Sixty years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech for the first time in the Motor City, Detroiters congregated together again to recreate the freedom walk to honor King’s legacy and acknowledge that his work is still not complete. While King’s speech has become synonymous with his March on Washington, which took place in August 1963, he first delivered the speech in Detroit on June 23, 1963. At the time, 125,000 Detroiters marched down Woodward Avenue, including many Catholics. As Detroiters marched down Woodward again June 24, King’s voice rang out from a solitary megaphone held up by a bystander, a reminder of the historic demonstration 60 years ago.

Former students recall legendary record hops of the 1960s, '70s and '80s at Notre Dame High, and their benefactor, Fr. Bryson.

In July 2022, Elizabeth, a Catholic creator in the Midwest, noticed something that struck her as odd: The Little Catholic, a larger Catholic business specializing in selling jewelry and accessories began to post a trademark symbol next to jewelry items depicting the “Holy Family Hearts”—namely, the combined images of the Sacred Heart, Immaculate Heart, and Most Chaste Heart of St. Joseph. The phrase itself had a trademark symbol, something that Elizabeth found unusual in the Catholic creators’ community. Elizabeth originally noticed the symbol in an Instagram post from the business advertising a “Holy Family Hearts” necklace. She and other Catholic creators began to comment on the public post with questions about the trademark and what it meant.

Monday, June 19, marks Juneteenth — the newest federal holiday and a day commonly viewed as the true end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger reached Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln had signed two years earlier. Since President Joe Biden signed legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, more attention and focus have been drawn to the historic milestone, and in the Archdiocese of Detroit, 2023 will mark the third annual Juneteenth celebration with a special Mass at 6 p.m. this evening at Gesu Parish in Detroit. For Catholics, the day is an opportunity for the Church to reflect upon the steps that have been taken — and those that still need to be taken — to fully eradicate the sin of racism, and move toward healing as the united body of Christ.

are of Montefalco Catholic School celebrated the ninth anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II’s canonization with the unveiling of a mural of the late pope made by local artist Curtis Lewis titled “Saint.” “Today, we are here to honor a man who has become a saint,” Lewis told the gathered schoolchildren April 27. “You know they say that the greatest legacy that a man can leave behind to the world is an honorable name worth remembering. St. Pope John Paul II, his name is definitely worth remembering.”

hen he grows up, St. Charles Borromeo parishioner and third grader Teddy Howell wants to be a podcaster and a priest. At 9 years old, he already has achieved one of those goals with the recent launch of his podcast: “Kid’s Bible In A Year with Teddy.” In each 10-minute episode, released Sundays and Wednesdays, Teddy leads his listeners in prayer and through a series of Bible verses. Teddy has been given permission by Ascension Press to use the Catholic Bible Chronicles as his reference. If Teddy's podcast sounds familiar, that's because it's inspired by Fr. Mike Schmitz’s chart-topping podcast, "The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)."

When Jim Vella retired from the Ford Motor Company in 2019 after 31 years with the Detroit automaker, he knew he wasn't done helping people. Vella's job as president of the Ford Motor Company Fund and community services called him to positively impact communities all over the world, but that calling didn't begin and end with Ford — God was calling him to help people, too. And he knew he wanted to stay true to his Catholic faith. In 2020, Vella launched the Vella Group, a nonprofit strategic philanthropic company based in Detroit’s Eastern Market. He moved back into the city, just a short bike ride away from his offices, and made it his goal to give back his gifts, talents and means to the city where he was raised.

The pews at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica were packed March 15 as people gathered to hear three well-known figures talk about faith, family and sports. Part of Shrine's "Live at the Basilica" monthly speaker series, which brings in prominent Catholics to give talks on different aspects of faith, University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, former NBA player Tim McCormick and Fr. John Riccardo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit and founder of ACTS XXIX, spoke at length about how God has worked in their lives.