A Tour of the Church
St. Mary of Redford Church is Mary's home on the West side of Detroit. A cursory glance around the church will tell you that. Everywhere you look, symbols and images of Mary appear. We hold her as our queen and trust her to lead us to Jesus, our King.
Before beginning the tour, let us begin with a prayer to Our Lady of Redford, whose home you are about to explore.
Let us Pray,
Remember, Our Lady of Redford, that before you reigned in heaven, you were a peasant girl on earth. To this day you are known to leave your heavenly palace and walk among the poor and broken here below. Therefore, we ask you to come and be with us. Come and care for your poor children. O Gracious Mother, carry our needs back with you to the throne of your Son, Jesus. We know that He will not refuse you, His Mother, and our Queen. Our Lady of Redford, we confidently entrust our cause to your intercession. Amen.
The Sister’s Chapel is the former convent chapel. The chapel had its own sacristy (which is now the music library) and was set up so that the sisters could enter the chapel from the convent (through the double doors in the back) and the priest could come in to say Mass from the church without ever having to pass through the convent. There is also a small confessional where a priest could hear the sisters' confessions.
The two most notable architectural features of the chapel are the stained glass window of the immaculate heart of Mary and the stenciling work on the ceiling. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is always depicted with a wreathe of flowers (symbolizing her, unstained heart), on fire with love, and pierced with a sword in accord with the prophecy of Simeon.
The Sister’s Chapel is currently under construction - and we pray for it to be transformed into an Adoration Chapel. (If you’d like to support this project, please click on the ‘donate’ button on the home page and note ‘‘adoration chapel’ in the comments section.)