DETROIT — Catholic officials in Detroit have created a new parish at a historic downtown church that will be operated by a Chicago-based traditional religious community.
Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron announced that the first Traditional Latin Mass will be held Sunday at St. Joseph Oratory, the new name for the St. Joseph Church site and parish.
St. Joseph had been one of three church buildings that were part of Mother of Divine Mercy Parish. That parish will continue operating Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Josaphat.
The archdiocese’s arrangement with the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest includes holding an English-language mass on Saturdays.
Officials say the institute operates parishes at a dozen other U.S. churches and aims to revitalize and restore historic churches.
Founded in Gabon, Africa, in 1990, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest remained a diocesan reality until 2008, when it was granted official Vatican recognition. There’s also a women’s community, the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus, and a lay group, the Society of the Sacred Heart, associated with the main group.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, patron of the Knights of Malta and former head of the Vatican’s Apostolic Signatura, has been a promoter of the institute and ordained priests for the group while he was still the archbishop of St. Louis.
