St. Leo Catholic Church, founded by Fr. Matthew Meathe in 1889, was notable at the time of its construction for being the largest church in the United States built entirely without interior pillars - ensuring an unobstructed view of the altar from anywhere in the sanctuary.

Architect Harry J. Rill designed the church after studying Paris’s Church of the Madeleine. While the Madeleine was longer, St. Leo's was designed to be wider. The result was a grand and open interior in the Italian Renaissance style, stretching 179 feet in length and 111 feet at the widest point of the transept.

The exterior reflects Spanish Renaissance influences and features two imposing towers. Constructed of pressed brick and stone, the church stands as a distinctive and elegant example of early 20th-century ecclesiastical architecture in Detroit.

Stained glass window descriptions from https://michiganstainedglass.org/

More on this building coming soon.