St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church was established in 1961 in Warren, Michigan to meet the needs of the growing Ukrainian population in southeast Michigan. The church is named for Saint Josaphat Kuncevich (who was canonized a saint by Pope Pius IX in 1867 and he was declared by Pope Pius XI a heavenly Patron of Reunion between Orthodox and Catholics in 1923). St. Josaphat Parish is a Byzantine Rite Catholic Church that is ministered by Basilian Fathers from the Order of St. Basil the Great.
Construction of St. Josaphat Church was completed on site in 1965. The church is octagonal in shape and has two beautiful stained glass windows which are 17 feet high by 21 feet wide. The west window depicts the history of the Catholic Church, the east window the history of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
A rectory and office were added on in 1979 along with an expansion of the original social hall. The interior of the church is adorned with an iconostas (a self-standing wooden screen of icons that serves as a boundary between the nave and the altar). Icons are known to be the most important genres in Byzantine art – image of Christ, the Virgin or a saint used as an object of veneration in churches and homes.
On the wall behind the altar is a large mural of St. Josaphat. On each side of the mural is a relief sculpture depicting the Last Supper and teachings of Christ.
