Gesu Catholic Church

01 / The story of this place

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Gesu started small in 1922, as a mission holding Mass for twenty-five people in a remodeled farmhouse near the campus of the University of Detroit. It grew fast: within two years the chapel had to expand to fit three hundred worshippers, and by 1925 a parish school was teaching two hundred students. The Jesuits took over as pastors in 1924 and laid the cornerstone of the current Spanish Mission-style church in 1934, holding its first Mass there in August 1935. The parish has anchored the University District ever since, drawing students, faculty and neighbors from the nearby university and Jesuit high school. Detroit's first Black mayor, Dennis Archer, worshiped at Gesu during his time in office in the 1990s and early 2000s, making it his home parish in northwest Detroit. Gesu remains an active Jesuit Catholic parish today, still holding regular Mass in the 1935 church.

1. Started as a mission in a farmhouse in 1922
2. Jesuits became pastors in 1924
3. Current Spanish Mission-style church opened in 1935
4. Mayor Dennis Archer worshiped here in the 1990s