Editor’s Note
This article was originally published by Detroit Catholic, with reporting and photography by Daniel Meloy, and is republished here with permission. Additional quotes highlighted in blue have been added by the Catholic Foundation of Michigan to show the project’s wider impact of the Church in the City grant— inspiring donors, school leaders, and Catholic communities beyond Most Holy Redeemer in Detroit.
Students show off various Marian crafts to benefactors and alumni during school tour
DETROIT ─ Holy Redeemer students in Southwest Detroit have embraced Marian spirituality this academic year, culminating in turning their school into an immersive tour highlighting different aspects of devotion to Our Lady.
Students hosted alumni, donors and school sponsors on May 4 to showcase their Marian Project — “Growing as Disciples of Jesus Through Mary” — and highlighted various aspects of Marian spirituality.
The project was made possible by a $5,000 “Church in the City” grant from benefactors through the Catholic Foundation of Michigan, which enabled the students to create various displays throughout the school.
“Part of our mission statement as a school is that we are to become Catholic disciples who are proud Catholics growing as disciples,” Laura Ilov, assistant principal at Holy Redeemer School, told Detroit Catholic. “So, what we wanted to do is find a way that we could grow, and what we decided on was looking to Mary and finding a way to integrate Mary’s virtues in our school throughout the year.”
Each grade from pre-K through eighth grade completed various arts and crafts projects showcasing various aspects of Marian spirituality, including the rosary, the story of Mary, Marian shrines and the history of Marian apparitions.
“Our school took a group of students to see the project, and now we are inspired to follow their lead! It was an amazing experience!”
— Bridget Dean-Hondzinski, Head of School at Holy Family Regional School
“The grant allowed us to purchase what we needed in order to complete our projects,” Ilov said. “It is also going to help us with our retreat team and planning our trip where the whole school will go on pilgrimage to the Solanus Casey Center on May 13 — the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima.”
Sixth-grader Ivan Rodriguez and his team crafted a 3D depiction of Our Lady of Fatima appearing before Lucia dos Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto. In addition to creating it, they had to give a report to school benefactors and alumni who wanted to check out the students’ work.
“We have been working on these displays of Marian apparitions, when Mary has appeared to different people in the world in the past,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve been working hard, and we had to stay on budget and meet a deadline. A lot of work went into this.”
Sixth-grader Maria Belen and her team worked on a display spotlighting Our Lady of Lourdes.
“We made the apparition when she made the miracle of the flowering spring, the healing water,” Belen said. “Our display was about nature and the rosary, because during the apparition, every time Bernadette went to see Our Lady, they prayed the rosary. My group and I were very proud, and we were excited to show people our project; I think we did a good job.”
“Being there in person and witnessing the faith and reverence these young children have for Mary was truly inspiring and moving. God bless them all, along with the staff and this school, for providing such a strong faith-based education.”
— Doug Noble, Catholic Foundation of Michigan Board Member
The tour featured school benefactors who sponsored individual students, donors through the Catholic Foundation of Michigan and Holy Redeemer alumni who wanted to see the school’s next generation of scholars.
Ilov is deeply devoted to Mary and has always wanted to incorporate more Marian spirituality into school life at Holy Redeemer. She was so proud of her students delving into the Marian Project, learning more about Mary and, in turn, growing closer to their Blessed Mother and her Son.
“I loved the way the students worked as groups and the collaboration,” Ilov said. “It kind of gives me hope for the future because the more they know about Mary, the stronger they’re going to grow in their faith and bring it on to others, pass it on to their families. It’s our main goal to make them disciples and have a faith they can go out and take it to their families and then out to the community.”
This article was originally published by Detroit Catholic and is republished here with permission. All reporting and photos are credited to Daniel Meloy | Detroit Catholic.
