Overview
The traditions of the Sicilians and Italians have been a part of Detroit since the early 1900s, and Holy Family Church represents the very root of this community’s soul, maintaining the culture and the rituals their ancestors brought with them to America over a century ago.
Some of these customs date back hundreds of years in their homelands of Cinisi, Terrasini, Trapani, and many other cities. Bonnie Leone was born, raised, and still resides in Detroit. Originally appointed by Gov. John Engler to the position of Wayne County jury commissioner, Leone is a member of several genealogical societies, tracing some of her ancestors as far back as the 1500s. Her strong sense of history, art, and tradition brought her to this church, so that she may help to preserve and protect the traditions of the Sicilians in Detroit—and in this richly illustrated book, she shares its story.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781439619223 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Arcadia Publishing SC |
| Publication date: | 10/20/2018 |
| Series: | Images of America Series |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 128 |
| File size: | 12 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
THE CHURCH
Since the parish was first organized, in 1908, it has been tradition for Italian and Sicilian families to return to Holy Family Church for their sacraments, even if they do not attend the church regularly. The wedding of Ciro Poma and Giovanna Pace is pictured; Fr. Noel Patacconi officiated. (Giovanna Poma.)
SS. Peter and Paul's Jesuit Church, located on Jefferson Avenue, is the oldest church building in Detroit, built in 1844. Once the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Detroit and a second home to a congregation of predominantly French and Irish parishioners, SS. Peter and Paul drew Sicilians arriving in Detroit until the Jesuits built them a church of their own. Today Fr. Carl Bonk, S.J., is the pastor of SS. Peter and Paul and is responsible for many outreach programs. (Burton Historical Collection.)
The 400th anniversary of the Jesuit order was celebrated in October 1940 in the grand sanctuary of SS. Peter and Paul. (Burton Historical Collection.)
Over the years, as priests changed, so did the interior of the church. At the wedding of James Patti and Concetta Cusmano in 1946, the interior of the church is decorated with one small mural of a dove above the altar and chandeliers. The pulpit area and the altar rail are painted to resemble marble. Over the years the church would be further adorned with decorative art and glorious paintings. (Concetta Alesiak.)
Fr. Benedict Ferretti was the first priest to change the trim art and to put a full mural over the altar, as seen in this photograph taken in 1955 at the wedding of Luke Vitale and Angeline Lunardo. (Angie Vitale.)
When Fr. Bonfil Alexander Bottazzo became pastor of Holy Family in the 1960s, changes were made in the interior murals. Pictured here are angels over the altar at the 1978 wedding of Anthony Viviani and Karleen Bleggi. The old wooden rail was replaced with marble, donated in the memory of Domenico and Francesca Salafia. (Tony and Karleen Viviani.)
In the 1980s, under Fr. Noel Patacconi, the artistic contributions of Father Bonfil and Fr. Maurus Michelini were painted over and even more murals were painted covering almost every inch of the church. The artist was Angelo Lanzini, and eight of the picture panels were donated by Humprey and Celine Tocco, Dominic and Jenny Riggio, Tom Maceri and Sons, the Olivastri family, Lee BeGole, Carl and Eleanora Bommarito, M. A. W, and J. H. S. and J. A. K. (Author's collection.)
Vito and Rose Giacalone donated the statues of St. Rosalia and St. Vito at the rear of the church, and in 1961, the pews were given by the family of Giacomo and Nina Giacalone in their memory. (Author's collection.)
The cars photographed here are decorated for the wedding of William Fanfalone and Doris Balsamo in 1949. The cars are parked in front of Holy Family Church, which was located at the corner of East Fort and Hastings Streets. East Fort Street no longer exists, and the 129 Hastings Street address is now 641 Chrysler Highway. (Doris Fanfalone.)
In 1963, when the construction of the Walter P. Chrysler Freeway was underway, Sacra Famiglia was spared the wrecking ball due to the efforts of the men pictured below, along with others. These men have earned the respect of generations to come, and their descendants continue to enjoy their sacraments, Italian feast days, and Latin traditions in the church that their ancestors built and worshipped in. (Burton Historical Collection.)
These strong and influential men took over where their ancestors left off, doing anything necessary to keep their church, history, and traditions intact while every street and building directly around the church was demolished for downtown development and freeways. Pictured from left to right are Anthony Corrado, Anthony Bagnasco, Joseph Randazzo, Anthony D'Anna, Fr. Noel Patacconi, Vince Palazzola, Sam Biondo, Carl Bommarito, Jack Tocco, and Sam Lafata. (Carl and Eleanora Bommarito.)
After the 1967 riots the city was almost ruined. A group of businessmen came together to try to find a way to save the city. Henry Ford II proposed a plan to Mayor Roman Gribbs. At a cost of $500 million, they would develop the riverfront and build Michigan's tallest building, the largest privately financed project in the world. By 1976, the 73-story building known as the Renaissance Center was complete and became a towering backdrop for the church. (Holy Family.)
Sometime in the late 1970s, when the expressway was finished and the dust had stopped flying from construction of the 22-story Blue Cross building at 600 East Lafayette Street, the church was painted for the first time. No one considered the issue of maintenance costs: about $40,000 each time the church is fully repainted. (Burton Historical Collection.)
The original steps of the church could hold nearly 50 people. This group photograph was taken at the wedding of Michael Megna and Elizabeth Imbrunone in 1947. (Elizabeth Megna.)
Today the front entrance looks much different due to renovations undertaken by a dedicated group. Curt Colo, pictured on the left, contributed concrete steps; Joe Bommarito refinished the brass rails; Joe DeMaria put in new lighting; Belle Isle replaced the awning; Robert Stalling and his crew refinished the doors and painted the entrance; and Brian Valenti created the new stone surface for the steps. (Author's collection.)
The kneelers, covers, priest vestments, and altar cloths pictured here are still in use today; many of these items were hand sewn and beaded by Marianna Finazzo. Photographed kneeling in 1949 are, from left to right, Anthony Crimuda, Harry Serra, James and Sarah Stork, Rose Laduca, and Josephine Serra. (Sarah Stork.)
Hastings Street, across from the church, is photographed in the 1940s during the feast day procession of Madonna delle Grazie. There were many stores with upper flats and a full neighborhood of homes around this block, where the freeway now lies. (Rosary Amore.)
This is the wedding of Luke Vitale and Angie Lunardo. Members of the wedding party had fun after the ceremony decorating their cars and driving around the neighborhood honking their horns. Today this scene has changed, limousines and sometimes even buses are the transportation of choice. (Angie Vitale.)
This photograph was taken in 1990, the year that Holy Family Church was designated a Michigan state historic site. Michigan's secretary of state Richard Austin (at left) is pictured with Stephen Maniaci of Post 570. Fr. Noel Patacconi and Post 570 were instrumental in garnering the designation. They celebrated this day with high mass and a luncheon; the honor of unveiling the plaque was given to Rosina Bommarito, the oldest living parishioner at the time. (Holy Family.)
CHAPTER 2THE PRIESTS
Bishop John Foley, born on November 5, 1833, in Baltimore, Maryland, became a priest in 1856 and was appointed fourth bishop to the Archdiocese of Detroit on November 4, 1888. At first, after Pope Pius X sent a papal message saying that the Italian American culture should be protected, Bishop Foley was instrumental in helping to form the Holy Family parish. Later on, however, he often clashed with the Sicilians, as they sometimes did not conform to local religious practices. Bishop Foley died on January 5, 1918. (Archdiocese of Detroit.)
Founding priest Fr. Giovanni Boschi, S.J., pictured in the second row at far right, was born in 1862 in Bertinoro, Italy. He entered the Jesuit Society in 1882 and came to Detroit in 1907 to establish a parish for the Sicilians attending SS. Peter and Paul's Jesuit Church. Father Boschi made friends quickly. Within two years, the Sicilians had a church of their own. Due to poor health, Father Boschi was sent to California, where he died in 1921. (Midwest Jesuit Archives.)
Fr. Aloysius Luigi Parodi, S.J., was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1846; entered the Jesuit Society in 1878; and was educated in Europe. Father Parodi (first row, fourth from left) labored in the northwest Native American missions for 20 years, spent 9 years with the Inuit in Alaska, and spent 19 years among the Sicilians in Detroit. Father Parodi wrote wonderful poems and stories for people for special occasions and holidays and was a caring priest to whom the parishioners flocked even after his retirement. Father Parodi died on April 15, 1928. (Midwest Jesuit Archives.)
Fr. John Vismara, D.D., was born on June 5, 1886, in Detroit, to Angelo and Rachel Mary, one of the first northern Italian families to settle in Detroit, in 1881. The Vismaras had three sons, all of whom graduated from the University of Detroit, and three daughters. Father Vismara, an avid writer, completed much of his seminary study in Rome. He was ordained in 1909 and spent his first 10 years in Kalamazoo. In 1920, after the Jesuit fathers had given up Holy Family, the diocese felt that Father Vismara was the only priest equipped to administer the parish, due to his Italian roots. He remained at Holy Family for seven years and was administrator at St. Catherine of Siena until he died on June 3, 1952, while visiting Rome and his good friend Monsieur Dante, an assistant to the pope. (Burton Historical Collection.)
Fr. Anthony DeSantis, D.D., an archdiocesan priest, took over for a short period when Father Vismara moved to another parish. Father DeSantis first came in 1918 as assistant priest and became pastor in 1925; he was pastor until 1927, when the diocese was no longer able to allow for a permanent full-time priest for the parish. There was a two-year period during which the parish was without a pastor, until 1929, when the Benedictine order decided to serve Holy Family Church. (Archdiocese of Detroit.)
Fr. Alberic Maggiore, O.S.B., the first Benedictine priest to serve Holy Family, was pastor from 1929 until 1931. The Benedictines served Holy Family for 76 years, with some of the finest Italian priests the parishioners had the opportunity to worship under. Today, for the first time in history, Holy Family is served by a non-Italian priest. (St. Scholastica.)
At the age of 12, Fr. Benedict Ferretti, O.S.B., was an altar boy in his hometown of Fabriano (Paterno), Italy. Although Benedict's widowed mother wanted her son to go to technical school, the pastor of their church asked her to allow him to attend retreats with the monks at Montetano. She agreed, and by the age of 16, Ferretti was prepared to become a monk. He studied in Rome and was ordained in 1931. In 1932, Father Ferretti was sent to Holy Family Church and remained for 34 years. Father Ferretti was appointed superior of the Holy Face Monastery in New Jersey, where he died in 1983. He is buried at St. Benedict Monastery in Oxford, Michigan. (Mary Lou Kulakowski.)
Fr. Joseph Muzzin, O.S.B., was born in Italy in 1920. He joined the Benedictine order at 11 and was ordained in 1944. Father Muzzin came to Holy Family Church in 1947 and served as an assistant priest until 1952. He then served at St. Scholastica in Monroe. Known as "Father Joe," Father Muzzin was a well-mannered priest who enjoyed good wine and food. He was never too busy to take a call, and parishioners treated him like family. Father Muzzin returned to Holy Family in 1981 and remained until his death in 1992. He is buried at the monastery in Oxford. (Holy Family.)
Fr. Bonfil Alexander Bottazzo, O.S.B., was first assistant priest at Holy Family in 1949. When Father Ferretti went to Italy on sabbatical in 1959, Father Bottazzo became pastor. He was a caring man and was able to accomplish much with the help of the Italian societies; in the 1960s, he was able to build a new rectory. In the 1980s, Father Bottazzo left Holy Family and the Benedictine order and was incarnated to the Lansing diocese. (Archdiocese of Detroit.)
Fr. Giovanni Lucenti (second from left), O.S.B., was assistant pastor at Holy Family from 1951 to 1957. A handsome and bright man with a saintly glow, Father Lucenti now lives in the San Silvestro Monestary in Italy. (St. Scholastica.)
Fr. Anselm Vissani, O.S.B., born in Poggio South Vicino, Italy, in 1894, joined the Sylvestrian Benedictine order in 1910. He served in the Italian army during World War I and was ordained at a mission in Ceylon in 1922. In 1937, Father Vissani came to Holy Family and served until 1948, when he was elected procurator general of the order in Rome. In 1958, Father Vissani was stationed at the Holy Face Monastery in New Jersey, where he died in 1962. Father Vissani's remains were returned to Holy Family for a requiem mass, laid to rest at Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery, and later moved to the monastery in Oxford. (St. Scholastica.)
Fr. Maurus Michelini, O.S.B., came to Holy Family in 1962 and served as assistant pastor until 1966. Father Michelini particularly enjoyed Italian feast days. He helped with organization and planning for the new courtyard and many of the first murals in the church. Father Michelini spent the last years of his life at San Vincenzo Monastery, in Italy, and died on August 17, 2004. (Holy Family.)
Noel Patacconi, O.S.B., was born in Ancona, Italy, on December 24, 1908, and came to the United States in 1933. Ordained in 1932, Father Patacconi served as assistant pastor at Our Lady of Help, where many Sicilians attended school, from 1933 until 1953, and as pastor from 1953 through 1963, after which he moved to the Benedictine Monastery in Oxford, Michigan. Father Patacconi became pastor of Holy Family Church in 1972 and remained until his death in 1996. In 1989, Father Patacconi was instrumental in having the church designated a state historical site. He wrote articles for the Italian Tribune and American Home. He was also quite a carpenter. Father Patacconi is buried at the monastery in Oxford. (Helen Brennan.)
Fr. John Stopponi, born on January 16, 1914, in Abacina, Italy, was called to the priesthood at 11 and went to a monastery founded by Sylvester Gazzolini in the 13th century. Father Stopponi was from a family of two monks, two nuns, and a Franciscan priest. He was ordained in 1938 and came to the United States in 1948. He spent several years as the pastor of St. Angela Merici Parish in Canada. In 1963, Father Stopponi became pastor of Our Lady of Help, and he resigned in 1967 just before the parish closed on its 100th anniversary. Father Stopponi retired in 1981, but he returned to Holy Family after the death of Father Patacconi and stayed until his death on November 27, 2005. (Holy Family.)
After the death of Fr. John Stopponi, an emergency meeting was held and Fr. Ken Kaucheck — vicar of the Renaissance Vicariate and pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea — was appointed temporary administrator; Lee Begole was appointed parish council president. Lori McGlinnen, associate director of parish life for the Archdiocese of Detroit, assisted at the meeting. A mural in the church hall depicting an ancient Roman scene served as an appropriate backdrop. (Author's collection.)
Fr. Lawrence Fares, born in North Lebanon in 1924, was ordained in Rome in 1950. Pope Paul VI declared him apostolic missionary to various Asian and Middle Eastern locales, and he built and served Holy Family Church in Kuwait. Father Fares, who speaks numerous languages, has been in the United States since 1969. He is now retired from the Archdiocese of Detroit but services the masses at Holy Family each Sunday even though he is not the pastor. (Fr. Lawrence Fares.)
Fr. Edward Vikauskas, ordained in 1973, has master's degrees in theology and liturgical studies, much of his schooling spent in London. A Spiritan, or Holy Ghost Father, Father Vikauskas spent 12 years in North Carolina and is now pastor of Old St. Mary's Church in Detroit's Greektown. He was appointed administrator of Holy Family in an emergency decision by Cardinal Maida in July 2006. (Father Vikauskas.)
On St. Joseph's Day in 2006, Bishop John Quinn was the bearer of disappointing news. The Holy Family Parish would not be given Fr. Eduard Perrone as administrator. Members of the parish had longed for the leadership of the Italian priest, who is the pastor at Assumption Grotto; it was felt that Father Perrone would understand their culture and traditions because of his ancestral ties to the church. Cardinal Maida rejected the parish request and named Father Vilkauskas of Old St. Mary's the administrator on the basis of locality. Father Perrone (second from left) and Bishop Quinn (center) were photographed at the grotto. (Assumption Grotto.)
In 1987, Pope John Paul II came to Michigan, stopping in Hamtramck, a predominantly Polish community. Fr. John Stopponi was able to meet the pope; it was a day that was dear to Father Stopponi's heart. Pope John Paul II was one of the longest-reigning popes in history, serving from October 16, 1978, to April 2, 2005, when he died at age 84. (Holy Family.)
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Detroit's Holy Family Church"
by .
Copyright © 2008 Bonnie Leone.
Excerpted by permission of Arcadia Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Title Page,
Copyright Page,
Dedication,
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS,
INTRODUCTION,
One - THE CHURCH,
Two - THE PRIESTS,
Three - FOUNDING FAMILIES,
Four - THEIR LIVES,
Five - SOCIETIES,
Six - CLUBS AND TRADITIONS,
Seven - SACRAMENTS,
Eight - PAST AND PRESENT,