Extraordinary community news

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News (September 22, 2013):

St. Mary, Rockwood Church Restoration

A reader recently brought to our attention an impressive renovation of a local church, St. Mary in Rockwood, Michigan, located between Monroe and Wyandotte. Some of the best news in our region isn’t well-publicized: it turns out that the restoration took place back in 2009. This historic church gained a glistening sanctuary floor and restored High Altar, and a Communion Rail was (re)installed. A Latin inscription over the sanctuary completes the picture. Our reader reported that Masses [in the Ordinary Form] are now celebrated there at the High Altar, ad oriéntem; there is no freestanding altar. As yet no Masses in the Extraordinary Form are being offered, but such an ideal setting practically begs for one to be arranged.



Restoration of churches in a classic style is becoming increasingly commonplace. St. Mary joins the similar but smaller scale traditional re-ordering of St. Stephen Church in New Boston, Michigan and Ann Arbor’s Old St. Patrick, making it the third church in our part of the world to have reinstalled traditional fixtures over the past five years. [Photo credits: The first photo was taken by Lance Luce. The second photo was taken from “The Beautiful Church Thread” at forums.catholic.com. The latter thread is filled with page after page of impressive traditional Catholic architecture...well worth a browse.]

Carmelite Monastery Restoration


Another restoration that is gaining recognition in the press is famed church architect Duncan Stroik’s re-do of the Carmelite Monastery in Traverse City, Michigan. As the adjacent before-and-after photographs indicate, a traditional sanctuary has been constructed, with an elevated stone altar, a Communion Rail, and Latin inscriptions on a wooden archway reminiscent of a rood screen.


It may not surprise our readers to learn that since the renovation, Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form has begun to be celebrated in this chapel on occasion. [Photos from The New Liturgical Movement]

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 09/23 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Linus, Pope & Martyr)
• Tue. 09/24 7:00 PM: High Requiem Mass at Assumption-Windsor (Daily Mass for the Dead) – Choir will sing Mozart’s Requiem Mass
• Fri. 09/27 7:00 PM: High Mass at St. Alphonsus, Dearborn (Ss. Cosmas & Damian, Martyrs) – Young adults age 18-35 are invited to a dinner after Mass sponsored by Juventútem Michigan
• Sat. 09/28 4:00 PM: High Mass at St. Joseph, Detroit (Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel) – Mass fulfills Sunday obligation; the Mass of St. Michael is the Mass of the Sunday. The Mass is offered as part of the parish Oktoberfest Festival taking place Saturday and Sunday.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat (Detroit) and Assumption (Windsor) bulletin inserts for September 22, 2013. Hat tip to A.B., author of the column.]