St. Joseph's Mission

Here, in 1837, in the then-flourishing settlement of Bertrand, a fine brick church, dedicated to St. Joseph, was built to serve the Catholics of this area. In this church, on September 4, 1844, the habit of the Sisters of the Holy Cross was given for the first time in America. Those who received the habit were Sister Mary of the Holy Cross, Sister Mary of the Nativity, and Sister Mary of Mount Carmel. The sisterhood opened a school this same year in a dwelling which still stands a thousand feet to the north. This mission in the Detroit diocese was directed by the Reverend Edward Sorin, C. S. C., founder of the University of Notre Dame. In 1911 the church was torn down. Madeline Bertrand, wife of the town’s founder, is among those buried in this historic cemetery.