Our History

  • 1918 First SS. Cyril & Methodius Church erected on Heintz & Foster Streets in Detroit, Michigan.
  • 1918 August 7 – Father John Kovalsky appointed first resident pastor.
  • 1922 March 22 – Father Joseph Zalibera appointed pastor to succeed Father Kovalsky.
First Parish Church, Detroit 1922
  • 1923 April 19 – Property purchased for new church and school building at Centerline and Marcus Avenues.
  • 1923 August 15 – Slovak Dominican Sisters came to Detroit.
  • 1923 September 8 – Temporary parish school opened in old church building. First teachers: Sister Mary DeSales Zavodnik and Sister Mary Joseph Gazda.
  • 1925 April 19 – Groundbreaking for new church and school building.
  • 1925 November 29 – Blessing of cornerstone by Bishop Michael J. Gallagher.
  • 1926 May 9 – Opening of auditorium as first completed unit of new parish building.
  • 1926 November 1 – First Holy Mass held in auditorium.
  • 1926 November 2 – Opening of Elementary School in the new building with over 300 students enrolled.
  • 1927 May – Groundbreaking for first Motherhouse of Slovak Dominican Sisters at Van Dyke & 13 Mile Road in Warren, Michigan.
  • 1929 December 25 – First Holy Mass held in new SS. Cyril & Methodius Church proper (Midnight Mass).
Second Parish Church, Detroit 1955
  • 1936 June 5 – Father Zalibera petitioned Detroit City Council to change name of Centerline Avenue to Saint Cyril Avenue. The request was unanimously approved.
  • 1939 October – New and larger Motherhouse acquired by Dominican Sisters on Scott Lake in Pontiac (now Waterford) through the generosity of Edward Cardinal Mooney, Archbishop of Detroit.
  • 1943 November 21 – Silver Jubilee celebration of SS. Cyril & Methodius Church and consecration of marble altars by Edward Cardinal Mooney.
  • 1945 September – First unit of St. Cyril High School completed.
  • 1948 Acquisition of 800 acres for Dominican Sisters Motherhouse in Oxford, Michigan.
  • 1949 June 12 – First High School graduation with 36 students.
St. Cyril High Graduation
  • 1951 St. Cyril High School completed.
  • 1956 Father Zalibera celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination. In honor of his anniversary, the church was redecorated through the generosity of the parishioners.
Pastor Joseph Zalibera
  • 1957 November 6 – Groundbreaking for Dominican Sisters convent on church property.
  • 1959 September 27 – Blessing of convent by Bishop Henry Donnelly.
  • 1961 February – Due to failing health, Father Zalibera resigned from the parish. His retirement was spent at his home on the grounds of the Dominican Sisters in Oxford, Michigan. He served as pastor of SS. Cyril & Methodius Church for 39 years.
The Second Church
  • 1961 Father Andrew Forish appointed pastor to succeed Father Zalibera.
  • 1967 June – Father Joseph Nosal appointed pastor to succeed Father Forish.
  • 1969 SS. Cyril & Methodius welcomed Slovak refugees emigrating to the United States from the Communist regime of Czechoslovakia after the invasion by the armies of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.
  • 1971 February 28 – Father Elemír Mikuš, also a refugee, arrived at SS. Cyril & Methodius and was assigned as an assistant.
  • 1971 June – St. Cyril’s Elementary School and High School close.
  • 1977 Father Elemír Mikuš appointed pastor to succeed Father Nosal.
  • 1982 Property purchased at Ryan & 18 Mile Road in Sterling Heights for new church.
  • 1985 June 30 – Groundbreaking for new church.
  • 1987 Construction began on new church.
Bishop Patrick Cooney and Pastor Elemír Mikuš
  • 1988 July 17 – Blessing and laying of cornerstone by Bishop Patrick Cooney.
  • 1988 December 18 – Last Holy Mass held at SS. Cyril & Methodius Church in Detroit.
  • 1988 December 24 – First Holy Mass held in Slávik Social Hall of SS. Cyril & Methodius in Sterling Heights.
  • 1989 June 11 – Dedication of new SS. Cyril & Methodius Church.
Finished SS. Cyril and Methodius, Sterling Heights 1989
  • 1998 July 21 – Father Benjamín Kosnáč arrived in the U.S.A.
  • 1999 March – Father Mikuš retired and returned to Slovakia.
  • 1999 Father Kosnáč appointed parish administrator to succeed Father Mikuš.
  • 2007 Under Father Kosnáč’s leadership, parish grew offering 27 Holy Masses weekly and over 70 Ministries. Due to necessity, renovations began for Church expansion and adding new Parish Hall.
  • 2008 February 14 – First Holy Mass in renovated Church on the Feast Day of SS. Cyril & Methodius.
  • 2008 February 17 – Holy Mass of Benedition of renovated church by Cardinal Adam Maida of Detroit and Archbishop Ján Sokol of Trnava.
  • 2008 October – At the invitation of Bishop Ludovick Minde, Father Kosnáč visited Tanzania and accepted petition to adopt a Sister Parish.
  • 2010 July – First Mission Trip to Tanzania, Africa.
  • 2011 October 15 – Father Kosnáč, along with representatives from SS. Cyril & Methodius, traveled to Africa for the Consecration of Sister Parish, Holy Family, in the Archdiocese of Kahama, Tanzania.
  • 2012 June – Office Building southwest of the church is purchased to become the Parish Activity Center.
  • 2017 April – Father Kosnáč returned to Slovakia.
  • 2017 July 1 – Father Libor Marek appointed as parish administrator to succeed Father Kosnáč.
  • 2018 SS. Cyril & Methodius celebrates its 100th Anniversary as a Slovak Parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
  • 2018 November 18 – Father Libor Marek is installed as pastor of SS. Cyril & Methodius Parish by Archbishop Allen Henry Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit.