St. Mary Parish at 14200 E. Old US Highway 12, Chelsea, MI 48118 US - St. Mary Parish Grows

St. Mary Parish is a vibrant faith community located in the southeastern Michigan City of Chelsea.  The city proper has a population of approximately 4500.  The immediate area, roughly comprised by the 120 square mile school district, has over 16,500 residents.  In 2012, there are 1145 families registered at St. Mary Parish.

In March of 1998, Reverend Dr. William J. Turner became the pastor of St. Mary Church, Chelsea, MI. He inherited 750 families and a newly consolidated facility that featured the church (1965) the rectory (1977) a Gathering Space (1996) the Fr. Dupuis Parish Life Center including the Hall, the offices, and an Education Center (1998).

In March 2004, the parish recognized Turner’s 25^th Anniversary of Priesthood. The occasion was celebrated on Saturday, March 27 with an Anniversary Mass attended by parishioners and 15 priests including Father’s uncle, John Miles, C.R., and with a dinner and a program in the parish hall.

On September 19, 2004, the church was consecrated by the bishop. This was made possible when the debt for all parish construction had been paid. The altar and walls of the church were anointed, candles were placed at four consecration points representing the four points of the compass, and incense filled the church. Following the beautiful ceremony presided over by Bishop Mengeling, the mortgage was burned at the Garden of Peace and then a reception was held in the parish hall. Father’s book “In My Father’s Steps,” in collaboration with a father and son of the parish, appeared in 2005, and a sequel was published in the Spring of 2011.

In 2006, Father Turner was named a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre by the Holy See, and was installed by Cardinal Francis George in Chicago on October 8 of that year. He was presented with the “Pilgrim Shell” by Patriarch Archbishop Michel Sabbah in Jerusalem on May 18^th, 2007 and promoted to Knight Commander in 2009.

A Brief History of Saint Mary of Chelsea

St. Mary Catholic Church of Chelsea, MI, traces its roots to gatherings of Irish immigrants who first gathered in prayer in 1830.  The first Masses were said in the home of Thomas Carroll in Sylvan Township.

In 1844 St. Mary of Sylvan was built.  As a mission, Masses were irregular.  A messenger was sent out when a priest had come to notify families when services would be held.  A new brick church was built in the village of Chelsea in 1869 and St. Mary of Sylvan was retired.  The new church was called Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was elevated to parish status in 1878.  During the early 1900s, for reasons known only to our beloved dead, the names Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and St. Mary began to be used interchangeably.

In 1906 the first St. Mary School was erected, staffed by the Adrian Dominican Sisters until the school closed in 1972.

The parish added the Parish Hall and Education Wing on the church campus in 1998.  Religious Education, Youth Ministry, Parish Organizations and Parish Offices are now located together at 14200 E. Old US Highway 12.