Pope Francis has bestowed the title of “basilica” upon the historic National Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic Church in Royal Oak, making it only the second church in Michigan and one of 82 in the U.S. to carry the honorary designation.
The honor means the landmark Oakland County church, its facade marked by a mammoth sandstone tower and crucifix at Woodward and 12 Mile, will get a reconfigured name and have greater significance as a Catholic pilgrimage site. The designation also connotes a heightened relationship with the pope, so the parish will celebrate anniversaries related to the role of the papacy.
Its inaugural mass as a basilica will be celebrated on April 22, when Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron is to preside at a ceremony and reading of the papal decree of its new designation. It’s unclear how the church’s name will change to reflect the new honor. The only other such Catholic basilica in Michigan is the Basilica of St. Adalbert in Grand Rapids, which received the title in 1980 from Pope John Paul II.
The parish, which operates Shrine high school and elementary school, is being recognized for its robust parish life, which includes eight weekend masses, and its stature as a destination site with relics from various Catholic figures, including its namesake St. Therese of Lisieux. But generations ago, Shrine was known nationally because of its charismatic founding pastor, the Depression-era radio priest the Rev. Charles Coughlin, eventually silenced by the Vatican because of anti-Semitic broadcasts.
The National Shrine of the Little Flower Catholic Church in Royal Oak is named after a young French Carmelite nun, Therese of Lisieux, who was canonized a saint in 1925. The Royal Oak parish, founded in 1926, was one of the first parishes named after her.
St. Therese was born Therese Martin on Jan. 2, 1873. She entered the convent at 15 and died nine years later of tuberculosis. During her illness, she was asked to write about her life, her love of Jesus and her philosophy that one must do the little things right to get to Heaven. After she died, her writings were published and gained immediate popularity. In one book, she referred to herself as insignificant as one small flower in the garden nurtured by God. That’s how she became known as the Little Flower.
For the full article, see Patricia Montemurri and JC Reindl, “Pope Francis names Shrine of the Little Flower a basilica”, Detroit Free Press, February 1, 2015.