DETROIT — “St. Regis is a wonderful community — both the church and the school,” said Msgr. Charles Kosanke, the 50-year-old Bloomfield Hills parish’s pastor for going on a year.

“The people are really committed to making this a good parish into the future,” he said.

St. Regis Parish Location: 3695 Lincoln Road, Bloomfield Hills 48301 Phone: (248) 646-2686 Founded: 1962 (as parish; founded as mission in 1959) Families: 1,400 Current pastor: Msgr. Charles Kosanke Founding pastor: Fr. Thomas F. Shields Ministries and area involvement: Ushers Club and Altar Society, youth group, three Bible study groups, Christian service outreach, participates in South Oakland Shelter, support for Mother & Unborn Baby Care, Knights of Columbus council, religious education for children and adults, parish elementary school.

The parish elementary school offers “a high-quality education” for nearly 500 students, and about 200 children are in religious education, he said.

Msgr. Kosanke said the parish has an “exemplary” adult education program that occasionally brings in speakers, plus an active RCIA program.

He also expressed pride in the parish’s Christian service outreach efforts. “Our parishioners are pretty generous to people in need,” he said.

Looking forward to the Year of Faith — which Pope Benedict XVI has declared from Oct. 11 this year through Nov. 24, 2013 — Msgr. Kosanke said, “We’ll be having a speaker series on the 50th anniversary of the Vatican Council, plus we’ll also be doing various evangelistic activities.”

Among those efforts will be a “Theology on Tap” informal faith discussion series.

Archbishop Allen Vigneron helped the parish celebrate its golden anniversary June 17 as principal celebrant for its 50th anniversary Mass.

Although erected as a formal parish 50 years ago, St. Regis got its start a few years earlier, as a mission of Holy Name Parish, Birmingham. Msgr. Eugene Paddock celebrated its first Mass on Sept. 13, 1959.

As with many a Catholic parish through the years, construction of the church came after the building of the parish school.
Cardinal John Dearden dedicated the newly built St. Regis Church on April 27, 1968.