Delray is currently a district in the south-western part of Detroit. Its history dates back to the 1830s. At first it was a separate settlement called Belgrade, and in commemoration of a great battle in the American-Mexican War of 1848 it was renamed Del Rey, which later became Delray. The beginnings of the town’s prosperity were connected with opening a salt mine in 1870. The proximity of the railroad and the river made the area attractive for investment. Industry emerged, and with it came jobs and the immigrants who would take them.

One of the largest plants was the Michigan Malleable Iron Company. Delray also hosted the International Exhibition and Fair in 1889. Although Poles were the first to setlle in the area, it was later dominated by Hungarians. Polish immigrants did not have their own church and had to walk to St. Francis Church. It was a long way, and some of them had to walk even over seven kilometers. This was not conducive to creating a community. This also meant that as the nearest Polish school was located near the parish, the children had a really long way to go. No wonder that the bishop was soon asked for permission to form a parish. It was not a large community, 38 families, at least that is the number signed on the letter to that effect. Initially, probably because of the small size of the community, the bishop delayed giving his consent. In 1902, when the number of families in the community had doubled, people decided to take a hand in the matters. They raised funds and purchased nine plots of land on 5 April, 1902. It is not impossible that this had been the bishop’s requirement, because two weeks later he gave permission to establish the parish. The first building was constructed to house the church and the school, where the first 107 students were taught by the Felician Sisters.

The town developed at that time and was incorporated into Detroit in 1908, although the area remained partially autonomous. The first parish building was not sufficient. On 28 August, 1910 Bishop Joseph Maria Koudelka (1852-1921) of Cleveland laid the cornerstone for a new church and school, designed by Harry J. Rill (born 1854). This building also turned out to be too small after several years, and this time the design was entrusted to the large architectural office Worthmann & Steinbach, a Chicago-based company operating between 1903 and 1928, run by Henry W. Worthmann (1857-1946) and John G. Steinbach (born 1878). Their most important designs were realized in Chicago, including the “Polish Cathedrals”: the Church of Our Lady of Czestochowa (located in the suburbs, in Cicero), St. Barbara’s, Church of St. Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr and St. Hyacinth’s Church. John Steinbach’s design of the Detroit church is eclectic, but immersed in the Romanesque Revival style. As was the case with many other Polish churches, while the architects were not Polish, the construction was entrusted to Poles. In this case the works were carried out by Józef Nowakowski’s company, a leading Polish construction company in Detroit, which had constructed St. Hedwig of Silesia’s Church. The works started in 1923 and the building was completed in 1925.

At that time more than 1000 students attended the parish school, and the numbers of residents, houses and factories were on the rise. Industry was the source of the church’s prosperity, but it also became the source of its problems. First of all there was the problem of waste and the need to treat it. The fact that Delray had been incorporated into the Detroit metropolitan area was less than beneficial for the inhabitants. They found themselves on the outskirts of a large urban organism and were treated as such. In 1939 a sewage treatment plant with an incinerator was established in the vicinity of the church. It was very burdensome for the inhabitants especially until the 1970s, and the area became unattractive. In the early 1970s there was a plan to expand the sewage treatment plant and about 300 houses were bought up for this purpose. The plan was given up, but the houses were demolished and the area became a wasteland. The church faced the same grim fate, but it was saved thanks to the determination of its defenders. To make matters worse, the area was cut off from the town by an expressway. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the school was closed already in 1969 and the number of parishioners significantly decreased. Despite desperate efforts to avert disaster, the parish was actually doomed. This was only the beginning of the great process of closing and transforming temples in the USA, and the prospect must have seemed quite distant and unclear at that time. However, the number of believers slowly but steadily decreased. Eventually the fate of the church was sealed by a fire in 2006. The last Mass took place on 28 October, 2007, on St. John Cantius Day. The furnishings were transferred to other churches. First of all, the pride of the church, the stained-glass windows, were moved to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, and also to the Franciscan Center, where the representation of St. John Cantius was placed. The representation of St. Catherine of Siena was transferred to Wixon. Two windows were moved to St. Paul’s Church school. The statue of St. John Cantius was placed on the premises of the Madonna University in Livoni, Michigan. The chandelier was hung in the parish of St. Francis D’Assisi. Many furnishings were also moved to the Church of St. Andrew and Benedict, the statue of St. Anne was transported to the Church of St. Anne and the statue of Our Lady to the parish of St. Edith. Two statues were taken to the parish of Our Lady the Queen of Angels in Detroit, and the bells were moved to the Church of St. Paul of Tarsus in Clinton Township.

Chronology

1902 - establishing the parish, construction of the first wooden church and school

1910 - construction of a second church and school

1923 - beginning of the construction of the current church

1925 - completion of the current church

1969 - closing the school

2007 - closing the parish

Text originally published in a book issued by the POLONIKA Institute.
Anna Sylwia Czyż, Bartłomiej Gutowski, Paweł Sieradzki, Polish Parishes and Churches in Milwaukke, Winsconsin and Massachusetts, Warszawa 2021, pp. 113-121.