Chesterton Students and Families Attend Fall Pilgrimage to Historic Detroit Churches
On Saturday, October 3, Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of Guadalupe hosted a pilgrimage in downtown Detroit for the faculty, staff, students, and their families to enter into a spirit of prayer and sacrifice as the school year kicks off. In organizing the pilgrimage, Chesterton Academy sought to cultivate among the students an awareness of the Catholic roots in Detroit, and of the beautiful architecture of Detroit’s churches. The pilgrimage included visiting four historical Catholic churches – St. Joseph Shrine, St. Aloysius, Old St. Mary, and St. Albertus.
The group began its pilgrimage that Saturday morning with 9am holy Mass at St. Joseph Shrine. After Mass, Canon Stein, the rector of St. Joseph, spoke to the group and provided a summary of the church’s history, along with an explanation of the parish’s devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. From St. Joseph the pilgrims walked to St. Aloysius. Fr. Mario, the pastor, personally led a tour of the church, pointing out some of the main highlights. After the tour, Fr. Mario exposed the Blessed Sacrament and allowed the group some time to pray before the Eucharistic Lord! Father offered Benediction before the group’s departure.
The day was beautiful and warm so the pilgrims marched over to Campus Martius to enjoy an afternoon lunch in the park. After lunch, they walked over to Old St. Mary and received a tour of the church. Before leaving, they prayed a Divine Mercy chaplet. The last stop of the pilgrimage was St. Albertus. The tour guide Celeste pointed out many highlights of the church, and before leaving the group prayed the joyful mysteries of the rosary. The day finished around 4:30 when the pilgrims arrived on foot back at St. Joseph Shrine. In gratitude and appreciation, Chesterton Academy faculty, students, and families provided a donation to each of the churches along with a thank you card.
All those who participated in the pilgrimage offered gratitude and positive feedback about the experience! As one parent explained at length:
“One of the factors in our decision to move our children to Chesterton Academy was the opportunity for them to engage their faith actively in the community as part of Chesterton's Catholic formation. We did not have to wait long! Three weeks after school started, Chesterton students and families participated in a Prayer Vigil for Life outside of an abortion clinic, following the school's motto: Cultura Vitae. Then, one week later, students and families participated in a Detroit Pilgrimage, starting with holy Mass at St. Joseph Shrine, followed by the pilgrimage to three other beautiful churches in Detroit: St. Aloysius, Old St. Mary and St. Albertus. The pilgrimage included time for adoration, prayer and guided tours at each church. It was great to see the students enjoying the day in Detroit, learning about different classical church architecture styles and art, and most importantly spending time in front of our Lord. Parents enjoyed all of that too!
We were blessed to have the opportunity to get to know the faculty and families better. Doing a pilgrimage may require some sacrifice (walking in any kind of weather, offering a whole Saturday up, etc.), but we believe that we all received the grace of walking with Our Lord and Mother Mary with JOY and inner PEACE.
The faith and love of the school community and the community at St. Joseph Shrine inspired us to continue building together the kingdom of God here on earth. We are so blessed to be part of this community - which we believe offers part of God’s precious plan for each one of us.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Thank you to operations manager John Newman and the Chesterton Academy faculty team who made the pilgrimage possible, and God bless our school community!
