In The Beginning Part II

The completion of this church represented 15 1/2 actual working days, which was an unparalleled record in the establishment of a new parish, even in dynamic Detroit. The building was erected only for temporary use. The people who petitioned for the establishment of the parish had assured Bishop Gallagher that it would be only a question of time when they would erect one of the most beautiful churches and schools in the diocese of Detroit.

Bishop Gallagher blessed the church and midnight Mass was celebrated there on Christmas Eve 1920. Other Masses were celebrated at 8:00 and at 10:30 Christmas morning.

Father Gannas received congratulations not only for the record of a remarkable achievement due to the rapidity with which the work was completed and the church ready for occupancy, but also for having charge of a congregation able to erect so fitting a monument to its zeal and desire to worship within the walls of its own church at Christmas.

Sunday, February 20, 1921, Bishop Michael J. Gallagher, attended by ten of his clergy from neighborhood parishes, paid an official visit to the parish and blessed the bell which had just been installed. The ceremony was simple, consisting of anointing the bell with holy oil after which Father Alexander Grudzinski, pastor of St. Francis Church, preached the sermon. Benediction followed.

On May 9, 1923, Father Stephen Trepczynski, then pastor of St. Michael's in Port Austin, was appointed to succeed Father Gannas. The newly appointed pastor was faced with a rapidly increasing number of pupils; therefore, the construction of a new school was a necessity. Twenty four classrooms served the needs for teaching purposes while the basement was established as a temporary church. Upon completion of the school, the building of the rectory begun.

The new St. Andrew School was solemnly blessed by Bishop Gallagher on September 19, 1926. Twenty-five priests were present to assist the bishop on that great occasion in the presence of some 5,000 people. Both Bishop Gallagher and Father Joseph Lempka, then pastor of St. Stanislaus Church in Detroit, spoke at the ceremonies.

With the beginning of the school year, 130 new families joined the parish and the enrollment in the school rose to 1,764 pupils. Fourteen Sisters and six lay teachers constituted the faculty. On March 17, the ground breaking for the convent took place and by August 31, 1930, the convent was completed.

The number of pupils gradually decreased so that by 1940, 984 pupils were enrolled in the elementary school when the first class in the high school was organized. Forty-eight students enrolled as freshmen at St. Andrew High School. Four years later, June 11, 1944, the first graduating class of 21 students was a reality. On June 19, 1944, the high school received its accreditation.