Historic, full-scale renovation of Detroit's oldest parish aims to restore church to its former glory, strengthen parish community
DETROIT — The historic restoration of the Basilica of Ste. Anne, Detroit's oldest parish, is officially under way.
Friends, supporters, benefactors, clergy and parishioners gathered June 10 for a blessing of the site by Msgr. Charles Kosanke, Ste. Anne's rector, who joined members of the Pulte family and The Catholic Initiative, the nonprofit spearheading the $55 million renovation effort, for a short ceremony in the basilica's plaza.
In July 2025, Ste. Anne entered into a historic partnership with The Catholic Initiative to completely restore the historic church, which was constructed in 1886, as well as the surrounding campus. The parish itself was founded in 1701, and is the second-oldest continually operating Catholic parish in the United States.
Msgr. Kosanke thanked longtime parishioners and supporters of the parish, in addition to the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, who financially support The Catholic Initiative, a nonprofit devoted to endowing and supporting sacred spaces and Catholic schools.
Msgr. Kosanke, who has served as Ste. Anne's pastor and rector since 2016, reflected on the past decade of progress at the parish, which was named a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2020.
On July 1, Msgr. Kosanke will be succeeded by Fr. Timothy Laboe as rector of Ste. Anne.
“The purpose of my coming here was to restore the church,” said Msgr. Kosanke, who next month will take on a new role as rector of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s other basilica, the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak. “Now, I didn’t know what that meant. But when I looked at (the examples of) St. Francis of Assisi, St. John Vianney and St. Vincent de Paul, to name three key people, that meant also renewing the community, which is more important than buildings, but the buildings are here to serve the community.”
At the time, Msgr. Kosanke and his pastoral team at Ste. Anne put together a master plan for the basilica, which included $26 million in needed renovations, but were unsure how they would raise the money.
“I was in daily prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, asking for guidance from the Lord,” Msgr. Kosanke said. “But every time I turned around, the door would not open because donors who could give me money said, ‘Well, what if you don’t raise it all? Then my donation goes down the drain.’”
Msgr. Kosanke continued praying before the Blessed Sacrament, when suddenly Mark Pulte, son of the late Michigan-based homebuilder, philanthropist and supporter of Catholic projects William J. Pulte, came to mind.
“I knew his dad, and I knew a couple of his brothers, but I didn’t know Mark at the time,” Msgr. Kosanke said. “But I arranged to meet with him and talked about the situation, and he said, ‘I think I can help.’”
The result ended up being a unique partnership between the Archdiocese of Detroit and The Catholic Initiative, which agreed to spearhead a $55 million effort to restore the building and surrounding campus, as well as establish a permanent endowment to support Ste. Anne's long-term sustainability.
“Ste. Anne has stood as a beacon of faith, hope and perseverance in Detroit for generations,” said Mark Pulte, co-founder and chairman of The Catholic Initiative. “Through this restoration, we are not only preserving a remarkable cultural building but investing in a sacred place that will continue to serve families, welcome visitors and strengthen the community for decades to come.”
Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, who could not attend the blessing because of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., expressed his gratitude for the project, saying it will benefit the thriving Catholic community for generations to come.
"Ste. Anne has been a treasured part of the Catholic presence in Detroit for more than 300 years," Archbishop Weisenburger said in a statement. "This restoration is an investment not only in an historic church, but in an active parish community that continues to worship, serve, and welcome people from across southwest Detroit and beyond. We are grateful to all who are helping make this vision a reality."
The June 10 blessing marked the formal beginning of the renovation project, which will include restored stained-glass windows, stonework, doors, lighting, plaster, paint and more, as well as campus enhancements such as a new outdoor pavilion, walkways, landscaping, parking and an outdoor prayer wall. Upgrades and structural enhancements are also planned for the parish hall, wellness center and adjacent buildings.
The project will preserve and restore the historic beauty and architectural integrity of the buildings while incorporating modern improvements, including new plumbing and electrical systems, enhanced accessibility, and air conditioning.
A first phase of the basilica's restoration, which included roof and bell tower repairs, was completed in 2023.
With The Catholic Initiative's support, work on the next phase of the restoration has been under way since November 2025.
Already, interior scaffolding has been erected inside the church, and the pews have been removed for a complete restoration. The Christman Company, a Lansing-based construction company, has been hired to do the restoration project, which will include every aspect of the interior of the 1886-built church.
“If you point to anything you see in the church, it is going to be restored,” Austin Giesey, senior project manager for The Christman Company, told Detroit Catholic. “So everything on campus, from the facade to the infrastructure underneath the ground to the stained-glass windows to the use of the rectory, everything is going to be touched and restored with new purpose and life.”
The Christman Company is targeting Christmas of 2027 for the project’s completion.
As the restoration is under way, the Ste. Anne parish community has been meeting at nearby Most Holy Trinity Church for Mass, and will continue to do so until the project is completed.
Bob Wayner, a parishioner at Ste. Anne who has been a member of the community for 50 years, described The Catholic Initiative’s investment in the parish as “amazing.”
“I’ve been here for 50 years, so through the ups and downs of the neighborhood, the city and everything else, and I’ve just been in love with this place. It’s gorgeous,” Wayner said. “Seeing it restored like this, for all of us parishioners, is a miracle for us. It’s not just a museum; it’s a living home where people come and go — children, grandparents, families — and it’s in our history.”
Wayner can’t wait until Christmas 2027, when he and his family will once again partake in the Holy Sacrifice in the Mass in a Ste. Anne’s restored to all her former glory.
“If I’m not mistaken, historically, I think the first Mass said here was a Christmas Mass, back in 1887,” Wayner said. “So that would be like reliving history again. We haven’t seen our home, and to be there on a holiday again, oh my gosh, we’d be ecstatic.”
Michael McLaughlin, chief inspiration officer for The Catholic Initiative, said the project was made possible by the first-of-its-kind, Vatican-approved arrangement between the Archdiocese of Detroit and the nonprofit, which purchased the basilica on the condition that it’s exclusively and perpetually leased back to the parish.
“We were blessed to get Vatican approval to complete an immediate lease-back agreement,” McLaughlin said. “So, we are the asset manager and holder of the real estate of this beautiful campus of Ste. Anne’s. We are responsible, from a capital and fundraising perspective, for this project. We work in tandem with Msgr. Chuck, and now Fr. Tim (Laboe), the pastor coming on board, so they can minister to their flock and we can focus on restoration and the endowment and the community hub that supports this parish.”
The Catholic Initiative’s mission is to serve Catholic parishes and schools that are “high in faith and low funded,” as McLaughlin put it, and hope is that the story of Ste. Anne de Detroit — the second-oldest continuously operating parish in the country — captures the imagination and generosity of donors all over the country.
The story of Ste. Anne’s — from a French settlement to a thriving Detroit parish that today serves a large Hispanic congregation — is a “powerful story” that resonates through the generations, McLaughlin said.
“It’s an incredible story to tell, the second-oldest operating parish in the United States,” McLaughlin said. “It’s reflective of thousands of other churches in the United States, where the Catholic population is so international. Now it’s a thriving parish with a Latino population. We’re looking for a way to support this parish for another 200 years.”
