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EASTPOINTE — Next year will mark the 100-year anniversary of St. Veronica Catholic Church, and parishioners have already begun planning for the milestone celebration.
They also are looking for past parishioners and former students who moved out of the area to participate in the yearlong festivities.
A committee formed and held its most recent meeting July 27 after 11 a.m. Mass to confirm details and brainstorm new ideas. People are volunteering in different capacities to plan a number of events throughout the year, including a dinner, a pancake breakfast and a commemorative cookbook.
There are plans for an official 100-year logo, a football reunion and reception, an advertising book, a wedding anniversary Mass and reception, and much more. A documentary is in the works and filming day has been scheduled for Aug. 24.
St. Veronica Church, located at 21440 Universal Ave., celebrated its first Mass on Oct. 31, 1926. The church had a different building in the same vicinity. The current church was constructed in 1956.
According to stveronicaeastpointe.org, Lawrence and Helen Erban were the first couple married at St. Veronica on April 9, 1926, by the Rev. A. W. Soest, and the first Holy Communion was on June 12, 1927, with Soest officiating.
The Rev. Stanley Pachla, who has been at St. Veronica for 27 years, attributes the church’s longevity to the “steadfast parishioners that have been here for such a long time in a beautiful church.”
“They have come back to receive the sacraments, get baptized and get married,” he said, adding that multigenerational families have been supportive. “I’m very grateful to them.”
Darrell Nowak, of Eastpointe, has taken on the role of chairman of the anniversary committee. He also is a lecturer at the 4:30 p.m. Saturday Masses.
“It’s out of this world,” he said of the centennial.
He is a lifetime member of the church and attended its grade school as a child. The school, which was K-8, is now closed. Because there was not a high school, Nowak graduated from Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods, which also is no longer in existence.
Nowak was baptized and also made his Holy Communion and confirmation in the church. Both of his parents were buried out of the long-standing church. Over the years, he has gotten to know many of the priests who have served the Lord and the parish.
“The first one I knew was Rev. Donovan,” he said. “Everything revolved around the church. I remember all of the teachers, a particular nun, Sister Alberta, and teacher Mrs. Kathleen Biecker. Both had good personalities. I remember their warmth and their interest in the students.”
Eastpointe resident and parishioner Carol Reed also has been active in helping to plan the 100-year festivities. Her parents, Edwin and Winifred Rowley, always went to the church and she has carried on the tradition.
“My mom and dad got married in the basement of the school in the 1940s,” she said. “My dad was a painter and he painted the rectory. My dad did work for the nuns and priests. People would be standing during Mass. It was so packed.”
Reed has many memories of the grade school. The eldest of seven children, Reed attended the grade school with her two sisters for $35 a year in tuition. Her brothers attended public school. She graduated from East Detroit High School, now Eastpointe High School.
Reed didn’t always enjoy being in class at St. Veronica.
“I felt like I was in prison,” she said. “I appreciate it now. I got an excellent education and very good discipline. Going to church every morning was wonderful, the singing and the whole healing experience of listening to the hymns. All the priests, I really looked up to them and trusted them.”
The next anniversary committee meeting will be held after 11 a.m. Mass Aug. 17.
For more information on the 100-year anniversary or how to get involved, go to stveronicaeastpointe.org or call (586) 777-0331.
