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St. Therese's History ~

     Our parish, St. Therese of Lisieux, began in 1991 with a diverse congregation coming mainly from St. Lawrence, St. Matthias, St. Isidore and St. John Vianney.  So, it is only fitting that our church is made up of diverse pieces from other parishes in the Archdiocese of  Detroit, as well as other parts of the United States.

-          Beginning in 1991, Fr. Tom Sutherland and others began to canvas parishes in metro Detroit and elsewhere for items that could be used in our new church.  Our pews came from St. Philip Neri in Detroit and St. Anastasia in Troy.  Our St. Therese statue came from the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.   Our statuary of St. Therese, Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus came from the Baldachin in the chapel of the Carmelite Monastery located on Wyoming Avenue in Detroit.  The altar in our chapel was crafted by Fr. Bohdan Kosicki from an altar rail from the Carmelite Monastery Chapel.  Our ambo is from St. John Vianney.  The main altar of the church, made of Italian marble, hewn by a Swiss designer in 1962, was from the Xavier Missionary Sisters in Detroit.  Our stained glass windows are from St. Thomas the Apostle in Detroit and churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  Our bell is from Mary, Mother of the Church in Detroit, and our reupholstered chairs from St. Thomas a’Becket in Canton, and our tabernacle and the Sanctuary Lamp were from St. Stanislaus in Detroit.  Many other items, such as our crucifix and piano also came from other parishes or were donated to make our church what it is today.

-          Our name, St. Therese of Lisieux, was chosen by Bryan Thomas, in a random drawing from Fr. Tom’s chalice between Masses on August 4, 1991.  There were three names in the chalice: St. Margaret of Cortona, Mater Christi (Mother of Christ) and St. Therese of Lisieux.  On October 6, 1991, Bishop Dale Melczek officially installed Father Tom Sutherland as the pastor of our parish.  With nearly 500 families registered, the Archdiocese agreed on September 14, 1993 to a loan of $2.8 million, so we could begin construction of our parish church.  The groundbreaking for the church was on October 30, 1993, with the first Mass celebrated at 4:30 PM on November 12, 1994.  On January 15, 1995, Adam Cardinal Maida dedicated the building as a church and presided at the 4:30 PM Mass.

-          Today, our congregation remains diverse with congregants whose roots are from all over the world.  Our parish, known for its warm welcoming atmosphere, now has approximately 2850 families, and we continue to grow.  May this warmth of spirit continue in the name of Christ our Savior. 

FROM FR. TOM SUTHERLAND’s LETTER FOR DEDICATION:

“…Our beginnings in a store-front church were simple and unpretentious…. The use of artifacts, stained glass windows, statues, pews, office furniture, supplies, etc. from other churches, businesses and parishes pleases us immensely in that it reflects the continuity of faith life from the places in which many of us, or our ancestors were nurtured.  It also challenges us not to be caught up in a spirit of sophistication, fashion or trend which could undermine or cause us to abandon those down-to-earth ways modeled by St. Therese of Lisieux.”  -Fr. Tom Sutherland