The purpose of this series of articles will be to highlight the way that these churches once looked, the changes that were made, and the current status of each building. Particular focus will be placed on the sanctuary, since it is the most significant place in the church, before and after these renovations. Since the number of gorgeous sanctuaries that were altered is so plentiful, this article will just focus on the churches of the Bay City and Essexville area. It should be noted that these articles will not cover every church that was affected, but only those that underwent significant changes.
St. Joseph
St. Joseph church on 3rd street in Bay City was constructed in 1911. It is notable for being the only parish in the diocese (that I know of) staffed by the Holy Ghost Fathers. Responsibilities for the church reverted to the diocese in 1985, when they left in response to a shortage of priests. Some readers will know St. Joseph because it was once the site of the perpetual adoration chapel, now located at All Saints Parish. The interior of St. Joseph underwent multiple phases prior to the council, so we'll be looking at the last rendition from before that time, which is how it appeared until a renovation in the early 70s.
The altars, rail, and much of the artistic stenciling are completely done away with, all of the statuary is removed or replaced, and there is carpet everywhere. As we will see, this is just one example of the typical practice of the time.
St. Joseph closed in 2014, and was deconsecrated to be sold in 2018. Today the church is in disrepair and shows no sign of being fixed up by the current owner.
St. Joseph pictured in February of this year.
St. Stanislaus Kostka
St. Stanislaus Kostka is likely the most iconic and well known edifice in the diocese. It was also a strong candidate for the largest church, though it has since been surpassed by more modern structures. Dedicated in 1892, it was a product of years of work and donations from the south end polish community. St. Stanislaus once rivaled cathedrals with its interior. Unfortunately, the splendor was greatly diminished with a renovation in 1974. The church was renovated again in the early 90s, restoring a few elements, but most of the changes were retained. While some of the original sanctuary appointments still exist, it pales in comparison to what used to be. Like St. Joseph, there were multiple artistic phases prior to the council. Below is a photo of the most impressive one compared to the present state.
Sanctuary, 30s-40s.
All of the former statuary has been removed, the altar has been extended out into the nave, the rail has been disassembled and used for various sanctuary appointments, and the paintings on the walls have all been covered up. Many of the "distracting" reminders of the past have been discarded.
St. Stanislaus is currently the main church of Our Lady of Czestochowa parish, having been linked with St. Hyacinth church in 2014. If one were to walk into the church today, they would see a ceiling that is in dire need of being repainted.
St. Boniface
Tucked away in the neighborhood around Lincoln street is St. Boniface church. It was completed in 1899 and had the privilege of being the first church in the diocese of Grand Rapids (The see of Saginaw wouldn't be established for another 39 years) to be consecrated. Under the leadership of Fr. John Wyss, who pastored the church for over 50 years, the interior was beautifully decorated. It had three altars, a matching communion rail, Lifesize statuary, gothic confessionals, and ginormous paintings above the nave.
Sanctuary, pre 1940s.
The 1960s brought change however, and St. Boniface was the first victim. In 1967 nearly all of the features that identified it as a Catholic church disappeared. The altars, pulpit, and statues were removed. Half of the rail was taken out, with the rest being moved to the former location of the altar to serve as decoration. The whole church was painted white and carpeted.
Midnight Mass, 1946.
While this renovation was drastic, it was only the beginning. A 2nd renovation occurred in 1996. The walls were painted pink, the altar was moved to the middle of the church, the former sanctuary was converted into an entrance way, kneelers were removed along with 40% of the seating, and what remained of the rail was taken apart to be refurbished as the new baptismal font. As a side note: it is interesting that at some point between these renovations, the name of the parish was changed from St. Boniface Catholic Church to simply, Church of St. Boniface.
Current layout, product of the 1996 renovation.
St. Boniface merged with St. James church in 2014, but is still used for weekly Mass. Despite the uncomfortable sanctuary arrangement, some improvements have been made since the merger. The original crucifix has been restored and now hangs from the apse, the tabernacle is no longer in a separate room, and kneelers have been reinstalled on the pews.
Our Lady of the Visitation
Planning Tomorrow's Parishes was an initiative undertaken by the late Bishop Joseph Cistone in order to slim down the number of parishes in the diocese in response to decreasing attendance and a lack of priestly vocations. Many churches were closed, and Visitation was one of the most unfortunate casualties. It was built over the span of 18 years, from 1896 to 1914. It was the French stronghold of Bay City's west side, and was furnished to reflect the deep faith of its parishioners. Like St. Stanislaus, it had a gothic marble altar that towered over the sanctuary, along with all of the features that one would expect from a church of that period.
Visitation is unique in that it survived not one, but two fires throughout its history. First in 1925, and again in 1963. What started as repairs following the 2nd fire eventually took on the character of a complete remodeling. The three altars were removed, the church was painted and carpeted, expensive wood paneling was installed in the apse, new pews were put in place, and some of the statuary was painted white. These changes along with other building projects enslaved the parish to a debt of astronomical proportion.
Before and after the renovations of the 60s.
Similar to St. Boniface, the renovations didn't end in the 60s. In the late 1980s another major renovation took place, even more ambitious than the first. The apse was completely walled off, along with the choir loft. The entire church was also painted white, all of the pews were removed in favor of folding chairs, the blessed sacrament was moved to another room, and a tiny wooden table was commissioned to serve as the altar in the middle of the nave. The end result was unrecognizable.
Visitation pictured during the removal of sacred objects, 2015.
As mentioned before, Visitation is no longer an active parish. It closed in 2014 to merge with St. Mary church, almost 100 years to the day when it was dedicated, and was eventually sold. 1 million dollars would've been needed to fix the crumbling structure. It is currently owned by a developer, but as of right now there is no sign of any attempt to restore the building.
St. James
St. James is the first church covered in this article to no longer exist. It was struck by lightning in the late 1970s and eventually demolished. The building was completed in 1886, and at the time of the fire was the oldest Catholic church in the city. St. James was also notable for having the first co-educational parochial high school in the United States, which was founded in 1873. The damage from the fire hardly touched the sanctuary and interior walls. It is said that there was interest in restoring the building initially, but the parish leadership opted to replace it with a modern church, sitting just next to the site of the previous one. Sources conflict as to whether or not the old church truly could have been salvaged.
There were no major renovations that affected the layout of St. James's sanctuary during its lifespan, but it did undergo some artistic revisions.
Left: 1940s. Right: 1974.
The inscription on the right translates to: "Son of God, King of the World."
St. James is now the main site for All Saints parish, likely named for the school just across the parking lot, which itself had been renamed to All Saints Central after school mergers in the late 60s. This new parish came about from a merger with St. Boniface and Our Lady of Guadalupe churches. With the exception of some stained glass in the entrance way, there are hardly any reminders of the old church present in the new.
Old vs New. The church on the right was dedicated in 1982.
St. John the Evangelist
The parish of St. John's has a history of buildings that is more complicated than most. The church that is covered in this article was the third edifice in a succession of four. A massive gothic structure was completed in 1892, but destroyed by fire in 1917. A somewhat similar church was constructed to replace it. St. John was staffed by the Norbertine fathers, who like their Holy Ghost father counterparts at St. Joseph, departed in the 1980s. The interior was lavishly decorated, with artwork done by John Kierch, the same artist who worked on a renovation to St. Mary's cathedral in 1941. This was a fitting location for several orchestral masses, which are signs that liturgical music was highly esteemed there.
Nuptial Mass for my grandparents on my mother's side, 1957.
Later photos from the 70s show a much simpler paint scheme, but the original side altars, a marble high altar, and rail installed in the 60s, were still intact. In 1985, it was revealed that the foundation of the church was unstable, and that it would be cheaper to demolish the structure and construct a new church instead of repairing the old. Both of these claims were vehemently disputed by some parishioners, but eventually a new building was contracted for and built in 1987, and the old met the wrecking ball.
The old and new St. John side by side
Honorable Mentions
St. Mary (Now Our Lady of Peace)
This blog is not affiliated with the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw or any ecclesial organization. The thoughts presented are my own.
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