A designated national shrine, the church building is well-known for its execution in the lavish zig-zag Art Deco style.

The sanctuary, at 2100 West Twelve Mile Road at the northeast corner of Woodward Avenue, is a parish of the Archdiocese of Detroit.

[1] Named in honor of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux (who was known as "the Little Flower"), the church was first built in 1926 in a largely Protestant area.

[7][8] A dramatic limestone Art Deco tower called the Charity Crucifixion Tower, completed in 1931, features integrated figural sculptures by Rene Paul Chambellan, including a large figure of Christ on the cross, 28 ft (8.5 m) high on the Woodward Avenue façade.

The main building is granite and limestone, with exterior and elaborate interior sculptural work by Corrado Parducci, including a lectern and Stations of the Cross, and hand-painted murals by Beatrice Wilczynski.

The octagon-shaped granite baptismal font was designed by liturgical artists Robert Rambusch and Mario Agustin Locsin y Montenegro.