St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Catholic church building in Ann Arbor, Michigan, US.
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish church at 530-540 Elizabeth Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Built of local fine-grain rough-cut granite on a cruciform plan, it seats a thousand people and was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by the Detroit firm Spier & Rohns. A statue of St. Thomas, ordered in Padua in 1927, sits in a niche high in the gable.
The first Mass in Ann Arbor was said in a private home on July 12, 1835, and Fr. Thomas Cullen bought land on East Kingsley Street in 1842, where the parish's first brick church was dedicated in 1845. Fr. Edward D. Kelly began raising funds in 1896 for the present church, dedicated in 1899 and completed in 1905. The parish also opened St. Thomas the Apostle School in 1868.
The parish's first Mass in Ann Arbor was said in a private home on July 12, 1835. Its parochial school, opened in 1868 in a former public school, marked its sesquicentennial in 2018. The parish also sponsored Ann Arbor's first hospital and two other Catholic parishes.
Visitors can attend mass services throughout the week at designated times, and the building is also available for quiet prayer and reflection. It is helpful to check ahead for current schedules and special services before planning a visit.
In 1927 the pastor Fr. Command travelled to the Vatican and, while visiting Padua, ordered a statue of St. Thomas. It was delivered and set in a niche high in the gable four years later, in 1931, where it can still be seen above the entrance.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,362 contributors worldwide.