St. Francis de Sales Church
43°11′59″N86°17′41″W / 43.1998°N 86.2946°W / 43.1998; -86.2946
Location	2929 McCracken St Norton Shores, Michigan
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Founded	1948
Architecture
Architect	Marcel Breuer
Years built	1950, 1964-66

St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Norton Shores, Michigan, USA. With a membership of about 1,300 households, it is the largest parish in the surrounding Muskegon area. ^[1] The parish's current building, noted for its hyperbolic paraboloid form and brutalist design, was designed by modernist architect Marcel Breuer and his associate Herbert Beckhard in 1964. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Contents

• History
• Gallery
• Works cited

History

St. Francis de Sales parish was founded in 1948. The church originally met in Ruddiman Terrace, a WWII-era federally constructed building. ^{[5] [1]} Two years later, the church moved to its first full building; the structure sat on McCracken Street, across the street from the current church. ^[6] The church's new building quickly proved inadequate for the parish's growing membership and by 1958 plans for another structure were underway. ^[3]

St. Francis de Sales commissioned modernist architect Marcel Breuer to design the structure in 1961; construction on the building began three years later in 1964. Given the structure's unconventional forms, contractors known for expertise in poured concrete were specifically selected for the project. ^{[1] [3]}

The first Mass in the new church was celebrated in December 1966 following the completion of the structure. ^[3]

In 1989 the parish executed a round of renovations that included the addition of south and main entrances and construction of Shepherds Hall, a social center. ^[1]

In 2011, former Rev. Philip Salmonowicz began a plan to renovate and expand the building; work began in 2016 and ended in 2018. The $2.5 million project included a number of adjustments to the original structure, including a plan to renovate the church's main entrance for increased accessibility and visibility. ^[6]

Gallery

Works cited