$10 Million Proposal for Assumption Church Falls Through

Friends, 

You may have already read that the $10 million proposal for Assumption Church has fell through. This is very disappointing news. 

Here are some news sources that further explain the unfortunate situation: 

Fate of Assumption Uncertain

Donation Falls Through for Assumption Church

Whether you are a Catholic or not, we can all agree that Assumption Church is an historical landmark in the west-end. Anne Jarvis from the Windsor Star said it best in her column back in November, 2014: 

"This transcends religion. You don’t have to be Catholic. You don’t even have to be Christian. And it’s about more than saving a building. This is about preserving one of the foundations of this community...The history of Assumption can be traced all the way back to the founding of Detroit in 1701, when Cadillac invited aboriginal people to live near the fort. They responded, asking for a mission – what became The Mission of Our Lady of the Assumption.

The parish began in 1728 as a mission for the Hurons. The land for the current church was donated by the Hurons; Huron Church Road was named for it. It also came to minister to the French-Canadians who settled the area. It became the centre of life in Sandwich, the first permanent European settlement west of Montreal. It witnessed the fur trade, the Loyalists, the War of 1812, in short, the history of Canada.

Assumption is the parish’s fourth church, finished in 1845. It’s absolutely majestic, Gothic Revival with buttresses, turrets, a graceful spire, beautiful stained glass windows and bronze doors. The vaulted ceiling is adorned with carved angels, the floor with crosses and fleur-de-lis. The pulpit dates to 1793, a painting of the stations of the cross from 1883. The stone altar was imported from France; the communion rail is Italian marble.

It is breathtakingly lovely, and it is the history of Windsor.

There is no other building more important."

The full column is here: No Building is More Important Than This One

If you have facebook, please join this page: Operation Basilica - this is a committed group working hard to save Assumption Church. They can be contacted at operationbasilica@gmail.com. I encourage you to join their cause if you too feel that we need to preserve this Church. 

Lastly, I further encourage you to email Bishop Fabbro and tell him how important the Church is to the west-end and to our region. His email is bishop@dol.ca 

We cannot sit idle and let this significant piece of history be lost in our community. We have no choice but to work together and fight to save this historical gem. 

Fabio