Editor’s note: The following article was submitted by the Bishop Michael J. Gallagher Society

NOVI — On Nov. 15, 2011, the newly formed Bishop Michael J. Gallagher Society held its first event, a Mass and awards dinner at Detroit Catholic Central High School in Novi. The group was originally formed by a group of Detroit area lawyers who shared the common experience of a Catholic elementary and/or high school education.

“It is surprising how many Metro-Detroit attorneys graduated from Catholic grade schools and high schools”, said Mike Butler, the Society’s chairman. “We come in contact with each other all the time, in trials, court hearings and depositions. We thought it would be interesting to get together at a non-adversarial event.”

A committee was formed and a date set. But, as the group started to get the word out, members became increasingly aware of a sad reality. Many of the grade schools and high schools those lawyers had attended were now closed, and in some cases, nearly forgotten. Little had been done to preserve the history and memory of places like St. Theresa, Immaculata, Rosary, St. Martin dePorres and dozens more. Detroit currently has only one co-ed Catholic high school, Cristo Rey, at the site of the former Holy Redeemer High School. There are two boys’ high schools, U-D Jesuit and Loyola, but no girls’ school.

Butler is a graduate of Our Lady of Loretto grade school in Redford Township, now closed, and Detroit Catholic Central High School. “My wife went to St. Christopher grade school and Rosary High, both closed. My parents went to St. Mary of Redford and St. Theresa for both elementary and high school. Both are closed, and the number of those that went to such parish schools gets smaller every day.”

The committee decided to change focus. It adopted a mission statement, “Michigan Catholic education: Living its values, preserving its past, and supporting its future”. It took on a name, the Bishop Michael J. Gallagher Society, closely linked to its mission. Bishop Gallagher served as bishop of the Diocese of Detroit from 1917-1936, during a time of a great increase in the number of Catholic schools and students. During his time as bishop there were two attempts to amend the Michigan Constitution to require students to attend public schools, a development which would have ended the Michigan parochial school system. There are few alive today who remember Bishop Gallagher, and the high school named in his honor is now closed.

The group also realized that its mission to preserve the memory and support the future of Catholic education was not just for lawyers. And, although the Michigan legal community was well represented at the November 15 event, the Society recognized the contributions of two Catholic educators, non-lawyers, as the first recipients of the group’s Order of St. Bede. Honoree Gene Grewe served as teacher, administrator and coach during his career at Bishop Borgess High School (closed) and at Catholic Central. Frank Turk began his teaching career at St. Gregory High School (closed) and has served as teacher, principal, coach and/or athletic director at many Detroit area schools, including, but not necessarily limited to: Bishop Gallagher High School (closed), Bishop Foley High School, DeLaSalle High School, Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School (closed), St. Mary’s of Redford High School (closed) and Ladywood High School.

“St. Bede was a Catholic educator and historian”, Butler explained. “And, sadly, every day I look out my office window and see the closed buildings of St. Bede Parish and School in Southfield. It seemed appropriate for this group to invoke St. Bede in pursuit of its mission.”

The event began with Mass, con-celebrated by Fr. John Riccardo (Shrine), pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel parish, Fr. John Huber CSB and Fr. Richard Ranalletti CSB, from Catholic Central, Fr. Pat Peppard SJ from U of D Jesuit and Fr. David Mastrangelo from Detroit Loyola.
The evening’s keynote speakers were US District Court Judge Victoria A. Roberts (St. Martin dePorres High School-closed), and Tom Rashid (St. Alphonsus High School-closed). Before starting his current job as Assistant Director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, Mr. Rashid was the longest serving Director of the Detroit Catholic High School League.

Judge Roberts talked about the importance of her Faith to her career. She cited Fr. Riccardo’s homily where he spoke about our moral/Catholic obligation to do good and to serve God. She said she learned those lessons during her days at Visitation and at St. Martin DePorres. She said she received a great education but, more importantly, she was given a wonderful moral foundation upon which to build her life. She also spoke about how important it was for her parents to provide a Catholic education to their children and that they struggled to do so.

Tom Rashid spoke about the history of Detroit area Catholic schools, including the closure of so many schools over the years. The full text of his speech can be found on the Society website: www.bishopgallagher.org. He ended his presentation with several suggestions for Catholic education going forward. The last one fairly describes the goal of the Society: “Let’s keep this initiative going to celebrate our faith and Catholic schools — the history is stunning — that history gives us our present time. As Catholics we remember, we celebrate and we believe so please feed the future by honoring the memory.”

The work of the Bishop Gallagher Society continues to help preserve and celebrate the history of Detroit area Catholic schools, and to help preserve the future of Catholic education. Society efforts will include reaching out to alumni of closed schools and posting their photographs, histories and stories on the website. The group will also seek to raise funds to assist Detroit area Catholic schools.