National Shrine Gets Papal Designation

A distinctive landmark in Royal Oak since 1926, the Little Flower Church was named a National Shrine in 1988. On April 22, the decree naming it a Minor Basilica will be read at a celebratory Mass.

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Pope Francis has granted Royal Oak’s National Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic Church the title of Minor Basilica, the second church in Michigan to get the distinction and one of only 82 in the United States.

The Archdiocese of Detroit made the announcement Saturday. The Minor Basilica designation is given to churches around the globe to signify “a particular importance in liturgical and pastoral life as well as a closer relationship with the pope,” the archdiocese said.

“By honoring the National Shrine of the Little Flower with the designation as a Minor Basilica, Pope Francis has blessed all of us in the Archdiocese of Detroit,” Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron said in a news release. “As a basilica, the National Shrine helps to express our own relationship to the Holy Father and to enrich the liturgical life of the entire Archdiocese. This honor carries with it a responsibility to share our love of Jesus with more fervor.”

The church at Woodward and 12 Mile – a local landmark distinguished by its soaring crucifix-adorned sandstone tower, 17 tons of marble imported from the Italian Alps, stonework flowers carved from every state, organ with 6,734 pipes and distinctive Art Deco design – will get a name change to reflect its new stature.

The newly configured name will be revealed at an April 22 celebration of Mass to be led by the archbishop of Detroit. The decree marking it as a Minor Basilica will be read at the service, which begins at 7 p.m.

Due to its closer connection to the pope, Shrine will see enhancements to its already-active liturgical life throughout the year. Though the schedule of services week-to-week will not change, Shrine will observe various feast days associated with St. Peter and the papacy.

The designation caps a years-long effort by the Rev. Robert Fisher, the current priest at the Shrine, and the former pastor, the late Monsignor William Easton. Vigneron made an appeal last year to the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.

“We are most grateful to Pope Francis for the designation, and to Archbishop Vigneron for his support and guidance to obtain it,” said Fisher, who became Shrine’s pastor last year. “The essence of being a National Shrine – and now a Minor Basilica – is drawing people closer to the Lord by providing a place for prayer, and where one’s spiritual life can be refreshed, energized and deepened. We recognize our responsibility all the more to spread the Gospel message to all who come our way.”

The parish was founded in 1926 and was named after St.Thérèse of Lisieux, a French nun known as the “Little Flower,” who was canonized a saint in 1925. Born Therese Martin on Jan. 2, 1873, she entered the convent at 15 and died nine years later of tuberculosis. She wrote about her life, love of Jesus and religious philosophy during her illness, calling herself as insignificant as a small flower in a garden nurtured by God.

It has a storied history, and in 1988 one of the first five churches in the country to share the designation of National Shrine by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Before that, though, its only national prominence resulted from the anti-Semitic broadcasts of its founding pastor, Depression-era radio priest the Rev. Charles Coughlin, host of “The Golden Hour of the Little Flower,” the Detroit Free Press reports.

Coughlin was enormously popular, receiving more mail than even President Franklin Dr. Roosevelt in 1934, postal officials said. Coughlin was eventually silenced by the Vatican because and the was forced off the air in 1942 because of the increasing rants against Jews.

The Shrine is one of the busiest parishes in the metro, with more 3,500 families. Besides its architectural stature, the Shrine had to demonstrate its heightened liturgical activity and its architectural stature.

Eight regular weekend Masses are held, including one in Spanish. It’s one of the most active churches in metro Detroit, the archdiocese said, and has four full-time prests.

It was one of the first churches in the area to feature a round sanctuary with a center altar. Other distinctive features include a chapel containing numerous sacred objects, including relics of saints, and its Heritage Hall that illustrates the church’s rich history.

The Rev. Ryan Adams was greeted with applause when he made the announcement Saturday at the start of 4:30 p.m. Mass attended by several hundred.

“I think it’s a tremendous honor,” Michael Matuszewski, 59, of Birmingham, told the Free Press. “As word of this spreads through the Catholic community and beyond, I’m sure it will attract interest.”

Michigan’s other Catholic basilica is the Basilica of St. Adalbert in Grand Rapids, which received the title in 1980 from Pope John Paul II.

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