This article, written by Niraj Warikoo, appears on Detroit Free Press.
Mass Mob on Sunday: Priest revives Holy Family Church in Detroit
For a century, Holy Family Church in downtown Detroit has served local Italian Americans with roots in Sicily.
But after the Benedictine Sylvestrine Fathers — which ran the church for 76 years — left in 2005, the future of the congregation was in doubt. Attendance was declining as people left for suburban congregations and the historical site was on the brink of insolvency. Like other old Catholic churches in Detroit with ethnic roots, it was struggling to survive.