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Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament

Apostolic Center of Arts and Culture

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Home Music Organs

Organs

Organ pipes soar up toward the ceiling.

Blessed Sacrament is a great enough church to house two pipe organs. The original organ is a 1925, 3 manual, 50 rank Casavant Frères. This instrument is the work of the famed French Canadian builder Casavant Frères in St. Hyacinth, Quebec. Frederic Fisher, of the famed automotive family, donated it to the church in 1925.

Its 55 stops of more than 3,500 individual pipes are hidden in chambers behind the stone walls of the choir loft. With warm voicing, thick expression shades, and broad scaling, this instrument particularly shines when accompanying chant or playing compositions of the Romantic era.

“In the Latin Church, the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument that adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up the spirit to God and to higher things.”

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, V. 120

While the console has been renovated and updated with solid state memory, the pipework and action is to original specification. Casavant restored the reeds and mixtures using the original specifications in 2010.

1925 III/50 Casavant Specifications

The Cathedral’s second organ was made in the United States. The Austin Organ was built in Hartford, Connecticut. This instrument serves as a foil to the Casavant, its brilliant choruses thundering down the central axis of the apse.

The Austin Organ has 1,745 pipes and is composed of 32 stops capable of producing a large variety of tonal colors. The largest speaking pipe is about 23 feet long and the smallest about the size of an ordinary lead pencil. Both consoles have a blind general system, allowing the organist to play both organs simultaneously at one console.

2003 II/29 Austin Specifications

Together, these two instruments allow church musicians to convincingly play sacred music from many different musical eras. Rich and sonorous each in their own unique ways, the organs of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral fill its worship space with power and majesty.

“During prayer, we make a sort of ascent toward the divine light, and together we experience a descent of God who adapts to our limits to listen to us and talk to us … The highest music is that which rises from our hearts. It is precisely this harmony that God waits to hear in our liturgies.”

Pope John Paul II

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Cathedral Mass Times

Our current Mass schedule is:

Sundays: 11 AM in person and livestreamed.

All* Other Days: 8 AM in person and livestreamed.

Typically, non-Sunday Holy Day Masses are held at 8 AM. Any additional Masses will be listed under Upcoming Events.

Exposition on First Fridays and Second Thursdays after 8 AM Mass.

*High holy days and ordinations will cause exceptions.

Cathedral Hours

Current office hours are:

Sunday:  office closed

Monday: 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Wednesday: office closed

Thursday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Friday: 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Saturday: 9:00 AM – 12:00 Noon

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  9844 Woodward Avenue Detroit, MI 48202
  (313) 865-6300
 cathedral@aod.org

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Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
9844 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, Michigan 48202
(313) 865-6300


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