The Church has seen many changes since this paper started in 1872
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 21, 2007
The Michigan Catholic, the Western Home Journal, published its first edition in 1872, Pope Pius IX was the Church's chief shepherd; the Diocese of Detroit consisted of the entire Lower Peninsula; and there were only 37 states.
The Church, state, nation, world and even Detroit have come a long way since then. We're on our 10th pope since 1872; the diocese is now an archdiocese, and significantly smaller in land mass; and we have many, many more Catholics. (With special thanks to Heidi Christein in the archdiocese's archives office.)
What was the Church like in 1872?
Bishop Caspar H. Borgess was the chief shepherd of the diocese, the entire lower half of Michigan.
Polish and French-Canadian immigration to the area was increasing, so the church buildings and parishes that were established were to serve them.
There were 92 priests, 147 churches and 38 parochial schools for the entire Lower Peninsula.
There was also one hospital, four orphan asylums, two academies for girls, and one "house for the insane," as it was called 135 years ago.
The Catholic population of the diocese was "at least 150,000."
Detroit's first Polish Catholic church, St. Albertus, was founded. The parish closed in 1990, but the building remains.
What is now SS. Peter and Paul (Jesuit) Church was the Diocese of Detroit's cathedral.
Other Detroit parishes still in existence include Ste. Anne de Detroit, Most Holy Trinity, St. Mary (Greektown), St. Patrick and St. Joseph. Parishes in existence at that time that have since closed are St. Vincent (closed in 1965), Our Lady of Help (1968), St. Wenceslaus (1962), St. Boniface (1989) and St. Anthony (2006). There are other parishes from that era, but Detroit hadn't yet expanded to include them.
What was the nation like in 1872?
About 80,000 people live in Detroit, which was the 18th-largest city in the nation.
The U.S. population is about 40 million, with about 10 million people living in urban areas.
Ulysses S. Grant is president, and is reelected in November.
Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.
Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time, which leads to the issuing of a warrant for her arrest.
Boston burns in what is now called the Great Boston Fire of 1872.
American writer Zane Grey, future president Calvin Coolidge, and etiquette maven Emily Post are born.
Samuel Morse of Morse Code fame dies.
Aaron Montgomery Ward founded the first mail-order business in the United States.
New York's Bloomingdale's department store and the Metropolitan Museum of Art open.
Levi's jeans are beginning to become popular. Fashionable women wear bustles; the ascot tie comes into fashion for men.
The can opener makes its way into American kitchens. For dinner, a family might have eaten rabbit soup, hashed beef or boiled rockfish, with carrot salad and potato pudding, and raspberry custard for dessert. Much of a kitchen's fruit and vegetables would be canned to last through the winter.
What was happening worldwide in 1872?
The German empire declares the Society of Jesus illegal.
The first color photograph is created.
The volcano Mount Vesuvius erupts in Italy.
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