About St. Nicholas · Capac, Michigan
St. Nicholas was a Roman Catholic parish that served the small community of Capac in St. Clair County, Michigan, from 1961/62 until it was merged with neighboring Sacred Heart Parish in Imlay City in December 2023. As a rural mission-turned-parish in the Thumb Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Detroit, it worshipped in a single church building at 4331 Capac Road. On October 17, 2023, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron issued a decree merging St. Nicholas Parish into Sacred Heart Parish (Imlay City), effective December 7, 2023, and relegating the St. Nicholas church building to secular but not unbecoming use. Its former parishioners were welcomed into the new Northwest Thumb 2 Family of Parishes, which also includes Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Lapeer and St. Cornelius in Dryden.
- Established
- 1961
- Patron
- St. Nicholas
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Detroit
Why belong here
St. Nicholas itself closed in December 2023 and its parishioners were folded into Sacred Heart Parish in Imlay City, part of the Northwest Thumb 2 Family of Parishes. For longtime Capac Catholics, the 'why' of belonging now lives a short drive away at Sacred Heart, a multicultural English/Spanish Catholic community that describes itself as a small rural parish where 'everyone is welcome,' offering daily and Sunday Masses in English and Spanish, Eucharistic Adoration, bilingual First Friday devotions, and Confession before and after Mass. The merged family also ties them into neighboring parishes such as St. Cornelius in Dryden and Our Lady of the Immacurate Conception in Lapeer, keeping rural Thumb-area Catholics connected to nearby worship, sacraments, and parish life.
Mass times at St. Nicholas
Weekly Mass schedule
History of St. Nicholas Parish, Capac
St. Nicholas began in 1961–62 as a Catholic mission established by Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Emmett, at the request of area Catholics who had been traveling long distances to reach the nearest parish. The Archdiocese of Detroit supported the project and assigned Father Charles Sonnenfeld — then assistant pastor at Mount Carmel — as the celebrant of the new Capac mission. As the mission became self-supporting, it was elevated to a parish named St. Nicholas and served the rural community for the next sixty years, until declining Mass attendance and the priest shortage made the small congregation no longer viable as an independent parish.
- Founded 1961–62 as a mission church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Emmett
- First celebrant: Rev. Charles Sonnenfeld (assistant pastor at Mount Carmel)
- Elevated from mission to parish as it became self-supporting
- Named after St. Nicholas (of Myra), the saint traditionally associated with generosity
Merger with Sacred Heart Parish (Imlay City)
On October 17, 2023, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit issued two related decrees: one merging St. Nicholas Parish in Capac with Sacred Heart Parish in Imlay City, and another relegating the St. Nicholas church building to secular but not unbecoming use under canon law. The merger took effect December 7, 2023, with the combined parish continuing under the name Sacred Heart Parish. A closing Mass was celebrated the night before, December 6, by Regional Bishop Cepeda, at which the church door was sealed with purple tape — the liturgical color of mourning — as parishioners filled the building beyond capacity.
- Decree of merger issued October 17, 2023 by Archbishop Vigneron
- Effective date: December 7, 2023
- Merged into Sacred Heart Parish, Imlay City
- St. Nicholas church building relegated to secular but not unbecoming use (canon law)
- Closing Mass celebrated December 6, 2023 by Regional Bishop Cepeda
- Information line at the Archdiocese: [email protected]
Northwest Thumb 2 Family of Parishes
Before its closing, St. Nicholas belonged to the Northwest Thumb 2 Family of Parishes in the Thumb Vicariate of the Archdiocese of Detroit. The family brought together several small rural parishes so they could share clergy and ministry in the face of the regional priest shortage. Members included Sacred Heart (Imlay City), St. Cornelius (Dryden), Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (Lapeer), and St. Nicholas (Capac).
- Sacred Heart — Imlay City
- St. Cornelius — Dryden
- Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception — Lapeer
- St. Nicholas — Capac (merged into Sacred Heart effective December 7, 2023)
Visit & Contact Information
The parish's historic mailing address and phone line remain on record from the Archdiocese of Detroit directory and were used for inquiries about Mass and sacramental records. The original parish website (imlaysacredheart.org) now redirects visitors to the new merged-parish website for Sacred Heart, Imlay City and St. Cornelius, Dryden.
- Address: 4331 Capac Rd, Capac, MI 48014
- Phone: (810) 395-7572
- Parish website: imlaysacredheart.org (now redirecting to sacredheart-stcornelius.org)
- Successor parish: Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 700 Maple Vista Street, Imlay City, MI 48444 — (810) 724-1135
- Archdiocese of Detroit Office of the Chancellor: [email protected]
Where Capac Catholics Worship Today
Since the December 2023 merger, former parishioners of St. Nicholas are now part of Sacred Heart Parish in Imlay City, the surviving parish in the Northwest Thumb 2 family. Sacred Heart describes itself as a multicultural English/Spanish Catholic community that has been the heart of Imlay City for more than 70 years, welcoming all who come. The parish offers weekend Masses in English and Spanish, a Tuesday bilingual Mass, daily Mass on Thursday, and bilingual First Friday evenings with Rosary, Adoration, and Mass. Confessions are heard Saturday afternoons at St. Cornelius and Sunday mornings at Sacred Heart, and by appointment.
- Sunday Mass: 10:00 AM (English); 12:00 PM (Spanish)
- Tuesday: 6:00 PM (Bilingual)
- Thursday: 9:00 AM (English)
- First Friday: 6:30 PM Rosary & Adoration, 7:00 PM Bilingual Mass
- Confession: Saturday 3:00–3:45 PM at St. Cornelius; Sunday 11:00–11:45 AM at Sacred Heart; before/after weekday Mass; or by appointment
- Office hours: Tuesday 9:30 AM–3:30 PM; Thursday 9:30 AM–12:30 PM
- Emergency priest line: (313) 596-7450
- Parish leadership: Rev. Brian Hurley (Priest in Solidum) and Rev. Charles Altermatt (Moderator/Priest in Solidum)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Charles Sonnenfeld1961–62 (as celebrant of the St. Nicholas Mission)
Assistant pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Emmett, who was assigned to launch the new Capac mission church that became St. Nicholas.