About St. Mary Queen of Creation · New Baltimore, Michigan
St. Mary Queen of Creation is a Roman Catholic parish in New Baltimore, Michigan, part of the Archdiocese of Detroit and a member of the Blue Water Vicariate (Northeast Blue Water 2 Family of Parishes). The parish traces its Catholic roots in the Anchor Bay area back to 1805 and has served the community continuously since 1876, when Bishop Caspar H. Borgess appointed Fr. Aloysius Lambert as its first resident pastor. Today the parish offers Saturday Vigil and Sunday Masses, weekday Masses on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, a robust Religious Education program, an active Youth Ministry, a large food pantry run through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and a thriving music and liturgical life anchored by a mechanical-action tracker organ. Its patron title, 'Queen of Creation,' was given to Mary by Pope Pius XII in 1954 and adopted locally that same Marian Year.
- Established
- 1876
- Patron
- St. Mary Queen of Creation
- Rector
- Rev. Charles White IV
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Detroit (Blue Water Vicariate, Northeast Region, Northeast Blue Water 2 Family of Parishes)
Why belong here
St. Mary Queen of Creation is a historic parish whose Catholic roots in the Anchor Bay area stretch back to 1805, and it has gathered the faithful continuously since 1876. Visitors will find a richly liturgical home with a celebrated mechanical-action tracker organ, sculptured Mysteries of the Rosary, weekly Marian antiphons, weekday Rosary, Holy Hour of Reparation on Wednesdays, First Friday Holy Hour, and all-night Eucharistic Adoration on the first and third Saturdays. A large food pantry (one of the biggest in Macomb County), an active St. Vincent de Paul conference, Religious Education for children, Youth Ministry, Adult Faith Formation, and a Parish Nurse ministry make it a parish that serves body and soul.
Mass times at St. Mary Queen of Creation
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 6:00 PM (during Holy Hour)
- Saturday 11:30 AM (no confessions on Holy Saturday)
Adoration times
- Wednesday 6:00 PM — Holy Hour of Reparation
- First Friday of each month 7:00 PM — Holy Hour
- First and third Saturdays, 8:30 PM Saturday to 8:30 AM Sunday — All Night Eucharistic Adoration
Parish History
St. Mary Parish dates its founding to 1876, when Detroit's second bishop, Caspar H. Borgess, appointed Fr. Aloysius Lambert as the first resident pastor in December 1875. The parish's Catholic roots, however, reach back to 1805 along Anchor Bay, and the area's Catholics were served by 'horseback priests' from Canada and by the Capuchin Fathers of Detroit long before the parish was formally established. Since 1876 the parish has been served by ten pastors, with Fr. Charles White IV as the current pastor (since July 2014).
Key Moments in Parish Life
The parish's most dramatic moment came on November 8, 1958, when its 83-year-old wooden church burned to the ground. The new church was dedicated by Archbishop John F. Dearden on December 19, 1962, with stained glass windows designed by pastor Fr. Francis Juras. In 1991 Archbishop Adam Maida dedicated a renovated worship space under Fr. James Jagielski. The parish celebrated its centennial in 1976, the same year as America's bicentennial, having grown from 202 parishioners in 1883 to 1,250 households by 1975.
The 'Queen of Creation' Title
During the 1954 Marian Year proclaimed by Pope Pius XII, pastor Fr. Francis Juras adopted the title 'Mary Queen of Creation' for the parish — a designation Pope Pius XII had given to Mary. The parish has lived that identity ever since, including in 2008 when, after St. John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary, St. Mary Queen of Creation became one of very few parishes in the country to add the new Mysteries to its existing sculptured Mysteries, with the rearrangement dedicated by Bishop Daniel Flores on September 14, 2008.
Music and Liturgical Life
Music is a particular hallmark of St. Mary Queen of Creation. The parish is home to a mechanical-action 'tracker' organ completed in 1980–1981 by David Wigton as his first opus, dedicated April 18, 1982; it has 33 ranks, 26 stops, 29 voices and 1,821 pipes and was financed entirely by parishioners at $59,900. The parish also chants the four Marian Antiphons (Alma Redemptoris Mater, Ave Regina Caelorum, Regina Caeli, and Salve Regina) at the end of Compline, with videos produced to help parishioners learn the chants.
Religious Education and Youth Ministry
The parish operates a Religious Education program for children (office phone 586-725-7579) and a Youth Ministry led by Linda Jarvi that includes a Sunday Night Youth Group for grades 8–12, retreats, the March for Life, and mission trips — historically including a sister-parish mission trip to a Piarist Fathers' school in Kentucky. Adult Faith Formation is coordinated by George Moomaw, and adults preparing for Baptism, Confirmation or Eucharist can enter the conversion process through Maurine Dailey.
Outreach and Charity
St. Mary Queen of Creation operates one of the largest food pantries in Macomb County through its local conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The pantry was renovated in 2010 through a $250,000 gift from parishioners Wayne and Joan Webber, and the St. Vincent de Paul conference provides financial assistance, furniture, beds, clothing, and emergency help with housing, heat and electricity (appointment line: 586-725-1953). The Parish Nurse and Christian Service ministries extend the parish's outreach to homebound and hospitalized parishioners.
Sacraments
Baptism is celebrated the first Sunday of the month at 1:15 PM, with preparation and at least three months of regular Faith practice required. Confirmation, First Communion, Marriage (six months' notice required), and Anointing of the Sick are all available; contact the parish office at 586-725-2441 for details or for home/hospital visits.
Parish Facilities and Cemetery
The parish plant includes the church (dedicated 1962, renovated 1991), a parish center, a former school building now used for parish purposes, a gym, and a Faith Formation Building. A $650,000 connector building completed in 2011 through the 'Affirming Our Faith, Creating Our Future' campaign made all of the parish's public buildings handicap-accessible. The parish cemetery is located at 24 Mile Road and Base Street, New Baltimore; the cemetery office is staffed by Ethel Habucki.
Blue Water Vicariate Family 2
Since July 1, 2021 St. Mary Queen of Creation has been served as part of the In Solidum team of Blue Water Vicariate Family 2, which also includes Immaculate Conception Parish in Ira Township, Our Lady on the River Parish in Marine City, and St. Mary Parish in St. Clair. Fr. Charles White IV serves as Family-Pastor (Priest In Solidum, Primarily Responsible), with Rev. Raymond Arwady, Rev. Joseph Esper, Rev. John Dumas, Rev. Michael Zuelch and Rev. Johny Chellaswamy Suseela sharing priestly ministry across the family, and Deacon Lawrence Paczkowski assigned to the parish.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Aloysius Lambert1876–1892
First resident pastor, appointed by Bishop Caspar H. Borgess in December 1875. Served thirteen years, founding the church, chapel, grade school and rectory; retired in 1892 due to declining health.
- Fr. Charles J. Koenigc. 1895–c. 1931
First assignment after ordination; began with 30–40 families and the parish $1,820 in debt; guided the parish for thirty-six years.
- Fr. Elmer Betzing1931–1932
Arrived from Holy Rosary Parish in Detroit.
- Fr. Leo Gaffney1932–1949
Arrived from Christ the King Parish in Redford. Burned the mortgage in 1938; parish debt-free by 1940; installed new Wicks organ. 'Wartime pastor' who dedicated the war memorial shrine at the parish cemetery in May 1949.
- Fr. Francis Juras1949–1965
Led extensive building program (school renovation 1950, gym/hall 1951, convent 1956); adopted the Marian title 'Mary Queen of Creation' during the 1954 Marian Year; guided the parish through the 1958 church fire; designed the stained glass windows of the 1962 church; retired after sixteen years.
- Fr. Albert Zinger1965–1976
Succeeded Fr. Juras; oversaw school consolidation with Immaculate Conception in Anchorville and the parish's centennial in 1976; retired 1976.
- Fr. James Wysocki1977–1990
Expanded worship and music ministry, including the cantor ministry; the David Wigton tracker organ was completed during his pastorate.
- Fr. James Jagielskic. 1990–1993
Oversaw the major renovation of the worship space, dedicated by Archbishop Adam Maida on August 18, 1991; reorganized parish administration and staff.
- Fr. Nicholas Zukowski1993–2014
Ninth pastor (arrived July 1993); expanded youth, young adult, and adult faith formation; oversaw the 2010 food pantry renovation and the 2011 connector-building campaign.
- Fr. Charles White IV2014–present
Tenth pastor, arrived July 2014; appointed Family-Pastor of the In Solidum team for Blue Water Vicariate Family 2 effective July 1, 2021.