Saints Peter and Paul Church

01 / The story of this place

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Bishop Peter Paul Lefevere, who led the Diocese of Detroit for a quarter century in the mid-1800s, oversaw the construction of this church on East Jefferson Avenue, which opened in 1848 and served for years as his cathedral. Lefevere guided Detroit's Catholic community through waves of European immigration, and when he died in 1869, he was buried in this church before later being moved elsewhere. The building later passed to the Jesuits, who still run it today as Saints Peter and Paul, tied to the University of Detroit Mercy that grew out of the same Jesuit mission. Through fires, demolitions, and more than a century and a half of downtown Detroit's changes, this Greek Revival church has survived as the oldest church building still standing in the city. It remains an active Catholic parish today, holding regular Mass just blocks from the Detroit River.

1. Oldest surviving church building in Detroit, opened in 1848
2. Built as Bishop Peter Paul Lefevere's cathedral
3. Lefevere was first buried here after his death in 1869
4. Now a Jesuit parish linked to University of Detroit Mercy
5. Still an active parish today, downtown on East Jefferson