8423 South Street
Holy Cross Hungarian Roman Catholic Church
In the 1930s, when Delray’s population was at its height, the neighborhood had more stunning churches than you could count. Today, only a few remain. Many consider Holy Cross to be the crown jewel of Delray—not only because it’s a handsome structure—but because it has done something most other parishes couldn’t. It’s still open.
Holy Cross Catholic Church was founded in May of 1905 to unite the rising number of Catholic Hungarians in the area. Delray’s population was booming, so shortly after their first building was completed in 1906, the congregation needed more space.
On November 23, 1924, the cornerstone for the building pictured was laid. The Detroit Free Press expected that 5,000 citizens of Delray and greater Detroit would be in attendance for the parade. Father Louis Kovacs was the reverend then, and the church was expected to cost as much as $250,000, or over $4 million today.
The twin-spired church was designed by Henrik Kohner and opened on September 20, 1925. Father Kocavs would pass away two years later, but the church he built would chug on.
The stained glass windows were added in the 1930s, and the church was continuously improved in the decades after it first opened. With a healthy parishioner population, it wasn’t hard.
If you were to describe the good times in Delray as ‘slowing down’ in the 1960s and 1970s, they hit a brick wall by the 1980s. The school was closed by the mid-70s, and the neighborhood was a shell of its former self by the 1980s. It was a rough-and-tumble town, and crime was an issue for those who remained.
In January 1987, two priests at Holy Cross were attacked and robbed. An unknown man broke in through a window of the rectory and assaulted the priests before taking items and fleeing. The man, later identified as Douglas Howard Cohen, was charged for the incident.
Holy Cross has been a place for the community to meet through the good and the bad. In February 1988, Michigan’s Hazardous Waste Facility Site Review Board hosted meetings at the church to hear what the public had to say about a potential hazardous waste storage and treatment facility being built down the road at 312 West End.
Despite the outcry of residents, the facility ended up being approved by the city and state. The company was owned by Meridian Environmental Services and was also used as a recycling facility throughout the 1990s. Today, it’s home to a Universal Logistics truck lot.
Many churches in Detroit folded in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Even in neighborhoods with denser populations, congregations sold their buildings, knocked them down, or abandoned them. By this time, Delray was as close to an industrial wasteland as any neighborhood in Detroit had ever seen. Through everything, Holy Cross remained open.
In 2000, the church building celebrated its 75th anniversary. In 2005, the congregation held 100th-anniversary celebrations. In two years, the structure will be 100 years old.
Although the congregation isn’t as large as it once was, there are still multiple masses per week, and the parish honors its Hungarian heritage. A few times a year, there’s a bake sale, and Hungarian treats and goods are available. Kalacs are the hot ticket item, which is sweet bread.
Holy Cross has been an essential part of Detroit’s history for over a century, and this structure is an unmistakable landmark of southwest Detroit. Hopefully, it will be for another 100 years.
