same number 134 at its closing. The parish's school, now closed, once had thousands of students. The need for the Our Lady Help of Christians to merge with Transfiguration was made evident through the Archdiocese of Detroit's Together in Faith process, an effort to best allocate resources and priests in the archdiocese.
Fr. James Profota, who grew up at the parish, recalled "years of working around the church from the floors to the windows. We painted walls. We scrubbed the floors on our hands and knees."
Fr. Profota, pastor at St. Hubert Parish in Harrison Township, has been back to the church many times through the years.
"I'm grateful for what this faith community has been very loving, very caring," he said. "They lived their faith here in a very, very Polish, loving, caring way.
"There is sadness today," he added. "But they have a lot to be proud of. There is the touch of God here in how they live their faith. They are sending their artifacts on, but they are also sending their love and their pride."
Fr. Stan Pachla, who was both student and teacher at the school before pursuing his priestly vocation, said Our Lady Help of Christians was a true neighborhood church the kind of place where tolling church bells would alert everyone to the death of a parishioner.
Now pastor at St.Veronica Parish in Eastpointe, Fr. Pachla said the closing is "kind of bittersweet. It's really a church right in the middle of the neighborhood. Almost everybody there was Polish and Catholic."
As he noted, times have changed and many of the church members moved away and the parish grew smaller. The church is now slated to become an Islamic center.
But, on Sunday, honoring the church's past was the prevailing theme.
Auxiliary Bishop Earl Boyea delivered the homily, first thanking all those who attended the Mass. He gave special appreciation to the Felician sisters who were there as "representatives of the church's great history."
Bishop Boyea cited the day's Scripture reading of the wedding at Cana, saying it's easy to talk about shortages such as priests, Catholics, lay involvement, or as in the Scripture, wine at the wedding.
"Our pledge is not to sit around and wring our hands," Bishop Boyea said. "We must take the needs of others to Jesus. ... Mary turned to those in need and told them to do what Jesus said to do. We need to also direct others to Jesus."
And, so, Bishop Boyea said, as the church closes, "We must remember and celebrate our past while we pledge anew our faith."
Fr. Andrew Wesley is pastor of Transfiguration and St. Ladislaus Parish in Hamtramck, as well as Our Lady Help of Christians. Saying Sunday's service was a fitting farewell, he added he was glad people had the opportunity to "express their sorrows, joys and memories."
"Hopefully, this will be the beginning of the healing," Wesley said.
The healing process includes the fact that the proud heritage of Our Lady Help of Christians will continue through helping other churches after its closing.
As Fr. Rutkowski said, this was a parish that "lived by its actions, not its words. Now, at the end, it's still a small parish, but it has a bigger heart."
For information about Our Lady of Fatima in Poland, contact Fr. George Rutkowski at (313) 892-1310.
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