Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2007 / St. Cantius closing Mass set for Oct. 28
St. Cantius closing Mass set for Oct. 28
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 19, 2007
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Michigan Catholic file photo
St. John Cantius Church is Detroit’s Delray area. |
Detroit — As more and more people made reservations for the banquet scheduled for after the Oct. 28 closing Mass at St. John Cantius Church in Detroit's Delray area, the parish faced a problem.
"We had so much response we had to get a larger hall, and then we had to add another room at that hall," said Fr. Ed Zaorski, pastor of the 105-year old parish and its cluster partners, All Saints and SS. Andrew & Benedict parishes, also in southwest Detroit.
With 600 tickets sold, the event is now fully sold out.
Irene Pilch, a member of the parish for 60 years and its volunteer secretary for the past 40 years, said, "I will miss it terribly. The people were fantastic and very dedicated."
Pilch, 82, said membership was down to fewer than 170 families, from about 800 families around 1960.
Who is St. John Cantius?
St. John Cantius (c. 1412-1473), as a student at the Academy of Krakow, impressed others with not only his scholarship, but his humility, piety and amiable disposition.
After earning his doctorate, he was sent to be a parish priest, but soon returned to the Academy of Krakow with an appointment as a professor of Sacred Scripture.
He is said to have distributed to the poor all of his money and clothing, retaining only what was absolutely necessary.
A number of miracles were attributed to him during his lifetime, and yet more after his death.
He was canonized by Pope Clement XIII in 1767.
Source:
The Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) | The parish school closed in 1969, but Pilch and other parishioners said the biggest blow came in the mid-1970s when about 300 houses were cleared so a wastewater treatment plant could be built across the street from the church.
Pilch said she plans to join SS. Andrew & Benedict Parish, but expects many other parishioners — most of whom now live in the downriver suburbs — to join parishes near where they live.
But St. John Cantius will always hold special memories for her: "My son and daughter went to school here. My six grandchildren were all baptized here, and my grandson, Edward Pilch, and his bride, Erin Matheney, were the last couple to be married here (on Sept. 22).
Anita Klyczek has been a St. John Cantius parishioner for 57 years. "I'm Italian, but I married Joe, who is Polish," she explained.
"It has been a beautiful parish, with wonderful people, and I'm going to miss them, said Klyczek, 80. "Joe and I have been married 57 years. We were married at St. John Cantius, and we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary there," she said.
But the Klyczeks live in Lincoln Park, and she said they plan to join St. Frances Cabrini Parish in Allen Park.
Alina Walewski is one of the younger members of St. John Cantius. "I grew up in the neighborhood, was baptized there, and went eight years to the school, said Walewski, 54.
Recalling the parish neighborhood as it was in her youth, she said, "We not only prayed together, we also played together. It was fun to be part of that parish."
Walewski said she appreciated the way the parish perpetuated her Polish heritage, but said that was not the most important thing: "It's the people who make a parish, and they made you feel part of a family."
Auxiliary Bishop John Quinn will be principal celebrant for the 2 p.m. closing Mass at St. John Cantius Church.
Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores will join Bishop Quinn for the Mass, which will bring to a close the parish established in 1902 to serve the large Polish minority in what was a mostly Hungarian area.
A series of Masses and novena prayers to St. John Cantius began Thursday, Oct. 18, and will continue through Friday, Oct. 26.
During the final week, Oct. 22-26, daily Mass will be celebrated by a priest who is a son of the parish, with Frs. Edward Prus, Eugene Wojtewicz, Richard Treml, Richard Rakoczy and Ronald Dombrowski each taking a day.
Fr. Zaorski acknowledged the closing is difficult for St. John Cantius parishioners, whom he praised for their dedication.
"But we move forward in hope. The mission of the parish has ended, but I hope there will be a transition in which the people of St. John Cantius will bring their spirit and dedication to other parishes."
He said he hopes many of the parishioners will make SS. Andrew & Benedict their new parish home, and he pledged a continuation of the Polish religious/cultural traditions.
Fr. Zaorski said the memory of the parish, and the charism of its namesake, would be perpetuated by a special fund being set us to provide money for faith-formation activities for the youth of southwest Detroit.
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