St. Patrick Church at 135 Superior Blvd., Wyandotte, MI 48192 US - St. Charles to St. Patrick: Our Parish Roots

The many Irish immigrants, as well as workers of other nationalities who came to the Eureka Iron Works for employment, created a need for a Catholic Church to be built in Wyandotte. Rev. Charles de Preiter, a priest in charge of a parish in Ecorse, established a mission in Wyandotte. Five lots on the present site of St. Patrick Church were donated by Mr. Eber Ward. St. Charles Church, named for the patron saint of Fr. de Preiter, was built in 1857. It was a two-story frame building. The ground floor was used as a rectory, while the upper story served as the church. The furnishings were a small altar, an organ, backless benches, oil lamps and candles. Indeed, it was a plain, utilitarian structure in a beautiful setting, for in those days the grounds were adorned with a pond on which white swans preened. The immigrants were happy to have a church in which to practice their faith. Father de Preiter became the first pastor of the church. After sixteen years of worshipping in the little wooden building, the community decided to build a larger, finer church. The cornerstone was laid in 1873 while Rev. De Beaver was serving as the second pastor of St. Charles. The men and women of the parish worked hard. The women helped by carrying the bricks in their aprons to the men who were the brick-layers. After many hours of toil the walls were ready for the roof. The parishioners were all filled with the joy of accomplishment. The two terrible disasters struck. A high wind razed one wall and, due to the economic "panic" of the 1870's, the Rolling Mill (which had furnished the jobs) closed down leaving most of the parishioners with no income. For a time, the building of the church became just a dream. St. Charles' flock had to share St. Joseph's Church. The early St. Patrick parishioners were a determined people and didn't give up easily. In 1883, work on the church resumed under Fr. Broegar, and it was finally dedicated when Rev. C.J. Roeper was the pastor. The stained glass windows and Gothic architecture reflected the churches in Ireland. A new priest, Fr. Laugell, was appointed pastor in 1886. By 1889 he completed the construction of a new convent which Fr. Roeper had begun in 1886. He then turned his efforts to the moral question of the day: drunkenness. He reorganized the Fr. Matthew's Temperance Society to combat the problem. He also organized the Holy Name Society in 1889 with a membership of 100 men. It was dedicated to monthly communion with a secondary purpose of promoting sobriety. In 1888 St. Charles was renamed St. Patrick's Church in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland. Through the years it has been known as the "Irish" church even though it included many nationalities among its parishioners.

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