St. Mary Church in Wayne is the oldest Catholic parish in western Wayne County, founded in 1862.
Michigan Avenue continues its trek to the western edge of Wayne County through the community of Wayne. The first evidence of Catholic activity there dates back to the 1850s. Toward the end of that decade, a man named Jeremiah O’Connor opened a general store and permitted use of the building as a house of worship for nearby residents. In March 1862 the 45 families who made up the fledgling congregation petitioned Bishop Peter Paul Lefevere for their own church. The bishop, however, was not yet ready to create a parish in Wayne. Instead, he authorized the establishment of a mission to be called St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and placed it under the care of Father Edward Van Pammel, pastor of St. John Parish in Ypsilanti.