St. John Cantius Church, Detroit
Address: 844 S. Harbaugh, Detroit, MI 48209
Phone: 842-2276
Current Parish Status: Closed (2007)
School in Operation: No
Year Parish Founded: 1902
Year Present Church was Built: 1923
First Pastor: Rev. Fr. Walczak
Pastor in 1985: Rev. Fr. Edwin A. Szczygiel
Mass Schedule in 1985: Saturday 6:00pm (English); 8:00am (English), 10:30am (Polish), 12:00pm (English)
No. of Families in Parish in 1985: 425
Percentage of Polish Descent in 1985: 75%
Considered as a Polish Ethnic Parish in 1985: Yes
Polish Religious Traditions Preserved: Yes
Location: West side
St. John Cantius parish is located in the part of Detroit that was once called the community of Delray. This area was populated by the Hungarian community of the metro Detroit area.
Several years ago, the parish fought to save the church building when the City of Detroit made plans to build a waste treatment center in the area. The church parish continued on until the fall of 2007 when it closed its doors for the last time due to declined enrollment in the parish, the high cost of maintaining this historic church, and a lack of priests.
For more information about this parish visit the Archidiocese of Detroit web site.
The following microfilms of St. John church records are available at the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library: Film No.1040
Reel 1: Baptisms September 1902-December 1978
Reel 2: Marriages May 1903-January 1979
Deaths December 1902-February 1978
Bibliography
A History of St. John Cantius Church in Detroit
"The Polish Roman Catholic Churches of Metropolitan Detroit", by PERC. c. 1985. Used with permission from Michael Krolewski, editor.
