Encyclopedia Of Detroit
Holy Family Roman Catholic Church
In the early 1900s, immigrants from Sicily and southern Italy settled in Detroit’s near east side. Their first church home was in St. Catherine’s Chapel of SS. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church. As the congregation grew, they wanted their own church. In 1907, Father Giovanni Boschi arrived in Detroit and began a building campaign. In 1908, Bishop John S. Foley named the church “La Chiesa Della Sacra Famiglia,” or the Church of the Holy Family. Land was purchased on Hastings Street and in 1909, construction on the church began. The first mass was held on November 13, 1910.
Designed by Edward A. Schilling and Edward C. Van Leyen, the building is 17th century Italian Baroque style, typical of churches built in that era in southern Italy and Sicily. Following the basilican construction plan, the interior has a half dome above the apse. Saints and scenes of the Holy Family are painted on the ceiling. The arched stained glass windows of the lower story date from the original construction and portray several popular Italian saints.
Five altars with sculptural depictions of the Virgin Mary represent Italian communities from which the original members immigrated. The left altar is dedicated to Maria di Trapani, while the right altar is dedicated to Maria delle Grazie di Terrasini. Both of these towns are in Sicily.
Serving as the mother church of many area residents of Italian descent, Holy Family exists as the oldest surviving traditionally Italian Roman Catholic congregation in Detroit.
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