Beacon of Hope
As we continue the restoration of the Shrine, we would like to remind you of our current exceptional fundraising campaign to complete the bell tower restoration.
When the project is complete the beautiful stone structure will be fully restored. Once again, the stately and architecturally significant finials will be prominently back in place and securely mounted.
In addition, there will be new wood framing with new windows, new louvers, and the addition of new architectural lighting providing Detroit a Beacon of Hope.
From December of 2024 until August of 2025, we need to raise $1.5M, to maintain a continuous restoration without interruption, in which case extra costs would be added ($100,000 for every demobilization/remobilization of the scaffolding structure).
For this reason, we ask that you consider doubling or increasing your donations to the Building Fund until we reach our goal. Please include in your daily prayers the recitation of the Memorare for the exceptional endeavor.
We thank you in advance for your sacrifices and for your generosity
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the Historic Renewal Campaign?
A. Launched on October 16, 2017, the mission and aspiration of the “Historic Renewal Campaign” is to restore and revitalize our 150-year-old church building and its entire campus and surroundings: the parking lot, rectory, and gardens, caretakers house, etc.
Q. Is there a Master Plan in place?
Yes. At the installation of the Institute of Christ the King at the Shrine in 2016, with limited funds and limited resources, Canon Michael Stein with the help of volunteers and a small structural engineering firm (Atlantes) created a master plan divided into 3 major phases. After completing the stonework restoration project, and with the guidance of Michael Edgar, archdiocesan Director of Buildings, we contracted and are in progress of reassessing the original master plan with Chrisman Construction and Quinn Evans Architects, the top preservationist companies used by Ste. Anne for their restoration master plan and W.J.E engineering a nationally recognized top engineering and architectural firm. The revised master plan should be available before the end of this March of 2025.
Q. What is the Bell Tower Restoration & why is restoration work needed on the bell tower?
A. The “Bell Tower Restoration” is a project within the Historic Renewal master plan. It was noted by WJE (engineering and architectural firm), while performing the final inspection of the stonework restoration that urgent repairs were needed, particularly in the upper section of the bell tower. The bell tower, which sits between the steeple and the church roof, was not included in the scope of work on the steeple, nor in the stonework restoration project.
Q. Will we begin projects before funds are in place?
A. No, we will only begin projects when funds and/or pledges are in place, per the Archdiocesan laws.
Q. What is our bell tower project timeline and cost?
A. Construction will begin end of winter, beginning of spring of 2025 and be completed by the summer of 2027. Divided into several phases, the total cost for the project is $3.2 million. The first phase/first contract will cover the largest and most extensive work items to be addressed, with and thanks to, the funds currently available (over $1.5 million currently in the Historic Renewal fund). If we can secure another $1.5M before August of 2025, we will be able to complete the work in 2027 without demobilization/remobilization and tear-down/reinstallation of scaffolding, which is estimated to incur an additional $100,000 for each project stop/start. Those funds will also allow us to initiate other major projects going forward into 2026 and onward. Our contract with Grunwell-Cashero has options which can be unlocked as we go, once funds are available and approval by the AOD granted, allowing a continuous work.
Q. Why is there still a scaffolding by the church entrance?
A. The scaffolding at the church entrance is for the safety of all pedestrians. It is needed because of the urgent repairs to be initiated in the upper section of the bell tower, between the Steeple and the church roof. However, those repairs cannot be commenced, until the funds are in hand.
Q. Will any contributions to “Historic Renewal” or “Bell Tower Restoration” be subject to the Archdiocesan assessments?
A. No. 100 % of parishioner contributions will be used for the repairs and restoration, thanks to an agreement signed between the Archdiocese and the Institute of Christ the King.
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Q. Which fund(s) should you contribute to?
A. The are several ways for you to contribute to these efforts and our parish and the funds available for you to contribute to are the Special Campaign – Bell Tower Restoration, Weekly Offering and Building Fund (Historic Renewal).
Review both your online donations and the “parish envelope” donations that you are currently making, considering the following:
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Special Campaign - Bell Tower Restoration: to raise the $1.5 million dollars by this August 2025 for this current phase of restoration efforts.
- Online – click the “Donate” button at the top of our website https://institute-christ-king.org/detroit/
- “Yellow” Building Fund envelopes sent to parishioners
- Special envelopes available in the vestibule
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Weekly Offering – provides for the operating expenses of the Shrine
- Online (formerly “General Fund’) - click the “Donate” button at the top of our website https://institute-christ-king.org/detroit/
- “Blue border” church envelopes sent to parishioners
- “Visitor” (white) envelopes available in the vestibule
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Building Fund (Historic Renewal) - ongoing master plan historic restoration efforts of the Shrine.
- Online - click the “Donate” button at the top of our website https://institute-christ-king.org/detroit/
- “Yellow” Building Fund envelopes sent to parishioners
- Special “Living Legacy” envelopes mailed to parishioners, donors, benefactors and available in the vestibule
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Note: at this time and until our $1.5M goal is reached, all the Building Fund, Historic Renewal, and Living Legacy contributions will be funneled to the Bell Tower Restoration as part of the Historic Renewal master plan
Q. What can I do to support the Historic Renewal Campaign and master plan?
First, know our Funding sources: Donations to the ongoing Building Fund (Historic Renewal) are still needed as our 150-year-old Shrine is an ongoing project. Additional, sacrificial donations to our current Special Campaign - Bell Tower Restoration are being asked so that we can reach our needed goal of $1.5 million dollars by August. All operating surpluses from Weekly Donations will be geared toward restoration as well. Also:
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Consider updating your Employer Matching Contributions. This is a benefit many have with employment, and we would be grateful if you designate the Shrine as your intention in this program.
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Grants, designated bequests and outside donations, are potential funding sources as well.
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Assess your financial commitment. Familiarize yourself with the campaign material. Consider a longer-term donation. Consider St. Joseph Shrine in your estate planning and retirement plan distributions. Invite family and friends to join this magnificent Historic Renewal project.
Q. How does the new property “DeSales Park”, impact all this?
A. It does not. The parish is owned by the archdiocese, whereas DeSales Park is owned by the Institute of Christ the King. The Institute was able to purchase the property thanks to a family of very generous donors who wished to provide the Institute with a stable, long-term home in the heart of Detroit.
Canon Commins is currently soliciting independent donors, not involved with the restoration of the Shrine, to break ground, as soon as possible. We encourage our very own faithful to help in the development of the property, once the most extensive restorations of the Shrine are done. In the meantime, all your donations are exclusively allocated to “Historic Renewal” or the “Bell Tower Campaign”.
Where are we now?
After many months of intense work, our Building Committee was able to gather as much information as possible about the entire structure of the Church building, first in order to assure your safety, then to assess the much needed repairs the best way possible and to establish the most cost and time effective plan to address these many issues.​​
Your safety is our first priority. With this in mind, this past year, with the professional services of WJE, Inc., a top engineering and architectural firm, thorough investigations of the steeple, foundations, facades, louvers, staircases and sacristy walls were conducted allowing us to discover new necessary stone repairs, neces-sary for the safety of our congregation. Drawings and specs were sent out for bids and Grunwell-Cashero, expert in building restoration for over 70 years, was awarded with unanimous approval of our Building Committee. Work will begin very soon (more information is forthcoming).
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What's next?
With the approval of the Archdiocese of Detroit and with the support of our Shrine finance council, we are currently working with Christman Construction to establish a Master Plan in order to address each item mentioned above in a cost-effective and timely manner, as well as many other projects such as the expansion of the parking lot, the repainting of the church, the organ restoration etc.​
Continued Work
​At the same time, investigations were also conducted for the roof, and emergency repairs were completed. Thanks to Schena Roofing, a leading Detroit roofing expert, an overall roof condition report was submitted to our team as a reference for future projects. Complete assessments of the cooling/heating system, as well as a complete interior and exterior electrical study were also submitted to us by DiClemente Siegle Inc., a Michigan engineering and architecture expert.
​Again, your safety is our first priority, and with the help of a generous donor and Butzel Long, one of Michigan’s top law firms, the city of Detroit approved our petition to vacate Jay street which will allow us to secure the entire perimeter of the north parking lot, with a new fence and new gate in the next few weeks, at the intersection of Jay and Orleans.
We thank you for your generous support and assure you of our prayers.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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In the meantime, we thank you wholeheartedly for your generous support!
Rev. Canon J.B. Commins, Pastor
About Saint Joseph Shrine
A magnificent Victorian Gothic edifice completed in 1873 and noted as of national architectural significance, Saint Joseph Shrine is a landmark center of Catholic faith, culture, and community in Detroit’s historic Eastern Market district. Since October 2016, the Canons of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest have served and led the local faithful by bringing daily Traditional Latin Masses, regular devotions, liturgical instruction, and an active parish life. As a result, the parish community at St. Joseph Shrine continues to grow enriching both young and old, individuals and families from all backgrounds and neighborhoods.
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In July 2013, the Archdiocese of Detroit merged St. Joseph with two nearby parishes. Then in October 2016, St. Joseph became its own parish under the spiritual and pastoral care of the Institute of Christ the King. In March 2020 the Parish was granted the designation of Archdiocesan Shrine in recognition of its vibrant spiritual growth and daily life. More details here.
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About St. Joseph Shrine
About the Institute of Christ the King
Founded in 1990 within the Roman Catholic Church, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a society of priests, sisters, and oblate brothers whose aim is to bring the truth in charity of Christ the King to every sphere of human life. Currently serving in eleven countries around the world and in thirteen dioceses across the United States, the Institute is devoted to the sanctification of souls through the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite with Gregorian chant and through the spirituality of its holy patrons: Saint Francis de Sales, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Saint Benedict of Nursia, as well as Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.
At the invitation of Archbishop Allen Vigneron, the Institute arrived in 2016 to re-vivify the newly unmerged parish, and to minister to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Detroit through a full sacramental life formed and nurtured by the Traditional Latin Mass. Sacred music, generous service of the poor, and cultural enlivenment have all flowered and continue to grow in the beautiful Saint Joseph’s Church in Detroit’s historic Eastern Market, an active and rapidly re-developing urban hub.
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