Hamtramck — Our Lady Queen of the Apostles Parish has always been a church on the move.

From being founded by Polish-Americans in an ever-expanding Hamtramck, to the cultural diversity that exists in the pews today with a mix of Polish, Bangladeshi and Nigerian Catholics, Our Lady Queen of Apostles — affectionately known as “Q of A” — has been a foundation in northeast Hamtramck, even when those foundations were moved.

“The first building used by the parish belonged to the Polish National Church, located on Conant and Belmont,” said Stan Bloch, parish council president and co-chair of Our Lady Queen of Apostles’ 100th anniversary committee. “The parish bought the building, an old wooden building, and had it brought over with a team of horses, placing it where the sanctuary is today.”

What started with a quarter-mile haul became a bastion for the community surrounding the corner of Conant and Prescott streets, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 30.

“The parish started in 1917, when Hamtramck was a village, a very rural area,” Bloch said. “Many people had gardens, some had cows and chickens. St. Florian was the main church at the time, starting 10 years before. But with the great influx of population in the area, St. Florian was just overwhelmed with people attending Mass.”

Hedwig Kachorek (nee Koltuniak) and her family were some of the founding members of the new parish.

“My family lived across the street from the church, growing up on Prescott,” said Kachorek, who during her 97 years went to school, was married and had all four of her sons baptized and educated at Our Lady Queen of Apostles.

“My parents were born in Poland, and it was strictly a Polish neighborhood,” said Kachorek, who along with her six siblings attended the parish school. “They were all working people; my dad was a bricklayer, my mom stayed at home.”

The current church building was built in the 1950s, donned with colorful mosaics and paintings, which have been restored for the 100-year anniversary.

Kachorek remembers the old wooden church building, and when Hamtramck was a predominantly rural outpost.

“I remember some streets were dirt roads where I lived,” Kachorek said. “I remember going fishing for polliwogs. When I went to school, everything was in two languages — English and Polish — because that was the language your parents spoke.”

Parishioner Debbie Warren said many with roots in Hamtramck still call Our Lady Queen of Apostles home, regardless of where they live now.

“Even for people who move out of Hamtramck, they want to come back to where they grew up,” said Warren, the other co-chair of the centennial committee, tasked with planning events for the yearlong celebration. “We have second- and third-generation families who came back to get married, celebrate holidays. It’s like going back to where their roots are.”

Our Lady Queen of Apostles’ Polish roots are well-documented, but today the parish is a colorful mix of ethnicities, which Warren says ties into the parish’s history of embracing its cultural roots.

“We have welcomed families of other ethnic backgrounds into our religious education programs and our parish,” Warren said. “We have a Nigerian family and two Bangladeshi families who’ve joined the parish in the past few years. We also have a strong Hispanic contingent at our parish. All are welcome.”

Kachorek can testify to the parish’s welcoming nature. She said she always feels right at home at the parish, complete with her favorite spot to sit in the church and listen to the parish choir, especially when they perform her favorite song, “Serdeczna Matko” which translates to “Mother Cordial.”

“It’s wonderful to celebrate 100 years; I can’t believe it, and I was born in 1919,” Kachorek said. “I just can’t believe how old I am. When I walk into Q of A, the side door, things are so different now. When I walk into the church, I feel happy. Happy I’m there; I feel alive.”