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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2008 /  St. Florian, Hamtramck, celebrates 100 years

by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published November 28, 2008

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Cardinal Adam Maida processes into St. Florian Church to celebrate the parish's 100th anniversary Mass last Sunday.

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Cardinal Adam Maida, principal celebrant of St. Florian's centennial Mass, incenses the altar before communion.

Hamtramck — At the end of a lavish Mass featuring processions, traditional dress and even a Polish communion meditation, St. Florian's pastor, Fr. Miroslaw Frankowski, S.Ch., introduced all the priests celebrating the parish's 100th-anniversary Mass, called attention to the contributions of the Felician Sisters in the parish school, and thanked a laundry list of people who have been involved in the parish through the years, from the Strawberry Festival committee to the parish secretaries.

Recognizing the contributions of parishioners seemed a fitting end to the year-long celebration of the parish's centennial, also Fr. Frankowski's first full year at the parish. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those who have helped me this year," he said.

Cardinal Adam Maida, the Mass' principal celebrant, also called the centennial celebration a "happy, happy occasion" and called attention to all the contributions made by parishioners over the years. "If not for you, this building would not be standing here," he said.

The Mass, celebrated on the Feast of Christ the King last Sunday to a standing-room-only crowd, had components in both English and Polish, and some in both. Cardinal Maida's English homily was followed by a homily in Polish by Fr. Tomasz Sielicki, S.Chr., Fr. Frankowski's predecessor and now the order's general superior.

Cardinal Maida, who called the day a "historic and joyful occasion, also called attention to the Felician Sisters, who opened the parish elementary school 99 years ago and the parish high school in 1940, and the many lay organizations and "self-sacrificing lay faithful who have given of their time, their talent, and their treasure to maintain this great parish over the decades."

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Cardinal Maida, assisted by former pastor Fr. Tomasz Sielicki, S.Ch. and current pastor, Fr. Miroslaw Frankowski, S.Ch., prepares the altar for communion.

He also talked about the visit of Pope John Paul II to Hamtramck in 1987, when, "just a few blocks walk from here on the open plaza, he spoke about the Polish-American accomplishments and our continuing vocation, and he rejoiced in the way that, as our ancestors moved to a new homeland, they brought with them their deep faith in the Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary." "Above all, he spoke about being witnesses to Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection from the dead," he said.

He also thanked the fathers of the Society of Christ, and pointed out that the feast day, Christ the King, was the last Sunday of the Church year. "As the Church year comes to a grand and glorious conclusion, we reflect on the vision of Christ in glory," he said. "The Scriptures for this weekend, particularly the parable from St. Matthew, remind us that we are to discover the true glory and the majesty of Christ our King, not by looking up to the skies but by serving His presence in the needs of the least of our brothers and sisters."

St. Florian (exterior)

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic The Adoramus Youth Choir and musicians provided music during the presentation of gifts and communion.

"… For a century now, parishioners of St. Florian have acclaimed Christ as Lord and King in their worship, and also through their service of their neighbor," he continued.

Mary Ochab, who was baptized in the parish 84 years ago, was especially looking forward to meeting up with the Felician sisters, her old friends, and her children's friends. In the close community of Hamtramck, she remembers that the children would come to her house after school and "look into my pot to see what I would cooking," she said. "My house was always open to children."

Because she's been a member of the parish since her baptism, Ochab joked about having seniority at the parish. She remembers helping the nuns in the garden, laundry room and sacristy when she was younger, getting married in the church, and serving as a Eucharistic minister and as a lector in both Polish and English. "There's a lot of memories at St. Florian," she said.

Dolores Krul, who was baptized in the parish 89 years ago, remembers the current church building being built when she was a young girl. She also attended the parish school and was married in the parish, and remembers her family being active in parish activities.

She was also looking forward to the banquet following the Mass and was anxious to see old friends. She said it seemed like a long time ago that preparations for the anniversary started. "I've been waiting," she said. Zosia Lewandowski was also baptized at St. Florian 85 years ago, but had been a member of the former St. Bartholomew Parish for 30 years. She ended up back in Hamtramck in the early 1980s and has been there since.

Although her daughter lives in Boston and wants Lewandowski to move there with her, "I want to stay here and be with my parish," she said.

She said celebrating the parish's anniversary was "the greatest privilege and honor."

Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Katarzyna Sulek and her brother Marcin celebrated their Polish heritage at the centennial Mass.

Sandra Hemak, who married husband Tom in the parish 38 years ago this past Nov. 7, after Mass was musing over how different the altar looked from what she remembered — a bluer sky and more gold leaf — and was planning on looking at their wedding pictures when they returned home to see for herself. She attended school at St. Florian and, although she and her husband are now members of St. Thomas More Parish in Troy, they still attend special events at St. Florian.

"It brings back a lot of wonderful memories of my going to school here," she said of the centennial celebration. Many other former parish priests concelebrated the Mass, which ended with the blessing of a St. Florian centennial banner, made by the Vestiarki Sisters, a religious order now at the parish. A banquet followed the celebration at the Polish American Century Club in Sterling Heights.