Our Lady Queen of All Saints planning special Mass May 18 By Heidi Roman FRASER — The only Catholic church in the city is celebrating a major milestone this week with a special guest. Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of Detroit, accepted an invitation to Our Lady Queen of All Saints in Fraser for its 50th anniversary Mass May 18. “We’re trying to polish everything up,” said Father Ron Babich. “I think 50 years is a good testament to these (parishioners). It means something to them, or they wouldn’t be here.” The church expects people from around Fraser and beyond to come Sunday and join in the celebration. In addition to Maida, Babich is expecting the Fraser Honor Guard, the Knights of Columbus, Mayor Moe Geromette and other local officials to attend. “The procession into the church is going to be big,” Babich said. “It (will be) about 50 people marching in to start the liturgy itself.” Our Lady Queen of All Saints sent the cardinal a letter inviting him to celebrate the church’s anniversary, and Babich was thrilled when he accepted the invitation. It will be the first time the cardinal has visited the church. The church has grown over the years and made many changes, and is eager to celebrate the occasion. “The original church was on Utica Road,” at Garfield Road, Babich said. “We started out there in (1958), and the church continued to grow.” The church later moved to its present location on the corner of Masonic and Cyril Avenue. A member of the VanMarcke family, who owned the land, requested in his will that a Catholic church be built upon it. “There was a farm here at one point,” Babich said. The church broke ground at the new site in 1966. The founding pastor of Our Lady Queen of All Saints was Father Joseph Szymaszek, and he was replaced after his death by Father Ferdinand DeCneudt, who eventually became monsignor. The parish also built a small school in the 1960s, but it was closed down due to lack of funding and space for a growing student population. But soon after, Our Lady Queen of All Saints Parochial School reopened its doors as the first religious education center in the archdiocese. The Fraser church led the charge on the change, and DeCneudt was invited to speak about the new type of program across the country. DeCneudt is now a senior priest, and at 96 years old, is still active in the church. “He’s an amazing man,” Babich said. “He still says Mass here once a week.” Babich and the rest of the church have been busy getting ready for the big anniversary celebration and their special guest. The excitement has been contagious for even the parishioners. “These days, not too many of our neighbors make it 50 years in one location,” said parishioner Larry Mahieu, a resident of Fraser. Mahieu hopes to see an overflowing parking lot May 18 for the event. It just might be standing-room-only at the Mass. The parish now has 1,200 registered families, though others could attend the event. Members of the church have teamed up to make sure everything goes as planned for the Mass, just as they’ve always make sure the church is taken care of. “They band together in support of this (church),” Babich said. The special Mass begins at 10 a.m., with a reception to follow. For more information, call the church at (586) 293-4050. Our Lady Queen of All Saints is located at 31740 Cyril Avenue in Fraser, at the corner of Masonic. You can reach Staff Writer Heidi Roman at hroman@candgnews.com or at (586) 218-5006. |
