About St. Mary Queen of Angels · Swartz Creek, Michigan
St. Mary Queen of Angels is a Roman Catholic parish in Swartz Creek, Michigan, in the Diocese of Lansing, founded in 1912 by roughly one hundred immigrant families of Czech, Moravian, Slovakian, and Bohemian descent who had come to the area as farmers and workers. For its first half-century the parish was served by Czech-speaking priests who offered sermons in both Czech and English, and the parish has remained a worshiping, faith-forming, and service-oriented Catholic community in Genesee County for over a century. Today the parish at 4413 Morrish Road offers daily and weekend Mass, religious education through the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and a middle-school youth ministry, OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), marriage preparation, baptismal preparation, a music ministry, and is home to Knights of Columbus Council 6694. The parish describes itself as called by the Holy Spirit to a life of Faith, Hope and Love through the works of mercy, joyful worship, friendship, community, and stewardship.
- Established
- 1912
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary (under the title Queen of Angels)
- Rector
- Father Louis Ekka
- Diocese
- Diocese of Lansing
Why belong here
Parishioners worship at a welcoming, multi-generational Catholic community called 'to a life full of Faith, Hope and Love' through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, joyful liturgy, friendship, community, and stewardship. Families will find a full sacramental life — daily and weekend Mass, baptismal and marriage preparation, OCIA for adults, and a robust children's program that includes the Montessori-based Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium and a middle-school youth ministry. The parish is also deeply connected to outreach through Knights of Columbus Council 6694, which supports the Swartz Creek Community Food Basket, Pregnancy Help Clinic, Luke Project 52 Clinic, Heartbeat of Greater Flint, Coats for Kids, and Father Ekka's home Diocese of Gumla in India.
Mass times at St. Mary Queen of Angels
Weekly Mass schedule
History of St. Mary Queen of Angels
The parish was established in 1912 when more than 100 families of Czech, Moravian, Slovakian, and Bohemian descent came to Swartz Creek as farmers and workers. Until 1962 the parish was served by Czech-speaking priests who delivered one sermon in Czech and another in English. The original church stood on the southeast corner of Miller and Second streets; it was demolished in 1958 and the current church on Morrish Road was completed in 1959, with an interior renovation in 1984. A six-classroom parish school with an adjoining convent was built in April 1953 and expanded with four additional classrooms in 1959; the school ultimately closed in 2006.
Meet the Parish Team
The parish is led by a small staff of clergy and lay leaders who coordinate worship, faith formation, music, and operations.
- Pastor — Father Louis Ekka (Diocese of Gumla, India; appointed Administrator June 2014)
- Director of Religious Education — Wendy Ashley
- Music Ministry Coordinator — Dan Hall
- Director of Operations — Al Moreno
- Administrative Assistant / Sacramental Coordinator — Val Standley (810-635-3240 x216, [email protected])
Faith Formation & Religious Education
St. Mary Queen of Angels takes the faith formation of its youth seriously and offers programs for children of all ages, including a hands-on, Montessori-style atrium.
- Religious Education (Elementary)
- Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) — Level 1 ages 3–6, Level 2 ages 6–9, Level 3 ages 9–12, using an Atrium with Infancy figures, topographical maps, and child-sized articles of the Mass
- Middle School Ministry & Youth — group activities and Catholic teaching for students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade
- First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion preparation for children in 2nd grade and above
Becoming Catholic (OCIA)
The parish welcomes new adult members through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). During the weeks of instruction and preparation that make up the OCIA process, the parish supports each candidate's entry into the Church, prays for them, and helps them understand Catholic prayer, worship, beliefs, and teachings. Inquiries can be directed to Val Standley at 810-635-3240 x216 or [email protected].
Sacraments
The parish prepares the faithful for the sacraments of initiation, healing, and vocation, with advance notice built into each program.
- Baptism — preparation scheduled 3 months in advance
- First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion — for children in 2nd grade and above
- Marriage — arrangements made at least 9 months in advance, in line with the seven-diocese Michigan policy
- OCIA — adult initiation into the Catholic Church
Music Ministry
The parish Music Ministry, coordinated by Dan Hall, supports the sung liturgy of weekend and weekday Masses as part of the parish's effort — begun in the October 2008 renovations — to foster more prayerful and beautiful Eucharistic liturgies.
Parish Mission & Identity
The parish articulates its identity through a formal mission statement: 'The Roman Catholic family of St. Mary Queen of Angels Parish in Swartz Creek, Michigan is called by the Holy Spirit to a life full of Faith, Hope and Love.' Members are invited to participate in the mission of Jesus by exercising the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, worshipping with joyful and welcoming hearts, building friendship and community, and fostering stewardship.
Parish Outreach & Knights of Columbus
St. Mary Queen of Angels is home to Knights of Columbus Swartz Creek Council 6694, which earned the international Star Council Award for 2022–2023. The council supports an extensive list of local and international charities, including the Swartz Creek Community Food Basket — an interfaith food pantry co-founded with the Swartz Creek United Methodist Church, Family Worship Center, Messiah Lutheran Church, the Kiwanis Club, and the Knights themselves — and works such as pancake breakfasts, euchre tournaments, can/bottle drives, casino bus trips, the 52 Club raffle, the Bob Smeets Memorial Coney Night, the M.I. Tootsie Roll drive, Food for Families, Coats for Kids, Baby Bottle Drives for the Pregnancy Help Clinic and Luke Project 52 Clinic of Flint, and Reverse Collections for Heartbeat of Greater Flint. The council has also raised funds to support Father Ekka's home Diocese of Gumla, India.
- Swartz Creek Community Food Basket (interfaith)
- Pregnancy Help Clinic
- Luke Project 52 Clinic of Flint
- Heartbeat of Greater Flint
- Coats for Kids / Helping Hands Ukraine
- St. Louis Center, Special Olympics, Special Needs Scouting
- St. Francis Camp on the Lake, Holy Cross Services, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Retired Religious, seminarians
- Diocese of Gumla, India (Father Ekka's home diocese)
Visiting & Contact
St. Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church is located at 4413 Morrish Road, Swartz Creek, Michigan 48473. The parish can be reached by phone at 810-635-3240 (fax 810-630-1630) or by email at [email protected], and the Parish Office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The parish livestreams Mass and posts an online calendar on its website at smqa.net.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Czech-speaking founding pastors (unnamed)1912 – c. 1962
Early parish priests delivered sermons in Czech at one Mass and English at another; specific names not published on the parish website.
- Father Amos Wischmeyer
Longtime pastor; died January 2008.
- Father Steven Mattson2008 – 2014
Appointed by Bishop Carl F. Mengeling after Father Wischmeyer's death; oversaw parish renovations beginning October 2008. Reassigned in 2014 to St. Agnes Parish, Fowlerville.
- Father Daniel Kogutprior to 2014
Served as part-time parochial vicar at St. Mary Queen of Angels before being reassigned as full-time chaplain at Fr. Luke M. Powers High School and the Flint Newman Center in June 2014.
- Father Louis Ekka2014 – present
Appointed Administrator of St. Mary Queen of Angels in June 2014; previously Administrator of St. Agnes Parish, Fowlerville. A priest of the Diocese of Gumla, India.