Ste. Anne de Detroit Church, which was founded by French explorers along with the city itself in 1701, will host its first French-language Mass in nearly 70 years on Dec. 5. (Mike Stechschulte | The Michigan Catholic)DETROIT -- Ste. Anne de Detroit Parish will return to its earliest roots by celebrating a French-language liturgy Saturday, Dec. 5.
The bilingual French and English Mass will be part of the parish's third annual French Christmas Concert and Dinner sponsored by Encore Detroit, a civic and cultural group dedicated to preserving Detroit's French heritage and culture.
Ste. Anne de Detroit, which was founded along the banks of the Detroit River with the city itself in 1701 by French explorers, is the second-oldest continually operated parish in the United States. The current church building was built in 1886 and is the final resting place of Detroit pioneer Fr. Gabriel Richard.
"We had the good fortune to have Fr. Didier Kutshienza in our staff, and French being his mother tongue, what better opportunity to consecrate a service the way our founding fathers did back in 1701," said parish volunteer Carlos Herbas. Fr. Kutshienza is associate pastor of Ste. Anne.
A descendent of the original French settlers, Donna Vigneux of Windsor, will give a presentation after the Mass on "314 years of Francophone presence at the Straits." Vigneux is a teacher at one of Windsor's three remaining French-language high schools, the parish said.
Attendees will also experience a guided tour of Ste. Anne de Detroit Church and a Christmas choral concert by la Chorale du Tricentainaire de Windsor, a French-language choral group that formed in 2001 to celebrate the settlement's 300th anniversary.
Tickets cost $25, including a traditional French Canadian dinner from La Place Concorde, and will benefit the restoration of Ste. Anne de Detroit Church and its Windsor twin parish, Our Lady of the Assumption Church. The tour, Mass and concert are free to attend, although donations are suggested.
