About St. Colman of Cloyne Parish in Farmington Hills, Michigan
St. Colman of Cloyne
St. Colman of Cloyne, son of Lenin, was born in Munster, Ireland, in 522. He was a poet of great skill and became the royal bard (chronicler and genealogist) at Cashel. the ancient stronghold of the kings of Munster.
When St. Brendan came to Cashel to help in a succession dispute, Colman helped discover the grave and relics of St. Ailbhe. Brendan therefore baptized Colman at the age of 50.
Later, Colman was ordained a priest and was granted land for a church at Cloyne in eastern Cork (see map). He became Cloyne's first bishop. It is said that Colman taught the young St. Columba to read.
St. Colman died in 610 at the age of 78 and his Feast day is November 24th.
History of the Parish
St. Colman's parish was established in December 1960 with a congregation of from 70 to 90 families. Ground-breaking ceremonies took place that month with a final dedication by John Cardinal Dearden on September 9, 1961. The first Mass was celebrated by our founding pastor, Father Edward Konopka, on Christmas day, 1961. He presided over the growth of the parish until his transfer in August, 1966.
The pastors who followed him, Father Robert Kilcoyne, Father Gerald K. Flannery and Father Gerald K. Flanigan, initiated and oversaw many changes to the structure of the church to accommodate changes in the liturgy and to meet the requirements of the growing number of parishioners.
Father Norbert Kendzierski continues the work as our current pastor
