DETROIT (WXYZ) — Basilica of Ste. Anne de Detroit is one of the oldest parishes in the country and played a major role in the history of Detroit.
The parish is the second-oldest continuing Catholic congregation in the United States. It was founded in 1701, the same week that Detroit was established.
“Since day one, Ste. Anne’s has been a place for several different ethnic communities looking for a spiritual group,” Basilica of Ste. Anne de Detroit Monsignor Chuck Kosanke said.
Immigrant communities of French, Irish and — today — Hispanic people have all been part of Ste. Anne’s 300-year-long history.
“In the 1980s, it was really the Hispanic community that saved this church from closing because they were the dominant population, they were the ones who contributed to its upkeep. And so, you see at our altar in honor of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is revered in Mexico and all of Latin America as well.”
Thirty-five years after the archdiocese considered closing Ste. Anne's, they are in the process of restoring it, making it a vital part of Southwest Detroit and the Hispanic community for generations to come.
7 Action News photojournalist John Ciolino takes us inside the beloved faith home to many in the community. You can watch the full story in the video player above.
