Dear friends of Catholic schools,

As we begin this school year, there are exactly nine days between our Back to School Celebration and the first day of school for most of our schools. Please join us in 9 days of prayer (below) - a novena - for the students, their families and all the faculty and school leaders as they make final preparation to begin another 180 days of transformative Catholic education.

Please join us in welcoming Gabriela Ricksgers-Giralt as the newest member of the Office of Catholic Schools! Gabriela began her role as Admissions Advocate on July 10. 

Every Jan. 16 since 1993, the president of the United States has proclaimed National Religious Freedom Day, commemorating the day the Virginia statute for religious freedom was signed into law on Jan. 16, 1786. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …”. Religious freedom is a big deal in the United States. 

The end of a school year means many things - awards ceremonies, annual reports, field days, exams, teacher gifts, and graduations. All of these bring about a feeling of completion and closure. But for one of our diocesan teachers, Miss Margie Downer, June 9 marked the close of a major chapter of her life. 

Dear friends in Christ,
It can be argued that Catholic education is as important now as it has ever been. In response to the growing incompatibility between popular culture and Catholicism, many are turning to Catholic schools.

Our schools recognize parents as the primary educators of their children, teach respect for every human life, affirm that we are created male and female with purposeful complementarity, uphold marriage as between one man and one woman, and prioritize incarnational, Christ-centered Catholic education. 

This spring, 310 seniors graduated from our five Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Grand Rapids: Catholic Central High School, Muskegon Catholic Central High School, Sacred Heart Academy, Portland St. Patrick High School, and West Catholic High School.

Many of our Catholic schools encourage their eighth grade students to submit essays for the annual America & Me contest. This statewide contest was founded in 1968 by Farm Bureau Insurance and for over 50 years, more than 500,000 eighth graders from hundreds of Michigan schools have entered the writing contest. 

Written by Sara Davies Aldworth | Photography by Heather Abram

At first, Caleb Haskell didn’t have a plan. While his brother Josh, then a senior, attended a zero-hour class at West Catholic High School in Grand Rapids, Caleb, a freshman, would sit in the student lounge waiting for first period to begin. He’d pop on his headphones or fidget with his cell phone. He knew there was a chapel inside the school, but didn’t think much about it until, one day, “God’s call got louder than my music,” he says with a smile.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April is dedicated to raising awareness about child abuse and working together to bring about an end to child abuse and neglect and create caring, supportive environments and experiences for children. Our Catholic Church continues its commitment to ensure the safety of children and prevent abuse, and, specifically this month, we give thanks for the many members of our community who join in this mission.

Story published in the April 2023 FAITH Grand Rapids magazine | Written by Maryalene Laponsie | Photography by Heather Abram