Detroit, MI

Fire ravages former site of historic Detroit church

Published

7 months ago

June 3, 2025

Fire ravages former site of historic Detroit church

Detroit officials are investigating what sparked a fire that burned through a historic, century-old church building for more than four hours Tuesday.

The Detroit Fire Department received a call at 12:34 a.m. about a blaze at the site of the former St. Agnes Catholic Church, at the corner of Rosa Parks and LaSalle Gardens, said Corey McIsaac, the DFD director of media relations.

Within four minutes, the department was at the scene and Fire Chief David Nelson called a second alarm, activating more crews, McIsaac said.

While they managed to preserve the “structural integrity” of the vacant building, she added, its old rectory next door was rendered a total loss.

Due to the condition of the building, firefighters were not able to get inside, McIsaac said. “They did an awesome job, and due to their hard work and great work, they were able to preserve the structure of the church building.”

There were no injuries to residents or firefighters Tuesday night, according to the department.

The St. Agnes Catholic Church has long been considered a community landmark, drawing figures such as Mother Teresa, who visited the building twice, once in June 1979 and once June 1981, and established a convent for the Missionaries of Charity Sisters at 1969 LaSalle Gardens, according to the Archdiocese of Detroit.

The St. Agnes Parish was established in 1913 by Bishop John Foley and the spot celebrated its first Mass in 1914 in a frame house a few blocks away from the current site. Construction on the 1,500-seat site designed by the firm Van Leyen, Schilling, Keough & Reynolds started in May 1922, according to the archdiocese.

The church was blessed in June 1924 in a ceremony led by Bishop Michael J. Gallagher. St. Agnes Parish was closed in 1989 and the Martyrs of Uganda Parish was established at the site that year, the AOD said.

The Martyrs of Uganda Parish was closed in 2006, and the property was sold in 2009.

Holly Fournier, the AOD’s media and public relations manager, told The Detroit News: “The Archdiocese of Detroit has had no connection to the property since then and has no information about current ownership or plans for the site.”

In 2022, the Detroit City Planning Commission approved a recommendation to the City Council to approve a rezoning request to redevelop the 5-acre site, according to Historic Detroit.

afayad@detroitnews.com

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions running backs open up about life on and off the field

Published

10 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Lions running backs open up about life on and off the field

Detroit Lions fans get to sit back and watch running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery put on stellar performances to help lead the team’s offense. What fans don’t often see are the bonds and dynamics that hold the backfield group together. CBS News Detroit’s Rachel Hopmayer hung out with the group at Bronx Bar to shoot the breeze and play some pool.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Fire Department brings Christmas joy to family who lost everything in house fire

Published

22 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Fire Department brings Christmas joy to family who lost everything in house fire

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Christmas came early for a Detroit family of 10 after the Detroit Fire Department surprised them with a truck full of gifts, nearly a year after they lost their home and all belongings in a devastating fire.

On Jan. 6, Raychelle Womack and her family were living in their home on Santa Rosa Drive near Fullerton Street when it caught fire. All their possessions were destroyed in the blaze.

Watch Demetrios Sanders’ video report below:

Family’s Christmas saved after fire

“You try buying everything for a new baby and then you lose it all, on top of the other seven kids that you’ve got — that’s everything,” Womack said.

As the family continued recovering from the fire, questions remained about what Christmas could look like this year.

“Whatever we could make happen, that’s what we’re going to make happen,” Womack said.

WXYZ

That worry disappeared when the Detroit Fire Department and community partners visited the family’s new east side home with a truck full of Christmas gifts.

“To lose everything and then slowly but surely gain everything, it means a lot,” Womack said.

This marks the fourth year the Detroit Fire Department has brought Christmas cheer to families in need during the holidays.

“We know people lose everything in these fires, so if we can do anything to make their lives better, to make their lives easier, especially around the holiday season, we’re willing to do it,” said Chuck Simms, executive fire commissioner with the Detroit Fire Department.

Simms said the effort is driven by donations and brings joy not only to the families impacted but also to the first responders who participate.

“It’s just a great thing and nice thing for us to do,” Simms said.

With a Christmas tree now surrounded by gifts, Womack’s children are definitely looking forward to Christmas.

“It was nice and we appreciate it,” one child said.

For Womack, only one challenge remains.

“Now it’s making sure everything (gifts) stays closed until Christmas,” Womack said.

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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Detroit, MI

Near 500 saves, Kenley Jansen joins Detroit Tigers without closer role

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Near 500 saves, Kenley Jansen joins Detroit Tigers without closer role

Kenley Jansen is destined for the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The 38-year-old right-handed reliever is fourth on the all-time saves list, first on the active saves leaderboard, 24 saves away from the 500 milestone and just signed a one-year contract that guarantees $11 million.

But he hasn’t received the closer role from the Detroit Tigers for the 2026 season.

“Will we label Kenley the closer?” Tigers president baseball operations Scott Harris said Wednesday, Dec. 17, deferring to manager A.J. Hinch. “I don’t know. That’s going to be for A.J. to figure out. I’m just going to try to give him as many options as possible.”

Entering 2026, Jansen – a four-time All-Star in his 16-year MLB career – trails only three relievers on the saves list, all three of which are Hall of Famers: Lee Smith (478), Trevor Hoffman (601) and Mariano Rivera (652).

Before signing Jansen, the Tigers connected him with Hinch for an important phone call. For context, Hinch hasn’t named a full-time closer since left-hander Gregory Soto in 2021-22, instead favoring a bullpen that operates without defined roles.

Early signs suggest Jansen has already embraced the Tigers’ approach.

“From that conversation, we learned Kenley is all about winning,” Harris said of Jansen, who won the 2020 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. “He’s willing to pitch in any spot. He just wants to be in a winning environment. And he was really attracted to Detroit as a destination, which is a huge step forward for this organization.”

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With three more saves, Jansen will move into sole possession of third place.

He has secured at least four saves in each of his 16 seasons, along with 25 or more saves in each of the past 13 full seasons, not counting the coronavirus pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

“We liked a lot of things,” Harris said. “First of all, he’s one of the best to ever do it. I’ve admired him from afar – and up close for a few years. He brings a ton of success in the highest-leverage moments of games in the regular season and postseason.”

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In 2025, Jansen registered a 2.59 ERA with 19 walks and 57 strikeouts across 59 innings in 62 games for the Los Angeles Angels, racking up 29 saves in 30 opportunities.

His 8.1% walk rate ranked in the 46th percentile, while his 24.4% strikeout rate ranked in the 63rd percentile.

Many indicators foreshadow regression coming soon – most notably the lowest strikeout rate of his career, driven by his third-worst in-zone whiff rate and worst out-of-zone whiff rate over the past four seasons – but the Tigers believe in their future Hall of Fame reliever.

“The cutter still really plays,” Harris said. “He also has a two-seamer that misses bats, as well as a curveball. We think he’s going to miss plenty of bats for us. We think there are some things that we can do with sequencing and refining some of the shapes of his mix.”

The Tigers have pursued Jansen several times.

There was interest during the 2024-25 offseason, when he ultimately signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Angels, then at the 2025 trade deadline, when the Angels opted not to move him, and once again in the 2025-26 offseason, when the Tigers finally signed him to a one-year, $9 million contract, which includes a $12 million club option for 2027 (with a $2 million buyout).

“I’ve admired him from afar and up close,” Harris said.

With Jansen, the Tigers now feel confident using four relievers in save situations. The other three: right-hander Kyle Finnegan, right-hander Will Vest and left-hander Tyler Holton.

Of those four relievers, three of them produced more than 20 saves during the 2025 season, led by Jansen’s 29 and followed by Finnegan’s 24 and Vest’s 23.

“I think it was really important for us to add to the bullpen and be able to protect the leads that we know we’re going to get,” said Harris, who re-signed Finnegan on a two-year, $19 million contract earlier this month. “Whether we can find other opportunities to make our bullpen better, I’m not quite sure yet, but I like the bullpen as it is right now.”

For Jansen, his sights are set on reaching 500 saves.

It’s likely to happen in 2026.

But Jansen isn’t the Tigers’ closer.

Not yet.

“It’s going to be A.J.’s call on that,” Harris said.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon during the season and Tuesday afternoon during the offseason on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

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