pastor of Detroit's Saint Francis of Assisi Parish. When Father Byzewski rejoined the Franciscan Order in 1899, he was succeeded by the assistant, Rev. Joseph Folta, who served as pastor until 1919. Father Folta built a second school, constructed a permanent rectory, and built an ornamental fence about the church. Folta was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Casimir Plagens, who served at Sweetest Heart from 1919 until 1935, and later became Bishop of Marquette and then Bishop of Grand Rapids. Plagens added embellishments to the church interior and built a permanent convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph, who staffed the parish school. During Father Plagens's tenure, the parish flourished. The church school was filled with almost 1,500 pupils, and the church was the social as well as spiritual center of the community. Over time, with shifting demographics, membership waned. This trend accelerated through the tenures of the next three pastors: Monsignor Michael Grupa (1935 to 1949), Rev. Adam Koprowski (1949 to 1959), and Rev. Boguslaus Poznański (1959 to 1976). During the 1960s and early 1970s the congregation numbers fell. In 1976, Rev. Bohdan Kosicki joined Sweetest Heart, began a building restoration, and implemented a plan which revived church membership. He reached out and established ties to earlier parishioners, raising funds for the restoration. Sweetest Heart of Mary was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It received state historic designation in 1974, and city of Detroit designation in 1981. A state of Michigan historical marker was also erected in 1981. The stained glass windows and organ were restored, and much of the main altar was renovated. In addition, the convent and fencing were restored, the second school building was demolished, and the historic old school building was stabilized. Kosicki's work was carried on through the tenure of Rev. Alphons Gorecki, who served from 1981 through 2002. Other work included refurbishing the interior, repairing plasterwork and statues, and upgrading electrical wiring. From 2002 until early 2010, Fr. Mark A. Borkowski was pastor and continued the restoration and revival of Sweetest Heart of Mary. During this period the Annual Pierogi Festival greatly expanded to become the largest religious festival in the City of Detroit. July 1, 2011, Fr. Darrell Roman became the new administrator in addition to being administrator for the other two churches in the cluster, St. Joseph and St. Josaphat. Architecture In 1890, construction began on "what