TRENTON — Back when there were only a handful of Catholic churches and parishes in southeast Michigan, St. Joseph Parish stood in the heart of what would become downtown Trenton — known then as "Truago" to the settlers of the Downriver community.
One hundred and seventy-five years after St. Joseph Parish was established in 1849, the community came together to celebrate the parish's enduring heritage and strength.
Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron celebrated St. Joseph's 175th anniversary during an April 14 liturgy attended by clergy, parishioners and families past and present.
"All of you have been selected by God in His providence to be here today," Archbishop Vigneron told the St. Joseph congregation. "The Holy Spirit has moved you to come here so that you can do something on behalf of God and for His glory."
Since the founding of St. Joseph Parish by Fr. Charles L. DePreiter in Trenton's earliest days to the founding of its grade school almost a century later in 1948, the parish has seen countless lives changed and families grow, Archbishop Vigneron said.
"When we mark this kind of anniversary for a Christian community, for a parish, it's not like remembering how long ago there was the dedication of a library or some other civic event, though it's like that," Archbishop Vigneron said. "But for us to mark these milestones in the life of a community is principally for us to be called to give God thanks, to join with our Lord Jesus as our head who today especially gives God the Father thanksgiving for what the Holy Spirit has done by the power of Jesus in this parish for 175 years."
To watch St. Joseph's 175th anniversary Mass, visit the parish's Facebook page.
(Photos by Alissa Tuttle | Special to Detroit Catholic)
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