St. Theresa of Lisieux, born in 1873, was the ninth and final
child born to a middle-class family in Normandy. Her father earned his living
as a watchmaker.
At age 15, she joined the Carmelite Order and became a nun. She was a prolific
writer who drafted many moving spiritual poems. Perhaps she was best known
for her autobiography, Story of a Soul. She lived before the sulfa drugs became
available, so it may be no surprise that she died of tuberculosis in Lisieux
at age 26. Just 24 years after her death, Pope Pius XI proclaimed her a saint
in 1925 and then, at the centennial of her death, Pope John Paul II declared
that she was a Doctor of the Church. Theresa portrayed herself as a “little
flower of Jesus,” hence her sobriquet.
In 1862, the bishop of Detroit founded a new parish to serve the needs of the growing first- and second-generation Irish population of the city: St. Patrick’s parish. Eventually, the parish built a large church along Woodward, and by 1880, it was one of the largest and most prosperous Catholic parishes, reflecting the upward mobility of Irish Catholics. Ten years later, Bishop Foley designed the parish church as the Cathedral for the dioceses and renamed it Saints Peter and Paul. In 1938, the parish church at Woodward and Boston was selected to serve as the Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The name St. Patrick’s was restored to the church on Woodward, but in 1992, it burned to the ground.
The parochial school for this parish was built on Parsons at a distance from the church. As the success of the vehicle industry made Detroit streets much busier and more dangerous to cross, it became evident that it was not such a good idea to have children walk from their parochial school on Parsons to the major church on Woodward. In 1926, the lovely Chapel of St. Theresa that you see was built to serve the needs of the school children, reflecting, of course, the economic prosperity of the city’s well-assimilated Catholic population. Please note the graceful arches at the entrance, the appealing rose window, the open Romanesque towers facing Parsons and the picturesque arrangement of the twin bell towers. This is a beautiful religious structure, well worth a detour if you are driving toward or away from downtown Detroit.
Architects: John Donaldson and Henry J. Meier
Date of construction: 1926
Architectural Style: Neo-Romanesque
City of Detroit Local Historic District: Not listed
State of Michigan Registry of Historic Places: Not listed
National Register of Historic Sites: #97001099, Listed September 22, 1997
Use in 2005: Roman Catholic Church
Photograph: Ren Farley; May, 2005