Tridentine Community News - Benjamin McKinley in St. Vincent de Paul Magazine; historic church moved and rebuilt in new location; TLM Mass times

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (April 24, 2016):

April 24, 2016 – Fourth Sunday After Easter

Benjamin McKinley in St. Vincent de Paul Magazine

Congratulations to St. Benedict Tridentine Community altar server Benjamin McKinley, whose essay, “The Youngest Vincentian”, was published in the St. Vincent de Paul magazine. Benjamin regularly volunteers to help Windsor’s needy by distributing food to the poor. Benjamin follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, Tim McKinley, who coordinates St. Vincent de Paul activities at Holy Name of Mary Church.

Historic Church Moved and Rebuilt in a New Location

In 1997, Detroit’s Gem Theatre set a Guinness World Record for being the farthest building relocation of significant size. Originally located across from the Fox Theatre, the Gem was moved several blocks east when the land had to be cleared for the construction of Comerica Park. The building was put up on dollies and rolled to its new site.

Along similar lines, a few years ago there was talk in the Catholic media that the closed St. Gerard Church in Buffalo, New York was going to be disassembled and moved to Peachtree Corners, Georgia, where it would become the new home of Mary Our Queen Parish. Unfortunately, funds have not yet been raised to purchase and move the church, and the building officially remains listed for sale.

Another lower-profile church relocation project, however, has come to fruition: St. Raphael the Archangel Parish in Old Mill Creek, Illinois, near the Wisconsin border, has purchased and relocated the front façade of Chicago’s closed St. John of God Church. The nave of St. John of God was not in good condition and therefore had to be replicated rather than moved. Construction of the new St. Raphael Church is nearing completion, and the result is a traditionally-appointed building inside and out.

The interior furnishings came from a different Chicago church: The High Altar, Side Altars, statues, wood carvings, and pews were taken from the closed St. Peter Canisius.

Why go to all this trouble? The project cost around $10 million, as opposed to an estimated $25 million to build new. Of course, saving components of two historically significant buildings has its own merit. Would we not also give serious consideration were the opportunity presented to relocate one of Detroit’s beautiful but struggling historic churches to one of the suburbs? It’s certainly a better option than tearing them down or watching them decay as abandoned structures. These buildings deserve a brighter future.

With architecture such as this, it may not surprise you to learn that the parish holds periodic Latin Masses, albeit in the Ordinary Form. [Photos by Mark Ukena/Lake County News-Sun]




For more information and photos, visit St. Raphael’s appropriately-named web site, www.newoldchurch.org.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 04/25 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Mark, Evangelist)
• Tue. 04/26 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary (Ss. Cletus & Marcellinus, Popes & Martys)

[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. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for April 24, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]