St. Joseph Shrine

01 / The story of this place

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German Catholics founded St. Joseph in 1855, and the Gothic church you see today was dedicated in 1873, making it one of the oldest surviving churches in Detroit. Architect Francis G. Himpler designed it, and it has come down to us largely unaltered, with stained glass considered of national importance; it joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Since 2016 the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest has run it as a shrine for the Traditional Latin Mass, sometimes with full orchestral settings of Haydn, Mozart or Schubert.

1. Victorian Gothic church dedicated in 1873
2. Stained glass of national importance
3. Traditional Latin Mass, sometimes with orchestra
4. 29-stop tracker organ with 1873 Odell pipes
5. Annual Oktoberfest fundraiser