History of St. Michael Catholic Church
It began in 1942 in the most modest of circumstances, a parish situated in an old dormitory on a lightly wooded lot on the north side of Marquette. Formation of the new parish had been announced on Easter Sunday by Bishop Francis J. Magner. A few days later, on April 12, 1942, Monsignor Joseph L. Zryd, the founding pastor, and 200 energetic men met in the unused wooden dormitory to begin planning for opening the new parish. Considerable remodeling was needed on the leaky four-story structure, built in 1900 when Northern Normal College was just one year old. The "dormitory property" had been acquired back in 1919 by a Marquette native, the Most Reverend Joseph G. Pinten. He turned it over to the diocese on two conditions: that the new parish be named after
St. Michael, the protector of the Church, and that parishioners build a school to be staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet.
In May 1942, the parish committee and contractor Franz Menze set to work on renovating the building. Despite wartime shortages, the work was done and first Masses were celebrated in
St. Michael Church on September 6, 1942, with the solemn dedication coming on October 4.
On September 15, the school in the same building opened its doors to 90 pupils, initially only in Kindergarten through third grade. As school enrollment soared to 367 by 1948, the parish organized to build a modern school. Bolstered by a $50,000 bequest from Mrs. Catherine Bonifas of Escanaba, a committee of 50 parishioners contacted virtually every member of the parish to raise the balance needed for the $231,000 project. The completed school opened in September 1949 and was dedicated by Bishop Thomas L. Noa, with a dedication sermon by Fr. Joseph J. Dunleavy, then Associate Pastor and later the fifth pastor of the parish.
Under the leadership of Fr. Patrick W. Frankard, the parish committed itself to constructing a new place of worship. Construction began in the summer of 1962 and was completed by Palm Sunday, April 5, 1963. The palms were blessed in the old church and parishioners processed across the parking lot to the newly completed church for Mass. The convent now provided accommodations for nine sisters, while the new rectory was built to house three priests, meeting rooms and parish offices. A Newman Center (now Catholic Campus Ministry) was added to serve Northern Michigan students. A multi-purpose room (Monsignor Joseph J. Dunleavy Hall) was constructed creating space for a host of parish activities as well as school dining and recreation.
In 1987, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet left the parish and the convent was converted to serve as a parish center and as officers for the growing Religious Education Program. At the same time, the Sisters of St. Paul de Chartres, who maintain a motherhouse in the Marquette area, began to serve in the education ministry of the parish.
In 1991, the parish school fully consolidated with Bishop Baraga School to form the Father Marquette Catholic Central School System, offering a total kindergarten through eighth grade Catholic education with an enrollment of about 300 students. The St. Michael building houses grades five through eight.
In the mid 1990's, St. Michael's became a "tithing" parish. A portion of the monthly ordinary parish income is placed into the
St. Michael Christian Service Fund. These funds are distributed by the Pastoral Council to situations of need, as part of parish outreach to the community and world beyond. This tithe is an expression of the parish's gratitude to God for all the blessings God constantly pours out upon this community.
List of Priests Serving
at St. Michael Catholic Church
Pastors
1942-1951: Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph L. Zryd
1951-1955: Rev. Robert J. Cordy
1955-1960
1960-1963: Rev. Patrick W. Frankard
1963-1971: Rt. Rev. Msgr. Arnold L. Casanova
1971-1985: Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph J. Dunleavy
1981-1983: Rev. Lawrence T. Gauthier (co-pastor)
1985-1986: Rev. Vincent L. Ouellette
1986-1988: Rev. Paul J. Nomellini
1988-1995: Rev. John J. Shiverski
1995-2009: Rev. Msgr. John E.(Jed) Patrick
2009-2014: Rev. Larry VanDamme
2014-Present: Rev. Gregory P. Heikkala
Associate Pastors
Very Rev. Oliver J. O'Callaghan
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph J. Dunleavy
Rt. Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Chisholm
Rt. Rev. Msgr. David P. Spelgatti
Rev. Joseph A. Kichak
Rev. Robert J. Smith
Rev. Robert A. Haas
Rev. Donald P. Hartman
Rev. Stephen L. Mayrand
Rev. Henry L. Mercier
Rev. Terrence F. Donnelly
Rev. Donald E. LaLonde
Rev. Charles J. Strelick
Rev. Jerome L. Larsen
Rev. Anthony J. Polakowski
Rev. Norbert P. LaCosse
Rev. James L. Menapace
Rev. Norbert B. Landreville
Rev. John J. Chrobak
Rev. James Pepin
Rev. Terry G. Villaire
Rev. Msgr. John E. (Jed) Patrick
Rev. Glen G. Weber
Rev. Joseph D. Carne
Rev. Michael T. Vichich
Rev. George C. Gustafson
Rev. Ronald K. Timock
Rev. Erick E. Olson
Rev. Dino Silvestrini
Rev. Rick L. Courier
Rev. Richard Craig
Rev. Pawel Mecwel
Rev. Jeffrey Kurtz
Rev. James Ziminski
Rev. Jeff Johnson
Rev. Fran Degroot
Rev. Mariusz Makowski
Rev. Timothy Hruska
Rev. Shaun Erno
Rev. Benjamin Hasse
Rev. Nicholas Thompson
Rev. Mike Chenier
Rev. Brandon Oman
Rev. Dustin Larson