History of St. Michael’s Church
St. Michael Roman Catholic Church in Flint, Michigan, has had a long history dating back almost two centuries. The church has seen three buildings constructed on the same site to accommodate its growing congregation, with the current building completed in 1966. St. Michael's served as the mother church for other Catholic parishes in the region. It was the only Catholic church in the area for over 25 years and is still called the “Irish church” by residents. The church closed its doors for regular services in 2021, with the building being repurposed as a conference center by Catholic Charities.
In 1834 Daniel O’Sullivan, a teacher from Ireland, moved to Flint and began teaching religion to students after school. With a total of five Irish Catholic families holding prayer services in the area. Daniel O’Sullivan and two traveling priests convinced Bishop Leferve to build a church in Flint. In 1843 the priest arrived and established St. Michael Roman Catholic Church. The Church was built on land donated by Chauncey S. Payne at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Saginaw Street. In 1848 the first parish was completed and served the community for nearly 40 years.
As the population of Flint grew, so did the needs of the church. When this church became too small, the parish built its second church in 1883 under the leadership of Father Timothy J. Murphy. In 1924 a fire destroyed the sanctuary of the church. Monsignor Patrick Dunigan had it rebuilt the same year. Monsignor Earl V. Sheridan led the construction of the third church in 1964, and it was dedicated in 1966.
Father Charles DeCeuninck, the third pastor of St. Michael, organized the parish’s first school in 1856. The first permanent school building was completed in 1872. In 1877 the sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary began staffing the school. The rectory became their convent. The parish built a new school in 1928, and a new rectory in 1938. A new convent for the Sisters was completed in 1950 and the school was enlarged in 1954.
In 1940 the Franciscan Sisters came to Flint and were given the Holy Angels Convent, on the St. Michael property. In 1970 the school merged with other area Catholic Schools and the convent belonging to the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary became a Parish Religion Education Center.
In 2017, St Michael’s was merged with St. John Vianney Parish, and the St. Michaels Catholic school was demolished. In 2019 the decision was made to sell the church, leaving the fate of Flint’s oldest Catholic Church unclear. In February 2021 Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties announced the purchase of St. Michael Catholic Church. Father Thomas Firestone, Catholic Charities board member and pastor of Catholic Community of Flint is quoted ““We are very pleased that St. Michaels will join the Catholic Charities Campus as the site moves into a new era!”
Bishop Boyea presided at the closing Mass for St. Michael’s Church on Thursday, June 3rd at 5:00 p.m. and marked the church’s official closing. It was a concelebrated Mass and many of the priests who have connections to St. Michaels were present. Catholic Charities repurposed the building as a conference center, with a chapel still used for Thursday masses. The chapel means the Blessed Sacrament will remain in the place where our Catholic faith began in this region.
Mass is still celebrated every Thursday at 12:10pm in the St. Michaels’s Chapel.
