St. Mary Our Lady of the Snows takes its name from an early church legend of a miraculous summer snow on a hill in Rome attributed as a sign from the Blessed Mother. The church that was built on that hill has been restored, refurbished, and expanded many times over the ensuing centuries. Today it is the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, the seat of devotion to Our Lady in the Catholic Church. The feast day of August 5, once called the Feast of Our Lady of the Snows, was recently changed to the Feast of The Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The legend is still commemorated each August 5 at the Basilica by dropping white rose petals from the dome during the celebration of Mass and Vespers to commemorate the falling summer snow. The reason our parish chose the name “Our Lady of the Snows” has for now been lost to history. Whatever the reason may have been, here at St. Mary Our Lady of the Snows in Milford, Michigan, we honor the Virgin Mary, and ask for her intercession on our behalf as we pray to her son, our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

The first Catholics arrived in the Milford area in the early 1840s, just a few years after Michigan achieved statehood.  Ten families fleeing from famine in Ireland settled in the Milford area, bringing their Roman Catholic faith with them.  These families initially traveled to Dublin Chapel in Union Lake for Mass. In 1851, St. Vincent de Paul Church was established in Pontiac, and for the next 39 years, Priests from the parish ministered to the faithful of Milford.

It was not until October 11, 1863 that the first Catholic Mass was celebrated in Milford, on the upper floor of Morrison’s General Store at Commerce and Main Street.  The early Catholics of the area gathered at the Morrison’s home at 320 West Commerce Road, just west of Main Street, for services presided over by visiting Priests. 

In 1870, a white frame New England style church was constructed on what would become known as “Catholic Hill”, at the height of Summit Street at First Street, on the current site of St. Mary’s Cemetery.  It would be dedicated on November 13 and would be the place of Catholic worship in Milford for the next 37 years.  For 20 years after construction of the church building, the Catholics of Milford continued to be missioned by Fathers Wicart and Baumgartner of St. Vincent. By 1889, the parish had grown to 40 families.

St. Mary Becomes a Parish (1890)

It had been nearly 50 years since the first Catholics came to worship in Milford when Father James Hally was appointed resident pastor in January 1890, and St. Mary was officially established as a parish. Father Hally was succeeded by Father George Clarson in 1895, and Father Thomas Lee in 1901. In 1902, Father Hally’s brother Thomas succeeded Father Lee as Pastor, and St. Mary began its next phase of parish existence, as a contract was signed in June 1903 for the construction of a new church at East Commerce and Hickory Street. 

Under the leadership of Father Thomas Hally, funds were raised and construction of the new church commenced. On July 7, 1907, Detroit Bishop John Foley presided at the Solemn High Mass of Dedication of the new Stone Church. The Parish’s founding Pastor, Fr. James Hally, preached the sermon.

Father John Dowdle became Pastor of St. Mary in 1911. During World War I, Fr. Dowdle spoke throughout southern Michigan to raise money and support for the Red Cross.

In 1915, St. Joseph in South Lyon became a missionary responsibility of St. Mary. For the next 50 years, Pastors of St. Mary would serve St. Joseph until it became a parish of its own in 1965. St. Mary missionary responsibilities extended to St. Rita in Holly in 1926.

Father Dolan was appointed Pastor in 1929, and led the parish in the construction of the fieldstone rectory on East Commerce, just west of the Church. It was completed, though not totally paid for, before the Great Depression set in with the stock market crash in October. Father Dominic Foley succeeded Father Dolan in 1938. After paying off the remaining debt from the rectory, the Stone Church underwent a series of renovations, including interior stone work.

The Franciscan Sisters of Atonement began making a weekly trip to Milford in 1947 for one day of religious instruction to the children of our community. In 1949, the Sisters moved to Milford, and the house behind the Stone Church became the Convent. Their outreach extended to visiting the sick and social work in the parish setting.

In 1952, Father Foley was succeeded by Father Richard Haney; he was followed by Father Lawrence Edwards in 1959. It was during this time that the people of St. Mary began the process of raising funds for a Catholic School, which would never be built!

In June 1964, Father Thomas Meagher was ordained a Priest, and celebrated his first mass at St. Mary. Father Meagher grew up as a parishioner of St. Mary and would eventually become Pastor of our neighboring parish, St. Patrick Church in Union Lake.

Father Elmer Mahoney succeeded Father Edwards as Pastor of St. Mary’s in 1965. By now, the parish had outgrown the 60-year-old Stone Church. During summer, church services would overflow into the streets with the arrival of vacationers and visitors from the city. The parish was once again ready to build a new, expanded church to accommodate the growing Catholic community of Milford. 

Beginning Our Second Century of Evangelization

Over the last 25 years, our faith community has been active in evangelization through worship, catechizing our youth and adult faithful, and reaching out to our community with a helping hand for the sick and less fortunate.

Our Choir arranged a trip to Rome, an audience with Pope John Paul II, and performed at a Papal Mass in 1996 at St. Peter’s. Deacon Archie Noon served as a Chaplain to the athletes at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. After a lengthy fundraising effort, a new church organ was purchased and installed in 2005, elevating the quality of musical arrangements for years to come. Mark Eckel created the unique massive portrait of the face of Jesus in 2011 that has become an important part of the Christian Art located throughout our Church. 2013 was a year of retirements and change as Father Ron Anderson and Father Manny Chircop stepped down from their positions. Monsignor John Budde became the 14th Pastor of St. Mary.

In 1991, Vacation Bible School, a week long camp of Bible Stories, games and friendship, was held at St. Mary for the first time. The Men’s Fellowship group held their first meeting in 2004, and have since been bringing prominent Christian men to share their journeys in faith. The Alpha experience was brought to St. Mary beginning in the fall of 2014, bringing participants closer to Jesus Christ, and in the process, closer to one another. Throughout the last 25 years, thousands of youth received Catholic instruction through our Catechism program, and hundreds of adults were brought into full Communion with the Catholic Faith through our RCIA program.

Our parish community formed an Outreach Committee and began tithing Sunday collections in 1992 for distribution to various local, national and international charities and programs. St. Mary parishioners went on a series of Mission trips to Honduras from 1995-99, taking the good news of Jesus Christ into a world so desperately in need. The St. Mary Backpack Program began in 2003 to ensure that area children in need had the supplies needed to begin school. St. Mary teens embarked on their first Mission trip in 2008, and touched the lives of those less fortunate in the Appalachian region. St. Mary parishioners began to travel to the Hope Warming Center in 2010 to serve hot meals to the homeless of Pontiac.

Our 125th Anniversary was celebrated throughout 2015, highlighted by various history themed activities, including an Art Show by our parish youth, an Outdoor Mass & Picnic, and a new Parish pictorial. The year of celebration concluded with a Mass presided by Archbishop Allen Vigneron and a Dinner Dance.