About Sweetest Heart of Mary Church, Mother of Divine Mercy Parish · Detroit, Michigan
Sweetest Heart of Mary Church is a historic Roman Catholic church in Detroit, Michigan, and together with St. Josaphat forms the present-day Mother of Divine Mercy Parish. The parish traces its roots to the 1880s Polish-American community that grew up around Father Stanisław Kolasiński, a Polish priest whose conflict with Bishop John Samuel Foley led to the founding of Sweetest Heart of Mary outside diocesan jurisdiction in 1889 before reconciliation four years later. The enormous church edifice at the corner of Russell and East Canfield, built 1890–1893, was paid for by families who mortgaged their homes to rescue it from bankruptcy, and it remains a Polish-Catholic landmark in the heart of Detroit's old Polonia, still known as 'Sercowo' (the Heart's Area). Today the parish continues the Divine Mercy devotion tied to St. Faustina Kowalska, venerates the Vilnius icon of Our Lady of Mercy (Ostra Brama) inside the church, and offers Mass in English, Latin and Polish.
- Established
- 1889
- Patron
- Sweetest Heart of Mary / Mother of Divine Mercy (parish); parish also venerates Our Lady of Ostra Brama (Mother of Mercy) and the Divine Mercy
- Rector
- Rev. Gregory (Greg) Tokarski
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Detroit
Why belong here
Sweetest Heart of Mary offers a rare combination in Detroit: a 130-year-old Polish-Catholic landmark with a living devotional life that includes the Sacred Heart Novena, the Novena to the Black Madonna, Stations of the Cross in Lent, Ad Orientem Mass during Lent, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet celebrated in connection with St. Faustina Kowalska. The parish also keeps the venerable Polish tradition of the Vilnius Our Lady of Mercy icon (Ostra Brama), and portions of the Sunday Mass at St. Josaphat are still celebrated in Latin. Parishioners are welcomed into the Mother of Divine Mercy community that joins Sweetest Heart of Mary and St. Josaphat as one family under a single pastor and deacon.
Mass times at Sweetest Heart of Mary Church, Mother of Divine Mercy Parish
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Approximately 30 minutes before each Mass
Parish History
Sweetest Heart of Mary was officially incorporated on February 11, 1889 by Father Stanisław Kolasiński outside the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Detroit, in the wake of his disputed removal from St. Albertus three years earlier. Polish families had already been running their own school since August 1886, and that community nucleus became the parish. The great church edifice was built 1890–1893 at a cost of $125,000; during the depression of the 1890s it was sold at auction for $30,000 before parishioners 'repurchased' it for $45,000, many mortgaging their own homes. After Rome intervened through the first U.S. Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Francesco Satolli, Bishop John Samuel Foley formally reconciled with Fr. Kolasiński on February 18, 1894 and the congregation was received into the diocese. St. Josaphat joined as a cluster partner in June 2003, St. Joseph in May 2004; the three were merged into one parish on July 1, 2013. In October 2016 the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest took over St. Joseph, which then left the parish. The combined parish took the patronage of the Mother of Divine Mercy in 2014, and today St. Josaphat and Sweetest Heart of Mary remain one parish family under a single pastor.
- 1885 – Fr. Kolasiński arrives in Detroit to serve the Polish community; later that year is removed from St. Albertus
- August 1886 – Polish families open their own school (unofficial genesis of the parish)
- December 8, 1888 – Bishop John Samuel Foley installed
- February 11, 1889 – Parish of the Sacred Heart of Mary officially incorporated outside diocesan jurisdiction
- 1889 – Construction begins on the Canfield Avenue church-school (still standing)
- 1890–1893 – Present-day church built at a cost of $125,000
- 1891 – Church sold at auction for $30,000; parish repurchases it for $45,000 with help of a $65,000 loan
- February 18, 1894 – Reconciliation ceremony, Kolasiński and congregation received into the Diocese of Detroit
- June 2003 – St. Josaphat clustered with Sweetest Heart of Mary
- May 2004 – St. Joseph added to the cluster
- July 1, 2013 – Three churches formally merged into one parish
- 2014 – Parish takes the patronage of the Mother of Divine Mercy
- October 2016 – Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest assumes St. Joseph, which leaves the parish
Sweetest Heart of Mary Church
Sweetest Heart of Mary is the mother church of the historic Polish parish and sits at the corner of Russell Street and East Canfield, off I-75, in Detroit's lower east side. The massive 1890–1893 brick edifice stands as a defining landmark of the 'Sercowo' neighborhood, and the 1889 Canfield Avenue church-school still rises behind it. Inside, the venerated icon of Our Lady of Mercy (Ostra Brama / Gate of Dawn) presides over the sanctuary, linking the local Polish-American community to the Vilnius shrine where St. Faustina Kowalska received her revelations.
The Mother of Mercy Icon (Ostra Brama)
The Polish icon at Sweetest Heart of Mary is called Mother of Mercy or Ostra Brama (Gate of Dawn). It was likely painted in Vilnius, Lithuania around 1630, placed above the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius (one of the city's nine gates), covered with silver and gold around 1671, and in 1927 given the title Mater Misericordiae by Pope Pius XI when the chapel was renovated, with new crowns made as exact copies of the old ones. According to St. Faustina's diary (entry 529), the icon spoke to her when she visited the chapel on November 15, 1935, and the first Divine Mercy image painted under her direction was unveiled in that same chapel in April 1935. Both parish churches now also display the Divine Mercy image.
Devotions & Other Services
Faithful devotion — the heartbeat of this Polish-American parish — is woven through the weekly and monthly schedule. Beyond weekday and Sunday Masses, the parish gathers for the Sacred Heart Novena, the Novena to the Black Madonna, Lenten Stations of the Cross with an ad orientem Mass, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet in union with St. Faustina's spiritual legacy.
- Sacred Heart Novena after Friday noon Mass (except Lent)
- Novena to the Black Madonna after Thursday noon Mass
- Stations of the Cross (Lent Fridays, 6:00 pm)
- Holy Mass ad orientem (Lent Fridays, 6:30 pm)
- Divine Mercy Chaplet after Sunday 10:00 am Mass (day after first Saturday of each month) and after Saturday 4:00 pm Mass (first Saturday)
- Devotions to St. Philomena after the 12:00 pm Mass at St. Josaphat (last Sunday of each month)
Clergy & Staff
Mother of Divine Mercy Parish is currently served by a pastor and a deacon, with the parish office located at the Sweetest Heart of Mary Rectory at 4440 Russell Street.
- Pastor – Rev. Greg Tokarski
- Deacon – Rev. Mr. Joe Lennon
Contact & Parish Office
Until further notice, contact is by parish email or phone only. The parish office sits next to Sweetest Heart of Mary Church on Russell Street.
- Parish Office Email – [email protected]
- Parish Office Phone – (313) 831-6659 or (313) 831-3352
- Cemetery – (313) 366-2142
- Fax – (313) 831-8522
- Parish Office Address – 4440 Russell Street, Detroit, MI 48207
Getting Involved
Newcomers are welcomed to register as members of Mother of Divine Mercy Parish by printing and filling out the parish registration form from the website and returning it to the parish office or dropping it in the collection basket at Mass. The parish also maintains a YouTube channel for resource and informational videos, publishes a weekly bulletin, and accepts online donations for ongoing operations and a capital preservation campaign for the historic church complex.
- Parish registration form (print and submit)
- Online donation page
- Weekly parish bulletin
- Parish YouTube channel
- Capital preservation campaign
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Stanisław (Stephen) Kolasiński1885–approximately 1894 (and beyond)
Polish priest who, after his removal from St. Albertus Parish in 1885, led his community to found Sweetest Heart of Mary outside diocesan jurisdiction in 1889, built the church-school on Canfield (1889) and the great church (1890–1893), and was reconciled with the Diocese of Detroit on February 18, 1894.