St. Hyacinth Catholic Church, Detroit
Address: 3151 Farnsworth, Detroit, MI 48211
Phone: (313) 922-1507
Parish Website: SaintHyacinth.com
Facebook: St. Hyacinth Polish Roman Catholic Church
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sthyacinthprcc
Current Parish Status: Active
School in Operation: In 1985 it had 235 elementary students taught by the Felician Sister. The school closed in 1990.
Year Parish Founded: 1907
Year Present Church was Built: 1922
First Pastor: Rev. Fr. Sylwester I. Kolkiewicz
Pastor in 1985: Rev. Fr. Francis Skalski
Current Pastor (2010): Reverend Janusz Iwan
Mass Schedule in 1985: Saturday 4:00pm (English); 8:00am (Polish), 9:00am (English), 10:00am (Polish), 11:30am (English), 10:00am (Latin-last Sunday of each month)
Current Mass Schedule (2010): Sundays 9:00 AM (Polish), 11:00 AM (English); Saturday 4pm; Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri 9am.
No. of Families in Parish in 1985: 1,000
Percentage of Polish Descent in 1985: 90%
Considered as a Polish Ethnic Parish in 1985: Yes
Polish Religious Traditions Preserved in 1985: Yes
Location: East side
Historically, St. Hyacinth Parish might be considered as one of the first attempts of the Kashubian people to establish a central cultural and linguistic center in the United States.
St. Hyacinth School closed in 1990.
The following microfilms of St. Hyacinth church records are available at the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library: Film No.1035
Reel 1: Baptisms July 1907- September 1917
Reel 2: Baptisms September 1917-February 1935
Reel 3: Marriages November 1907-October 1956
Deaths August 1907-May 1935
"Brief Historical Facts From the History of St. hyacinth parish (Poletown)
1905 - Rev. Francis Sajecki dreams of forming St. Hyacinth parish. His death delays the project of building a church.
1907 - Committee formed, petitioned Bishop J. Foley, for a new pastor, who appointed Rev. Sylvester Kolkiewicz as Pastor on May 8th. The new church is built during the Christmas Season.
1908 - Work begins on the building of a combination church and school.
1920 - Rev. Francis A. Baweja is named second pastor of St. Hyacinth on January 16.
1921 - The school/church building is enlarged to make room for the growing number of students as well as the increasing congregation.
1922 - The Parish Committee and Father Baweja receive permission to build the present church. After having three temporary churches, this permanent structure is built. Ground breaking was held on July 4 and the cornerstone was blessed in September by Bishop Gallagher.
1924 - The blessing of the new church takes place on May 24th. The Mollner Organ is also blessed.
1928 - Permission is granted for the painting of the interior of the church. This task takes two years and costs the parishioners $28,500.
1936 - The era of Father Baweja comes to an end with this death on December 26th.
1937 - Monsignor Stephen Woznicki is named pastor of the Parish.
1938 - Monsignor Woznicki is named Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit by Cardinal Mooney.
1950 - The Golden Years of Bishop Woznicki to an end, when he is named Bishop to the Diocese of Saginaw. Rev. Peter Rypel is appointed Pastor on June.15.
1954 - Father Rypel undertook the task of renovating and redecorating the interior of the church. The project cost $45,000.00.
1971 - Father Rypel retires and Father Francis Skalski is appointed pastor by Cardinal Dearden (July 14).
1972 - The redecorating of the church was completed at a cost of $70,000.00. New lighting was added for $15,000.00 and the organ was repaired for $17,000.00.
1974 - The Golden Anniversary of the Blessing of the New St. Hyacinth Church.
A more detailed historical account of St. Hyacinth parish can be found in its published book The Prayer of St. Hyacinth Parish. It is a 500 page illustrated - both color and black and white - publication that not only concerns itself with the history of the parish but also the history of the arrival of the Polish Immigrants to Detroit. Several chapters of the book are also devoted to the history of Poland.
It is also important to note here that St. Hyacinth Church is now the home for the Statue of Immaculate Conception which was removed from Immaculate Conception Church before demolition. A special shrine has been built in the church in honor of Our Lady."
Some information from, "The Polish Roman Catholic Churches of Metropolitan Detroit" by PERC. c. 1985. Used with permission from Michael Krolewski, editor.
