Jesuit Influence in MI

Guided by the motto Ad Majórem Dei Glóriam (AMDG), "For the Greater Glory of God", the Jesuits have long been committed to missionary work and education. Sault Ste. Marie, established as a Jesuit mission in 1668 by Fr. Claude Dablon, SJ, is the oldest European-founded city in Michigan. Shortly thereafter, Fr. Jacques Marquette, SJ established the Mission of St. Ignace. From here he began his famous voyage, along with Louis Jolliet, and was the first to chart and map the Mississippi River.

In 1701, when Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac established Detroit, he had bitter disagreements with Jesuits over the sale of alcohol to the indigenous population, and he soon barred them from the settlement. Jesuit missions continued at Mackinac, the Sault, and Fort St. Joseph. Father Claude Allouez, SJ explored and charted Lake Superior and the surrounding regions, and Fr. Francis Xavier Charlevoix, SJ created many maps of the Great Lakes, North America, and the Caribbean.

For a host of religious and political reason, Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Jesuit order in 1773, and by 1800 the Jesuits in French Canada ceased to exist. On the East Coast former Jesuits continued their ministries, even founding Georgetown University. Pope Pius VII restored the Jesuit order in 1814, and Jesuits once again returned to Michigan. In 1877 they founded Detroit College, today known as University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy which remains a cornerstone of Jesuit education in Detroit.