36800 Schoolcraft Road
Livonia, MI 48150-1172
(734) 591-1730
History of the Convent
In 1882, the motherhouse for the first American province of the Felician Sisters was transferred from Polonia, WI to Detroit, MI. By 1926, the sisters had purchased 320 acres of rural, sparsely-populated land in Livonia, MI. Originally a farm, this one-square-mile property evolved into a campus that includes hospice and nursing care, child care, a hospital and a university, in addition to the motherhouse. Constructed during the Great Depression, the convent features a northern Italian monastic style, with light pink brick walls, limestone trim and coral tile roofs. Large arched cloister windows overlook the garden and surrounding woods, reflecting Franciscan spirituality. While the convent was completed in 1936, the chapel was not finished until 1961. Built in the shape of a calvary cross, the chapel features spectacular stained glass, a main double altar of Moroccan onyx marble and a windowed dome that rises directly above the center sanctuary.
