Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit

{{See also|History of Detroit}}

The first Catholic presence in present-day Michigan was that of the French Jesuit missionaries, Reverends Charles Raymbaut and Isaac Jogues. The two priests stopped near what is now Sault Ste. Marie in 1641 to visit the Chippewa Nation.{{cite web |title=Michigan, Catholic Church in |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/michigan-catholic-church#:~:text=The%20beginnings%20of%20the%20Catholic,later,%20with%20headquarters%20at%20St. |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=Encyclopedia.com}}

In 1670, Reverend Claude Dablon established the first Catholic mission in the region on Mackinac Island. Reverend Jacques Marquette moved the mission off the island in 1671 to the mainland by the Straits of Mackinac.{{cite web |title=St. Ignace Mission |url=http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/45304.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121224135845/http://www.mcgi.state.mi.us/hso/sites/45304.htm |archive-date=December 24, 2012 |access-date=May 12, 2012 |website=Michigan State Housing Development Authority}}{{cite web |first=Joseph Scott |last=Mendinghall |date=May 7, 1975 |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: St. Ignace Mission |url={{NHLS url|id=66000398}} |format=pdf |website=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=66000398|title=Accompanying four photos, from 1974|photos=y}} {{small|(32 KB)}} By the late 1600s, Jesuits priests were exploring and setting up missions throughout the region.

In 1701, the Diocese of Quebec took jurisdiction over missionary activity in Michigan, now part of the French colony of New France. In July of that year, a group of French-Canadian settlers, led by the explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, arrived at the mouth of the Detroit River. They immediately started building the first Sainte-Anne-de-Détroit Church, a small wooden structure.{{cite web |last= |first= |last2= |last3= |title=Parish History |url=https://ste-anne.org/about-us/parish-history/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=Sainte Anne de Detroit |language=en}}

When the British took control of New France after the French and Indian War ended in 1763, the Diocese of Quebec retained its jurisdiction there. After the end of the American Revolution, the British transferred control of Michigan to the new United States. In 1789, Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Baltimore, with jurisdiction over Catholics in the entire United States.{{cite web |title=Father John Carroll Appointed First Bishop of Baltimore (1789) |url=https://www.archbalt.org/the-archdiocese/our-history/father-john-carroll-appointed-first-bishop-of-baltimore-1789/ |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=Archdiocese of Baltimore |language=en-US}}

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The new Michigan Territory was transferred in 1808 from the Diocese of Baltimore to the Diocese of Bardstown.{{cite web |title=Baltimore (Archdiocese) |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dbalt.html |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=Catholic-Hierarchy.org}} It was reassigned in 1821 to the Diocese of Cincinnati.

Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Detroit on March 8, 1833, taking its territory from the Diocese of Cincinnati. He named Monsignor Frederick Rese from Cincinnati as its first bishop.{{cite web |title=Detroit (Archdiocese) |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/ddetr.html |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=Catholic-Hierarchy.org}} Ste. Anne became the cathedral for the diocese. At the time, the new diocese covered a vast area in the American Midwest and Great Plains, extending through Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Dakotas to the Missouri River. During Rese's tenure, the diocese was in poor financial health and suffered from financial mismanagement.

By 1837, Rese was incapable of administering the diocese due to mental health problems.{{cite web |title=Caspar Henry Borgess |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02684c.htm |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=The Catholic Encyclopedia}} Gregory XVI recalled him to Rome and appointed Reverend Peter Paul Lefevere as coadjutor bishop to assume its operation.{{cite book |last1=Delaney |first1=John J |last2=Tobin |first2=James Edward |title=Dictionary of Catholic Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofcath0000unse/page/982/mode/2up?q=lefevere |publisher=Doubleday |year=1961 |location=Garden City, New York |pages=982-3}}

When Lefevere arrived in Detroit, the city had only two parishes, with the rest of the diocese having only 25; the diocese was served by only 18 priests.{{cite book |last=Atzert |first=E.P. |title=New Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=McGraw Hill |year=1967 |volume=VIII |location=New York |page=604}} Lefevere went to Belgium to recruit more priests. The Redemptorists became the first religious order to staff a parish in the diocese.

To improve the administration of the diocese, Lefevere established its first set of policies in 1843. That same year, the Vatican reduced the Diocese of Detroit to the State of Michigan, transferring the out-of-state territories to the newly-formed Diocese of Milwaukee. He won a dispute with some of the laity over the ownership of church property. Lefevere bought property throughout the diocese for future churches.{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z79LiSQC8YEC&printsec=frontcover&vq=Francis+Garcia+Moreno#v=onepage&q=detroit&f=false| last1=Clarke| first1=Richard Henry| chapter=Rt. Rev. Peter Paul Lefevere, D.D.| title=Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States| volume=2| publisher=P. O'Shea| year=1872| pages=191–202|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709031244/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z79LiSQC8YEC&pg=PA264&dq=Rev.Andrew+Byrne&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi-n56UncvnAhW5lnIEHVCCCNQ4ChDoATAAegQIABAC#v=onepage&q=Francis%20Garcia%20Moreno&f=false| archive-date=July 9, 2020| access-date=December 24, 2024}}

Lefevere and the Four Sisters of Charity established four orphanages, a medical hospital and a mental hospital. The Daughters of Charity became the first religious order of teaching sisters to come to Detroit. The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary came to the diocese in 1845. In 1846, Lefevere established St. Thomas Seminary in Detroit, a minor seminary that closed in 1854.{{cite news |title=After three previous attempts, Sacred Heart Seminary was founded at last in 1919 |url=https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/after-three-previous-attempts-sacred-heart-seminary-was-founded-at-last-in-1919 |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=Detroit Catholic |language=en-US}}

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In 1853, Pope Pius IX formed the Vicarate Apostolic of Upper Michigan, taking the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from the Diocese of Detroit. Lefevere in 1854 dedicated Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Detroit, which replaced Ste. Anne de Detroit.{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.aod.org/our-archdiocese/history-of-the-archdiocese/history/ |access-date=March 16, 2016 |website=Archdiocese of Detroit}} He presided over the first diocesan synod in 1859.

Lefevere died in 1869. He never became bishop of Detroit because Rese was still alive, living in a sanitarium in Europe. During Lefevere's time as coadjutor bishop, the number of parishes in Detroit increased to 11 and 160 in the rest of the diocese, with 80 priests.

To replace Lefevere as coadjutor bishop of Detroit, Pope Pius IX in 1870 named Monsignor Caspar Borgess of Cincinnati. When Rese died the next year, Borgess automatically succeeded him as bishop of Detroit.{{cite web |title=Bishop Caspar Henry Borgess |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bborgess.html |website=Catholic-Hierarchy.org}}

During his tenure as bishop, Borgess earned a reputation as a stern disciplinarian who emphasized his authority. A Catholic property owner in Kalamazoo mortgaged his farm to loan money to his pastor to pay for the construction of St. Augustine's Church. However, since the archdiocese now owned the church, Borgess reneged on repaying the loan. When the property owner sued the diocese, Borgess threatened to excommunicate him. The property owner resigned himself to the swindle.{{cite web |title=St. Augustine Cathedral |url=https://www.kpl.gov/local-history/kalamazoo-history/religion/st-augustines/ |first=Fred |last=Peppel |date=July 2005 |website=Kalamazoo Public Library |access-date=February 11, 2025}} Borgess suspended a priest who published a critical letter about the St. Augustine controversy.{{cite book |last=Paré |first=George |title=The Catholic Church in Detroit, 1701-1888 |year=1951 |publisher=Gabriel Richard Press |location=Detroit |page=536 |url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchin1701-1888unse_o8g0/page/536/mode/2up?q=kalamazoo |url-access=registration}}

In 1877, the Vatican reinstated a priest whom Borgess had transferred from a parish in Marshall to Traverse City. due to his dissatisfaction with the parish financial reports. That same year, he invited the Jesuits to establish the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in Detroit.

In 1882, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Grand Rapids in west central Michigan, taking its territory from the Diocese of Detroit. Borgess suspended the pastor of St. Albertus Parish in Detroit in 1885; when the congregation refused to accept their new pastor, Borgess placed the parish under interdict. These controversies and his poor relationship with his priests led Borgess to submit his resignation to the Vatican as bishop of Detroit as early as 1879.{{cite news |date=February 23, 1879 |title=Resignation of Right Rev. Bishop Caspar H. Borgess of Detroit |newspaper=Detroit Free Press}} However, the Vatican would not let him resign his post until 1887.

The next bishop of Detroit was Reverend John Samuel Foley from Baltimore, named by Pope Leo XIII in 1888. During his tenure, Foley established a seminary for Polish Americans, and later healed a long and damaging schism among them.{{cite news |title=Detroit |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04758b.htm |work=Catholic Encyclopedia}} In 1889, Reverend John A. Lemke was ordained to the priesthood at St. Casimir Church in Detroit. He became the first native American of Polish descent to become a priest.{{Cite journal |last=Treppa |first=Allan R. |date=1978 |title=John A. Lemke: America's First Native-Born Polish American Priest? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20148000 |journal=Polish American Studies |volume=35 |issue=1/2 |pages=78–83 |jstor=20148000 |issn=0032-2806}}

In 1907, St. Francis's Home for Orphan Boys opened in Detroit, built at a cost of $250,000. Foley established the first parish for African Americans, St. Peter Claver, in Detroit, in 1911, although chapels and missions for African-American Catholics had existed since the late 1870s.{{cite news |title=History - 1701 to 2001 |url=http://www.aodonline.org/AODOnline/History+and+Archives+12437/History+of+the+Archdiocese+-+Summary.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013182426/http://www.aodonline.org/AODOnline/History%2Band%2BArchives%2B12437/History%2Bof%2Bthe%2BArchdiocese%2B-%2BSummary.htm |archive-date=2011-10-13 |access-date=2009-08-25 |website=Archdiocese of Detroit}} The development of the automobile industry in Detroit led to a massive increase in population, and the number of Catholics in the diocese more than tripled during Foley's tenure. Although the number of diocesan priests nearly doubled, there still insufficient to minister to the growing population. Despite his popularity and personal charm, Foley was generally regarded as an ineffective bishop with an unsuccessful administration.{{cite book |last=Tentler |first=Leslie Woodcock |title=Seasons of Grace: A History of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit |date=December 1992 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |page=118 |url=https://archive.org/details/seasonsofgracehi00tent/page/117/mode/2up?q=automobile |access-date=February 16, 2025}} Foley died in 1918, after 30 years as bishop of Detroit.

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The last bishop of Detroit was Bishop Michael Gallagher from Grand Rapids, appointed by Pope Benedict XV in 1918.{{cite web |title=Bishop Michael James Gallagher |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgallmj.html |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=Catholic-Hierarchy.org}} In 1921, the archdiocese published a poster prohibiting the provision of sterilization and abortion services in its hospitals. This became the basis of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, published by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1971.{{cite journal |journal=Health Progress |date=November–December 2019 |first=Ron |last=Hamel |title=100th Anniversary - The Ethical and Religious Directives: Looking Back to Move Forward |url=https://www.chausa.org/publications/health-progress/archive/article/november-december-2019/100th-anniversary---the-ethical-and-religious-directives-looking-back-to-move-forward }} In 1919, Gallagher opened Sacred Heart Major Seminary in a temporary structure in Detroit to alleviate the priest shortage. In 1924, after a $4 million fundraising effort, the diocese constructed a permanent facility with a capacity for 500 seminarians.{{Cite web |title=Bishop Gallagher's never-quit approach led to construction of Sacred Heart Seminary |url=https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/bishop-gallaghers-never-quit-approach-led-to-construction-of-sacred-heart-seminary |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=Detroit Catholic |language=en-US}}{{cite web |title=Sacred Heart Seminary |url=https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/sacred-heart-seminary |access-date=July 3, 2022 |website=Historic Detroit}}

In 1926, Gallagher appointed Reverend Charles Coughlin as pastor of the Shrine of the Little Flower Parish in Royal Oak, Michigan. Coughlin soon started a radio ministry, with Gallagher's approval. Some of the proceeds from his show went to build a church for his parish. As Coughlin started gaining a large national audience for his program, his incendiary comments against Jews and capitalists became more pronounced.

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In 1930, the apostolic delegate for the United States, Cardinal Pietro Fumasoni Biondi, asked Gallagher to curb Coughlin, but Gallagher refused. "I made no mistake and have never doubted my judgment in putting him before the microphone," Gallagher said about Coughlin in 1933.{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Forrest |date=December 1, 1935 |title=Father Coughlin |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1935/12/father-coughlin/652107/ |access-date=July 2, 2022 |magazine=The Atlantic |language=en}}

Again in 1935, Cardinal Amleto Cigognani, the new apostolic delegate, tried to stop Coughlin, but Gallagher still protected him. It was rumored that Pope Pius XI refused to raise Detroit to an archdiocese due to his displeasure over Coughlin.{{cite book |last1=Roth |first1=J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WEYfDgAAQBAJ&dq=bishop+michael+gallagher+mussolini&pg=RA1-PA401 |title=Remembering for the Future: 3 Volume Set: The Holocaust in an Age of Genocide |last2=Maxwell |first2=E. |date=February 13, 2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-66019-3 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last=Boyea |first=Earl |author-link=Earl Boyea |year=1995 |title=The Reverend Charles Coughlin and the Church: the Gallagher Years, 1930-1937 |journal=Catholic Historical Review |volume=81 |issue=2 |pages=211–225 |doi=10.1353/cat.1995.0044 |s2cid=163684965}} In August 1936, Gallagher went to Rome on a routine visit to the Vatican. While he was en route, Coughlin denounced US President Franklin Roosevelt as a liar. Gallagher expressed his public displeasure at Coughlin's comments, forcing him to apologize.{{cite news |title=Coughlin is chided by Detroit bishop; Gallagher, sailing for Vatican, deplores priest's reference to president as liar. Holds course untactful but prelate praises policies of radio preacher and defends his right to criticize. |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/07/19/85409486.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |access-date=July 2, 2022 |newspaper=The New York Times |language=en |url-access=subscription}} While meeting with Pius XI, Coughlin's activities arose for discussion. Gallagher convinced the pope not to censure Coughlin or force him to cease broadcasting. Some months later, Gallagher died in January 1937.{{cite web| url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgallmj.html| title=Bishop Michael James Gallagher| website=Catholic-Hierarchy.org| access-date=February 16, 2025}}

In May 1937, Pius XI elevated the Diocese of Detroit to the Archdiocese of Detroit, while also erecting the Diocese of Lansing in south central Michigan, taking its territory from the Diocese of Detroit.{{cite web| title=History of the Archdiocese| url=https://www.aod.org/history-of-the-archdiocese#:~:text=In%201937%2C%20Detroit%20was%20elevated,of%20many%20parishes%20under%20Mooney| website=Archdiocese of Detroit| access-date=February 16, 2025}}{{cite web| title=History| url=https://www.dioceseoflansing.org/general/history| website=Diocese of Lansing| access-date=February 16, 2025}} In August 1937, Pius XI appointed Bishop Edward Mooney from the Diocese of Rochester as Detroit's first archbishop.{{cite news| title=Religion: Mooney to Detroit| url=https://time.com/archive/6768393/religion-mooney-to-detroit/| date=August 16, 1937| magazine=Time| access-date=February 16, 2025}}

In October 1937, Mooney publicly rebuked Coughlin for calling Roosevelt "stupid" over his nomination of Senator Hugo Black to the U.S. Supreme Court. This reprimand from Mooney led Coughlin to cancel his contract for 26 radio broadcasts,{{cite news |date=2012-01-25 |title=Religion: Coughlin Silenced | magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758287,00.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125023744/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758287,00.html |archive-date=January 25, 2012}} though he resumed broadcasting in 1938. (Coughlin's anti-Semitism became more blatant with the outbreak of World War II, leading Mooney to repeatedly rebuke him and radio stations refusing to air his broadcasts. By 1940, Coughlin had virtually no access to the airwaves, though he continued to publish his views.){{cite thesis| title=Coughlin and Cleveland| url=https://collected.jcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=masterstheses| first=Karen G.| last=Ketchaver| degree=M.A.| publisher=John Carroll University| location=University Heights, Ohio| year=2009| access-date=February 16, 2025}}

In February 1938, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Saginaw, taking territory in northeastern Michigan from the Archdiocese of Detroit and the Diocese of Grand Rapids.{{cite web| title=About the Diocese| url=https://saginaw.org/about-diocese| website=Diocese of Saginaw| access-date=February 16, 2025}} The Vatican also transferred three more counties from the archdiocese to the Diocese of Lansing. In April 1938, the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit became the mother church of the new archdiocese.{{cite web| title=Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament| url=https://historicdetroit.org/buildings/cathedral-of-the-most-blessed-sacrament| first=Dan| last=Austin| website=Historic Detroit| access-date=February 16, 2025}}

In a 1939 meeting of all the archdiocesan priests, Mooney proposed the establishment of labor schools in the parishes to help "Christian workers to train themselves in principle and technique to assume the leadership in the unions which their numbers justify".{{cite news |date=2008-12-14 |title=For Christian Workers |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760698,00.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214201210/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,760698,00.html |archive-date=December 14, 2008}} An avid golf player, Mooney once remarked to his priests "If your score is over 100, you are neglecting your golf—if it falls below 90, you're neglecting your parish". Every year, he would take a group of altar boys to the opening game of the Detroit Tigers major league baseball team.{{cite news |date=2012-10-25 |title=Religion: 17th Archdiocese |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,757924-1,00.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025161432/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,757924-1,00.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012}}

In 1942, the US Department of Justice informed Mooney that it was planning to indict Coughlin on charges of sedition, based on his espousal of Nazi doctrines. As part of a deal to avoid Coughlin's prosecution, Mooney ordered him to end his political activities and work solely as a parish priest. Mooney stated, "My understanding with him [Coughlin] is sufficiently broad and firm to exclude effectively the recurrence of any such unpleasant situation."{{cite news |date=2010-10-14 |title=The Press: Coughlin Quits |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849845,00.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014180328/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,849845,00.html |archive-date=October 14, 2010}} Pope Pius XII created Mooney as cardinal priest of the Church of Santa Susanna in Rome in 1946.{{Cite web |title=Edward Aloysius Cardinal Mooney |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmooney.html |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=Catholic-Hierarchy.org}}

As the northern suburbs of Detroit grew after World War II ended in 1945, Mooney added parishes in Oakland County. In 1948, he appointed Reverend Frederick Delaney to begin opening additional parishes in the rural areas of the county.{{cite web |title=Our History |url=http://ollwaterford.org/about-us/history/ |access-date=December 3, 2024 |website=Our Lady of the Lakes Parish}} That same year, Pope Pius XII named Bishop John Dearden from the Diocese of Pittsburgh as coadjutor archbishop to assist Mooney.

After Mooney died in 1958, Dearden automatically succeeded him as archbishop of Detroit. He was active in community causes, such as supporting equal employment opportunities and encouraging his diocese to work for better racial relations in Detroit. His commitment to racial justice frequently put him at odds with priests and lay Catholics at the parish level, who organized to fight racial integration of their neighborhoods.{{cite book |last=Gregory |first=James N. |url=https://archive.org/details/southerndiaspora0000greg/page/232/mode/2up?q=detroit |title=The Southern Diaspora: How the Great Migrations of Black and White Southerners Transformed America |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8078-2983-7 |location=Chapel Hill |page=232}}

In 1965, Dearden helped inaugurate Project Equality, an interfaith program that asked businesses to pledge to a policy of non-discrimination in hiring and hire employees.{{cite news |date=March 29, 1969 |title=The Four New American Cardinals: John Francis Dearden |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/03/29/archives/john-francis-dearden.html?searchResultPosition=1 |url-access=subscription}} He also announced that the archdiocese would give preferential treatment to suppliers who provided equal employment opportunities to minority groups.{{cite magazine |date=1965-05-28 |title=Financing Fair Employment |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941365,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220055945/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941365,00.html |archive-date=February 20, 2008 |magazine=Time}}

When voters amended the Michigan State Constitution in 1970 to bar all taxpayer aid to private schools in 1970, Dearden ordered all of his parishes to examine their finances in light of this decision and determine if their schools would be a financial drain due to reduced enrollment. Dearden ultimately ordered the closing of 56 parish schools.{{cite news |last=Saxon |first=Wolfgang |date=1988-08-02 |title=John Cardinal Dearden, 80, Dies; Leading Liberal Voice in Church |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/02/obituaries/john-cardinal-dearden-80-dies-leading-liberal-voice-in-church.html |newspaper=The New York Times}} That same year, the Vatican transferred two counties from the Archdiocese of Detroit to the Diocese of Lansing.

After the permanent diaconate was restored during the Second Vatican Council, Dearden in 1971 became the first American bishop or archbishop to ordain married laymen as deacons.

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After suffering a heart attack, Dearden retired as archbishop of Detroit in 1980. To replace Dearden, Pope John Paul II named Bishop Edmund Szoka from the Diocese of Gaylord. In 1983, he dealt with Sister Agnes Mary Mansour, who was appointed as the director of the Michigan Department of Community Health. This state agency provided Medicaid funding for abortion services for women. Szoka had given Mansour permission to take the job, but insisted that she oppose publicly funded abortion services. Mansour believed that abortion was a tragic decision for the pregnant woman, but should be legal. She refused to oppose public funding of it. Szoka then appealed to Mansour's superiors in the Sisters of Mercy to order Mansour to change her stance, but the order supported her.{{cite magazine |date=March 21, 1983 |title=The Nun vs. the Archbishop |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923370,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114755/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,923370,00.html |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |magazine=Time}}

In 1989, Szoka closed 30 parishes within the archdiocese and ordered 25 other parishes to improve their financial situation or face closure.{{cite news |title=Cardinal of Detroit Orders 30 Parishes In the City to Close |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/09/us/cardinal-of-detroit-orders-30-parishes-in-the-city-to-close.html |agency=Associated Press |date=January 9, 1989 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=April 24, 2012}} The plan resulted from a five-year study that analyzed parish maintenance costs, priest availability, parish income and parish membership.{{cite news |title=Detroit Prelate Backs Plan to Close 43 Churches |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-15-me-3471-story.html |date=October 15, 1988 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=April 24, 2012}} Szoka resigned as archbishop of Detroit in 1990 to assume a position in the Roman Curia.

The next archbishop of Detroit was Bishop Adam Maida from the Diocese of Green Bay, appointed by John Paul II in 1990.

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In 2007, Maida relieved Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Thomas Gumbleton of his pastoral duties at St. Leo Parish in Detroit. Gumbleton claimed that Maida was punishing him for his outspoken views on sexual abuse crimes by clergy. Maida said that he was following the Vatican rules on the retirement age of bishops.{{cite news |last=Goodstein |first=Laurie |date=2007-01-26 |title=Outspoken Catholic Pastor Replaced; He Says It's Retaliation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/us/26bishop.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215201153/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/us/26bishop.html |archive-date=2021-12-15 |access-date=2021-12-15 |newspaper=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Maida retired in 2009. Pope Benedict XVI then named Bishop Allen Vigneron from the Diocese of Oakland as Maida's replacement.

In 2011, Vigneron announced that Pope Benedict XVI had approved his request to name Saint Anne as patroness of the archdiocese.{{cite news |title=Saint Anne declared patroness for Church of Detroit |date=May 6, 2011 |first=Joe |last=Kohn |access-date=April 24, 2012 |url=http://www.themichigancatholic.com/2011/05/st-anne-declared-patroness-for-church-of-detroit/ |newspaper=The Michigan Catholic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903053935/http://www.themichigancatholic.com/2011/05/st-anne-declared-patroness-for-church-of-detroit/ |archive-date=3 September 2014 |url-status=dead}} In 2012, Vigneron announced a new plan to consolidate parishes in order to address declining parish membership and clergy availability within the archdiocese. Under the plan, two parishes would close in 2012 and 60 others were to consolidate into 21 parishes by the end of 2013. The archdiocese asked six additional parishes to submit plans to either repay their debts or merge with other parishes. The remaining 214 parishes were asked to submit plans to share resources or merge.{{cite news |title=31 Catholic parishes face consolidation |url=http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120221/METRO/202210372 |first=Orlandar |last=Brand-Williams |newspaper=The Detroit News |date=February 21, 2012 |access-date=April 24, 2012}}

In 2019, Vigneron published the pastoral note "The Day of the Lord". This note ended required Sunday sports practices and games in Catholic schools so that students could spend that day focused on prayer, family and rest. Vigneron announced in June 2020 that the archdiocese was restructuring 200 parishes into 60 to 80 parish families to deal with the shortage of priests.{{cite web |title=Detroit archdiocese's parish restructuring aims for more than mergers |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/44736/detroit-archdioceses-parish-restructuring-aims-for-more-than-mergers |access-date=2025-02-11 |date=June 3, 2020 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}

On February 11, 2025, Pope Francis accepted Vigneron's retirement as archbishop of Detroit and named Bishop Edward Weisenburger from the Diocese of Tucson to succeed him.{{Cite web |title=Rinunce e nomine, 11.02.2025 |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2025/02/11/0126/00257.html |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=Holy See Press Office}}{{cite web |date=11 February 2025 |title=Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Allen Vigneron of the Archdiocese of Detroit; Appoints Bishop Edward Weisenburger as Successor |url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-archbishop-allen-vigneron-archdiocese-detroit-appoints |access-date=11 February 2025 |website=US Conference of Catholic Bishops}}{{cite web |date=February 12, 2025 |title=Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Allen Vigneron of the Archdiocese of Detroit; Appoints Bishop Edward Weisenburger as Successor |url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-archbishop-allen-vigneron-archdiocese-detroit-appoints |access-date=February 12, 2025 |website=US Conference of Catholic Bishops}}

In 2002, Wayne County prosecutors indicted Reverends Harry Benjamin, Robert Burkholder, Edward Olszewski, and Jason E. Sigler on criminal sexual conduct charges. The four priests, all residing outside of Michigan, had previously been incardinated in the Archdiocese of Detroit. They were all accused of sexually molesting 11 to 13-year-old boys.{{cite news |date=August 28, 2002 |title=4 Ex-Detroit Priests Are Charged With Sex Abuse Dating From 60's |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/28/national/4-exdetroit-priests-are-charged-with-sex-abuse-dating-from-60s.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=D107217C5318BAFCE17346CA02FF65BC&gwt=pay |access-date=July 31, 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press}}

In May 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel indicted two priests who had previously served in the archdiocese:{{cite news |date=May 24, 2019 |title=The Latest: 5 priests charged with sex crimes in Michigan |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/24/the-latest-5-priests-charged-with-sex-crimes-in-michigan/ |newspaper=Crux |agency=Associated Press}}

• Neil Kalina, a former priest at St. Kiernan Parish in Shelby Township, was indicted on four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1984 with a boy between the ages of 12 and 14 and for supplying the boy with cocaine and marijuana. He had left the priesthood in 1993 after a 1985 conviction in Michigan for drug possession.{{cite news |last=Cook |first=Jameson |date=July 30, 2019 |title=Accused Former Macomb County Priest Convicted of Drug Offense in 1985 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2019/07_08/2019_07_30_Cook_AccusedFormer.htm |access-date=July 10, 2021 |newspaper=The Macomb Daily |via=BishopAccountability.org}} Kalina was convicted and sentenced in July 2022 to up to 15 years in state prison.{{Cite web |date=July 26, 2022 |title=Former Shelby Township Priest Sent to Prison for Sex Abuse |url=https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2022/07/26/former-shelby-township-priest-sent-to-prison-for-sex-abuse |access-date=December 4, 2024 |website=Michigan Attorney General}}
• Reverend Patrick Casey was charged with raping a 24-year-old gay man in 2013. At the time of the assault, Casey was counseling the victim, who was experiencing suicidal feelings, during confession. Casey fondled the victim and then performed oral sex on him.{{cite news| title=5 Catholic priests charged in Michigan sex abuse investigation| first=Niraj| last=Warikoo| newspaper=Detroit Free Press| date=May 24, 2019| url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/05/24/michigan-catholic-priests-sexual-abuse-nessel/1221964001/}} In October 2019, Casey pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.{{cite news |last=Carmody |first=Steve |date=October 8, 2019 |title=Former Catholic priest takes plea deal in sexual abuse investigation |url=https://www.michiganradio.org/post/former-catholic-priest-takes-plea-deal-sexual-abuse-investigation |access-date=July 10, 2021 |work=Michigan Radio News |agency=Associated Press}}{{cite news |last=LeBlanc |first=Beth |title=Former Detroit area priest gets 45 days in jail, 1 year probation |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/11/20/former-detroit-area-priest-gets-45-days-jail-1-year-probation/4249841002/ |access-date=2025-02-11 |date=November 20, 2019 |newspaper=The Detroit News |language=en-US}}

In July 2019, the archdiocese removed Reverend Eduard Perrone, pastor of Assumption Grotto Parish in Detroit from public ministry after determining that allegations that he sexually abused a child decades ago were "credible". Perrone denied the charges.{{cite news| title=Detroit priest removed by archdiocese because of 'credible' sexual abuse allegation| agency=Associated Press| date=July 7, 2019| url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2019/07/07/archdiocese-detroit-removes-priest-sexual-abuse-claim/1669996001/| newspaper=Detroit Free Press}} The archdiocese took action based on accusations from a Wayne County police detective who claimed that Perrone sexually assaulted a boy 40 years earlier. However, the alleged victim later retracted his allegations. In August 2020, Perrone received a $125,000 settlement from Wayne County for a defamation lawsuit he filed against the detective{{cite news |last=Baldas |first=Tresa |title=Suspended priest wins $125K from cop for defamation: She framed me |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2020/08/17/priest-wins-125-k-defamation-suit-against-detective-she-framed-me/5584440002/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |language=en-US}} That same month, 20 parishioners from Assumption Grotto sued the archdiocese. They claimed that the archdiocese framed Perrone on the sexual abuse allegations because he was a traditionalist Catholic priest who had allegedly exposed scandals in the archdiocese.{{cite news |last=Baldas |first=Tresa |date=August 17, 2020 |title=Suspended priest wins $125K from cop for defamation: She framed me |url=https://eu.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2020/08/17/priest-wins-125-k-defamation-suit-against-detective-she-framed-me/5584440002/ |newspaper=Detroit Free Press}} Perrone was found guilty of three violations of canon law in May 2022. He was allowed to resume public ministry, but could not return to Assumption Grotto.{{cite news |title=Fr. Perrone returns to limited ministry after conclusion of disciplinary trial |url=https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/fr-perrone |access-date=2025-02-11 |newspaper=Detroit Catholic |date=March 7, 2022 |language=en-US}}

In July 2019, Reverend Joseph Baker was indicted on first-degree criminal sexual conduct with someone under age 13. The archdiocese had previously placed limits on his public ministry.{{cite news| title=Metro Detroit priest charged with sexually abusing minor| agency=Associated Press| newspaper=Detroit Free Press| url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/07/08/waterfordn-priest-jack-baker-perpetua/1675529001/ |date=July 8, 2019 |access-date=2025-02-11}} Baker was convicted in October 2022 and was sentenced to three to 15 years in prison.{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Dane |date=2023-03-02 |title=Former Michigan priest sentenced to prison, lifetime sex offender registration |url=https://www.wilx.com/2023/03/02/former-michigan-priest-sentenced-prison-lifetime-sex-offender-registration/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=WILX News |language=en}}

In September 2020, Reverend Gary Berthiaume was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington during the 1970s. He was additionally charged in June 2021 with sexually assault two young teenagers at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Wyandotte during the same time period.{{cite news |last=Hicks |first=Mark |title=Ex-Catholic priest in Oakland County faces more sex abuse charges |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2021/06/28/ex-catholic-priest-oakland-county-faces-more-sex-abuse-charges/7790522002/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |newspaper=The Detroit News |language=en-US}}{{cite press release| title=Clergy Abuse Investigation Continues with Clergymen Back in Court| url=https://www.michigan.gov/ag/0,4534,7-359-92297_47203-546812--m_2015_9,00.html| publisher=Michigan Attorney General| date=December 7, 2020| access-date=July 10, 2021}} Berthiaume pleaded guilty in November 2021 to two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and no contest to one count of gross indecency in the two cases. He was sentenced to 16 to 17 months in prison.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-20 |title=Former Metro Detroit priest sentenced to prison for sexually abusing teens in 1970s |url=https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/former-metro-detroit-priest-sentenced-to-prison-for-sexually-abusing-teens-in-1970s |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=FOX 2 Detroit |language=en-US}}

In December 2020, several male employees of Orchard Lake Schools in Orchard Lake, Michigan, sued their employer and Vigneron. They alleged that Reverend Miroslaw Krol, the director of the Schools, had sexually abused them. Although the Schools were located in the archdiocese, they were not operated by it. However, the lawsuit stated that Vigneron, as a member of the Schools board, knew about the accusations against Krol and did nothing about them.{{cite news |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/12/14/lawsuit-orchard-lake-schools-leader-sexually-abused-retaliated-against-male-employees/6537619002/ |title=Lawsuit alleges Orchard Lake Schools leader sexually abused, retaliated against male employees |first=Kim |last=Kozlowski |newspaper=The Detroit News |date=December 14, 2020 |access-date=December 14, 2020}}

In March 2021, a Michigan man filed a lawsuit against Vigneron and the archdiocese. The plaintiff claimed that he was raped in 2010, when he was eight years old, by Aloysius Volskis, then a teacher at Bishop Kelly Catholic School in Lapeer, Michigan. Volskis allegedly told the boy that he had power with the devil and would kill his mother if the boy revealed anything about the assault. After a female student reported an assault by Volskis to police, he fled the country. The suit claimed that Vigneron and the archdiocese were negligent in their oversight of the school. Volkis had been assigned to Bishop Kelly after he was accused of sexual misconduct at Divine Providence Parish in Southfield, Michigan.{{cite news |date=2021-03-12 |title=Lawsuit by Lapeer County teen alleges rape by priest in 2010, claims coverup by Archdiocese of Detroit |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2021/03/lawsuit-by-lapeer-county-teen-alleges-rape-by-priest-in-2010-claims-coverup-by-archdiocese-of-detroit.html |access-date=2021-12-30 |website=MLive |language=en}}{{cite news |last=Hogan |first=Jeff |date=March 11, 2021 |title=Lapeer County teen files lawsuit alleging he was raped by a priest while a student at Bishop Kelley Catholic School |url=https://thecountypress.mihomepaper.com/articles/lapeer-county-teen-files-lawsuit-alleging-he-was-raped-by-a-priest-while-a-student-at-bishop-kelley-catholic-school/ |access-date=2021-12-30 |newspaper=The County Press |location=Lapeer}}

The archdiocese in June 2021 restrict the public ministry of Reverend Lawrence Fares, a 96-year-old retired priest. It had received credible allegations in 2019 of child sexual abuse against him, dating back to his early years as a priest.{{cite web |date=2021-01-16 |title=Allegations of child sexual abuse lead to restriction of retired 96-year-old Archdiocese of Detroit priest |url=https://www.wxyz.com/news/allegations-of-child-sexual-abuse-lead-to-restriction-of-retired-96-year-old-archdiocese-of-detroit-priest |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=WXYZ News |language=en}}

In 1974, Brian McNaught, a reporter and columnist for the Michigan Catholic newspaper, revealed in a Detroit News article that he was gay. The Catholic then dropped his column, citing space issues in the publication. In response, McNaught filed a complaint against the Catholic with the Human Rights Commission for the City of Detroit, claiming sexual discrimination. The newspaper ultimately fired him. McNaught later founded the Detroit chapter of DignityUSA, a support organization for LGBTQ Catholics.{{cite news |work=Axios Detroit |title=Moments in Metro Detroit LGBTQ+ religious history |first=Annalise |last=Frank |date=Jun 27, 2024 |url=https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2024/06/27/metro-detroit-lgbtq-religious-history}}

Vigneron in 2013 stated that he would not allow Catholics who support same-sex marriage to receive communion in the archdiocese. He said that taking communion while disagreeing with the church on this issue was "double-dealing that is not unlike perjury."{{cite news |title=Mich. gay marriage backers urged to skip Communion |first=Niraj |last=Warikoo |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |date=April 8, 2013 |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/08/gay-marriage-supporters-skip-communion/2062413/}}

In 2020, the archdiocese fired Terry Gonda, the music director at St. John Fisher Parish in Auburn Hills, for being married to another woman.{{cite web |last=Baldas |first=Tresa |title=Catholic church fires lesbian music director for marrying a woman |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2020/06/24/detroit-archdiocese-terry-gonda-catholic-church-same-sex-marriage/3247103001/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |language=en-US}} In August 2020, Vigneron banned DignityUSA and Fortunate Families, a ministry for families of LGBTQ Catholics, from gathering at archdiocesan churches or having priests perform mass for them. He stated that the two groups were incompatible with the virtue of chastity.{{cite news |title=Archdiocese of Detroit throws out 2 LGBTQ Catholic groups |first=Niraj |last=Warikoo |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |date=August 8, 2020 |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/08/08/archdiocese-detroit-lgbtq-catholic-groups/3223393001/}}

Vigneron wrote a pastoral letter in 2024 to the leaders of Catholic schools and other institutions in the archdiocese. It stated that all their employees, students, and youth program participants must "...respect their God-given biological sex." This meant that transgender individuals had to use restrooms and follow dress codes that corresponded to their so-called biological sex. Vigneron said that accommodating "individuals experiencing gender confusion" is dangerous. In a podcast following his letter, Vigneron called acceptance of transgender individuals by society as "...a toxin that's been deposited in our culture" and compared transgenderism to a virus.{{cite news |title=Detroit's Catholic archbishop calls trans identity 'gender confusion' in letter |first=Niraj |last=Warikoo |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |date=March 28, 2024 |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/03/28/detroit-catholic-archbishop-letter-transgender-people/73067577007/}}

1. Frederick Rese (1833–1871)
   - Peter Paul Lefevere (coadjutor bishop 1841–1869); died before his succession as bishop
2. Caspar Borgess (1871–1887)
3. John Samuel Foley (1888–1918)
4. Michael Gallagher (1918–1937)

1. Cardinal Edward Aloysius Mooney (1937–1958)
2. Cardinal John Francis Dearden (1958–1980)
3. Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka (1981–1990), appointed President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See and later President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and Governatorate of Vatican City State
4. Cardinal Adam Joseph Maida (1990–2009){{cite web |title=Maida, Adam Joseph |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/55206/maida-adam-joseph |agency=Catholic News Agency |access-date=July 10, 2021}}
5. Allen Henry Vigneron (2009–2025){{cite news |first=Joe |last=Kohn |title=Archbishop Vigneron installed as 10th chief shepherd of Detroit diocese |url=http://www.archdioceseofdetroit.org/mcn/installation.html |newspaper=The Michigan Catholic |date=February 6, 2009 |access-date=April 24, 2012}}
6. Edward Weisenburger (2025–present){{cite web |title=Pope Francis Accepts Resignation of Archbishop Allen Vigneron of the Archdiocese of Detroit; Appoints Bishop Edward Weisenburger as Successor |url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2025/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-archbishop-allen-vigneron-archdiocese-detroit-appoints |access-date=2025-02-11 |website=USCCB |language=en}}

• Arturo Cepeda (2011–present)
• Robert Joseph Fisher (2016–present)
• Paul Fitzpatrick Russell (2022–present), holds the title of Archbishop ad personam; not currently exercising public ministry.{{cite press release |title=Resignations and Appointments |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2022/05/23/220523b.html |date=May 23, 2022 |access-date=2022-05-23 |publisher=Holy See Press Office}}{{cite news |url=https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/pope-appoints-vatican-diplomat-archbishop-russell-as-detroit-auxiliary-bishop |title=Pope appoints Vatican diplomat Archbishop Russell as Detroit auxiliary bishop |newspaper=Detroit Catholic |date=May 23, 2022 |first=Michael |last=Stechschulte |access-date=May 23, 2022}}{{cite press release |title=Regarding the Civil Lawsuit Filed Against Archbishop Paul Russell |url=https://www.aod.org/announcements-newsroom/newsroom/2022/august/regarding-the-civil-lawsuit-filed-against-archbishop-paul-russell |access-date=2024-03-27 |date=August 3, 2022 |publisher=Archdiocese of Detroit |language=en-US}}
• Jeffrey M. Monforton (2023–present){{cite press release |title=Pope Francis Appoints Bishop Jeffrey Monforton as Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit; Appoints Bishop Paul Bradley as Apostolic Administrator of Steubenville |publisher=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/pope-francis-appoints-bishop-jeffrey-monforton-auxiliary-bishop-detroit-appoints-bishop |date=2023-09-28 |access-date=December 24, 2024 |language=en}}

• Edward D. Kelly (1910–1919), appointed Bishop of Grand Rapids
• Joseph C. Plagens (1924–1935), appointed Bishop of Sault-Sainte Marie-Marquette
• Stephen Stanislaus Woznicki (1937–1950), appointed Bishop of Saginaw
• Allen James Babcock (1947–1954), appointed Bishop of Grand Rapids
• Alexander M. Zaleski (1950–1964), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Lansing and subsequently succeeded to that see
• John Anthony Donovan (1954–1967), appointed Bishop of Toledo
• Henry Edmund Donnelly (1954–1967)
• Joseph M. Breitenbeck (1965–1969), appointed Bishop of Grand Rapids
• Walter Joseph Schoenherr (1968–1995)
• Thomas Gumbleton (1968–2006)
• Joseph Leopold Imesch (1973–1979), appointed Bishop of Joliet in Illinois
• Arthur Henry Krawczak (1973–1982)
• Dale Joseph Melczek (1982–1995), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Gary, and subsequently succeeded to that see after collateral assignment as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Gary (1992–1995)
• Patrick R. Cooney (1982–1989), appointed Bishop of Gaylord
• Moses Anderson, SSE (1982–2003)
• Bernard Joseph Harrington (1993–1998), appointed Bishop of Winona
• Kevin Michael Britt (1993–2002), appointed Coadjutor of Grand Rapids and subsequently succeeded to that see
• John Clayton Nienstedt (1996–2001), appointed Bishop of New Ulm
• Allen Henry Vigneron (1996–2003), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Oakland and subsequently succeeded to that see; later appointed Archbishop of Detroit
• Leonard Paul Blair (1999–2003), appointed Bishop of Toledo
• Earl Boyea (2002–2008), appointed Bishop of Lansing
• John M. Quinn (2003–2008), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Winona and subsequently succeeded to that see
• Francis R. Reiss (2003–2015)
• Walter A. Hurley (2003–2005), appointed Bishop of Grand Rapids
• Daniel E. Flores (2006–2009), appointed Bishop of Brownsville
• Michael J. Byrnes (2011–2016), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Agana (Guam) and subsequently succeeded to that see
• Donald Hanchon (2011–2023)
• Gerard William Battersby (2016–2023), appointed Bishop of La Crosse

• Camillus Paul Maes, appointed Bishop of Covington in 1884
• Francis Clement Kelley, appointed Bishop of Oklahoma City in 1924
• William Francis Murphy, appointed Bishop of Saginaw in 1938
• Kenneth Edward Untener, appointed Bishop of Saginaw in 1980
• Alexander Joseph Brunett, appointed Bishop of Helena in 1994
• Jeffrey Marc Monforton, appointed Bishop of Steubenville in 2012
• Robert John McClory, appointed Bishop of Gary in 2019

File:Coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Detroit.svg

In June 2017, the archdiocese adopted a new coat of arms. It features the archdiocesan patroness St. Anne, three stars representing the Holy Trinity, a door representing Blessed Solanus Casey of Detroit, and waves representing the Great Lakes. It replaced a coat of arms featuring antlers and martlets that dated back to 1937.{{cite news |last=Stechschulte |first=Mike |date=June 3, 2017 |title=Archdiocese's new coat of arms a visual reminder of Church's mission |url=http://www.themichigancatholic.org/2017/06/archdioceses-new-coat-arms-visual-reminder-churchs-mission/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607071541/http://www.themichigancatholic.org/2017/06/archdioceses-new-coat-arms-visual-reminder-churchs-mission/ |archive-date=June 7, 2017 |access-date=September 30, 2018 |newspaper=The Michigan Catholic}}

{{Main|List of Roman Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Detroit}}

The Archdiocese of Detroit is divided into four administrative regions:

• Central – Detroit
• Northeast – Macomb and St. Clair Counties
• Northwest – Oakland and Lapeer Counties
• South – Monroe County, the Downriver area of Detroit, and the cities of Dearborn, Livonia, and Plymouth

Each region is divided into vicariates.{{cite web| title=Region and Vicariate Maps| website=Archdiocese of Detroit| access-date=April 15, 2020|url=https://info.aod.org/hc/en-us/articles/360042242573}} In 2021, to promote a more missionary focus, the archdiocese grouped its parishes into families. Each family consists of three or more parishes that are close to each other.{{cite web |url=https://www.aod.org/families-of-parishes |website=Archdiocese of Detroit |access-date=16 April 2024 |title=Families of Parishes }}

The Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament has served as the mother church of the archdiocese since 1938. Earlier cathedrals were:

• Ste. Anne de Detroit, 1833 to 1848
• Sts. Peter and Paul, 1848 to 1877{{cite web |title=History |url=https://ssppjesuit.org/about/history/ |website=Ss. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church}},
• St. Aloysius (as pro-cathedral), 1877 to 1890
• St. Patrick, 1890 to 1938{{cite web |last1=Worden |first1=William M. |last2=Austin |first2=Dan |title=St. Patrick Catholic Church |url=http://historicdetroit.org/building/st-patrick-catholic-church/ |website=Historic Detroit}}

File:Mercy High School Farmington Hills Michigan.JPG in Farmington Hills, Michigan]]

{{main|List of schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit}}

In 1964, the archdiocese operated 360 schools with an enrollment of 203,000 students. These included 110 primary schools and 55 secondary schools. The Catholic school population decreased over the decades due to the increase of charter schools, the rise in tuition at Catholic schools, the small number of African-American Catholics, the exodus of White Catholics to the suburbs, and the decreased number of teaching nuns.{{cite news |last=Montemurri |first=Patricia |date=February 1, 2013 |title=Detroit area's Catholic schools shrink, but tradition endures |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20130201/NEWS01/302010079/Detroit-area-s-Catholic-schools-shrink-but-tradition-endures |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913084827/http://www.freep.com/article/20130201/NEWS01/302010079/Detroit-area-s-Catholic-schools-shrink-but-tradition-endures |archive-date=September 13, 2014 |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |df=mdy-all}}

{{As of|2024}}, the archdiocese was operating 24 secondary schools and 62 primary schools, serving 27,000 students.{{cite web |date=2024 |title=Catholic High School Guide |url=https://hcc-aod-schools.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/240523_CatholicHighSchoolGuide_Updated_v2.pdf |access-date=December 8, 2024 |website=Archdiocese of Detroit}}{{cite web |title=Schools |url=https://give.aod.org/schools#:~:text=The%20Archdiocese%20of%20Detroit%20is,support%20our%202,500%20Catholic%20educators. |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=Archdiocese of Detroit |language=en-us}}

• Madonna University- Livonia, Michigan
• Sacred Heart Major Seminary - Detroit
• University of Detroit Mercy - Detroit

Image:FelicianSistersLivoniaChapel.jpg|Chapel of the Felician Sisters, Livonia

Image:SouthfieldMiWordofFaithChapelEntrance.jpg|The former Duns Scotus College, Southfield

Image:Sacred Heart Major Seminary.jpg|Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit

Image:UDMCommons.jpg|University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit

Image:Madonna University.jpg|Madonna University, Livonia

File:Ecclesiastical Province of Detroit map 1.png

• Diocese of Gaylord
• Diocese of Grand Rapids
• Diocese of Kalamazoo
• Diocese of Lansing
• Diocese of Marquette
• Diocese of Saginaw

{{Portal|Michigan|Catholicism}}

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{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book |last=Godzak |first=Roman |title= Archdiocese of Detroit (Images of America) |year=2000 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-0797-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Godzak |first=Roman |title=Catholic Churches of Detroit (Images of America) |year=2004 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn= 978-0-7385-3235-6}}
• {{cite book |last=Godzak |first=Roman |title= Make Straight the Path: A 300 Year Pilgrimage Archdiocese of Detroit |year=2000 |publisher=Editions du Signe |isbn=978-2-7468-0145-5}}
• {{cite book |author1-link=Eric J. Hill |last1=Hill |first1=Eric J. |first2=John |last2=Gallagher |title=AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture |year=2003 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-3120-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/aiadetroitameric0000hill }}
• {{cite book |last=Muller |first=Herman Joseph |title=The University of Detroit 1877-1977: A Centennial History |url=https://archive.org/details/universityofdetr0000mull |url-access=registration |year=1976 |publisher=University of Detroit |id=ASIN B0006CVJ4S}}
• {{cite book |last=Tentler |first=Leslie Woodcock |title=Seasons of Grace: A History of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit |year=1992 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=978-0-8143-2106-5}}
• {{cite book |last1=Tutag |first1=Nola Huse |first2=Lucy |last2=Hamilton |title=Discovering Stained Glass in Detroit |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8143-1875-1}}

{{GeoGroup}}

• {{Official website|http://www.aod.org}}
• {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.aodonline.org/|title=Archdiocese of Detroit Website (aodonline.org)}}
• {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/*/http://www.archdioceseofdetroit.org/|title=Archdiocese of Detroit Website (archdioceseofdetroit.org)}}
• [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/ddetr.html Archdiocese of Detroit] at Catholic-Hierarchy.org
• [https://gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/detr0.htm Archdiocese of Detroit] at [https://gcatholic.org GCatholic.org]
• [http://www.saadigitalarchive.org/search/Adam%20J.%20Maida "Letter from Kerala Catholic Association to Reverend Adam J. Maida, Archbishop of Detroit" in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)]

{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit}}

{{Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Detroit}}

{{Roman Catholic ecclesiastical provinces in the United States}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Detroit}}

Detroit

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Detroit

Detroit

Category:1833 establishments in Michigan Territory