Father Marino Frascati

ID: 1634 | This file appears in: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (West)
Father Marino Frascati
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel became a territorial parish in 1966, even though a majority of the congregation's 600 families had at least one person of Italian descent. This change reflected a redefined understanding of ethnicity, as years of intermarriage and assimilation altered the character of the Italian community. This decision was also a response to changes in the urban environment. Postwar prosperity offered parishioners the opportunity to move from the city into the suburbs. The Diocese of Cleveland and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel encouraged those leaving to join the territorial church of their new neighborhood. Similarly, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel would become the territorial church for non-Italian Roman Catholics settling within their boundaries.

The changing face of a city deeply scarred by the effects of suburbanization altered Our Lady of Mt. Carmel's mission within the community. As a mass exodus of commerce and industry led to the deterioration of much of the City of Cleveland, the pastor and parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel were instrumental in revitalizing their neighborhood. Under the guidance of Father Marino Frascati, assigned to the church in 1957, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel aided in the rehabilitation of the Gordon Square Arcade, the construction of a high-rise for seniors called Villa Mercede, and the development of properties throughout the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. The church was a regular site for community meetings, and often facilitated conversations between unhappy residents and developers. Father Frascati was also one of the founding members of the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization. Following his death in 2009, the church has remained active in their efforts to redevelop the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.

Photograph courtesy of Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization
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"Father Marino Frascati" appears in: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (West)