is in her 10th year of ministry there. Today, the slogan of Shrine School is, “Tradition meets Tomorrow,” and S. Noreen Ellison says, “Through the Sisters of Charity Associates at Shrine parish, the spirit of our Congregation is visible in their commitment to our values and spirit; these active Associates include Jamie Kelly, Randy Husaynu and Jack Hoolehan. The imprint of the many who ministered there has a lasting influence on these People of God.” Shrine High School continues as a parish high school, the only one remaining in the Detroit area. The Rev. Coughlin asked the Sisters of Charity to staff the school and Mother Mary Regina Russell sent nine Sisters to open a private school for girls; Little Flower High School opened in September 1941. S. Barbara Geoghegan was the principal and her staff included Sisters Rose McConville, Myra Drain, Ancilla Marie Petricone and Francis Anna Bunline. In 1948, Little Flower High School became Shrine High School, a coeducational parish high school. The last Sisters of Charity to minister there were Sisters Rita Cocquyt, Annunciata Hulse and Joyce Richter. Sisters whose native Shrine vocation was fostered here include Sisters Mary Kay Bush, Diana Durling, Noreen Ellison, Carol Leveque, Irene Luther, Theresa Ann Moran, Katharine Pinto, Juliette Sabo, Kay Tardiff and Marianne Van Vurst. The Rev. Leo Huver started Guardian Angels School in 1927 with a staff of lay teachers, but he had already received a promise from Mother Irenaea Fahey for Sisters in 1928. S. Mary Christopher McKenzie, principal, along with three other Sisters arrived to start the 1928-’29 school year. For their 285 pupils that year, housing included several portables scattered about the neighborhood and one farm building. Enrollment peaked in 1962 with 1,241 pupils, slowly declining for the next 25 years. The Archdiocese closed the school in 1987. S. Florence Ruede was the last SC principal. The Sisters’ convent became the Sisters of Charity Retirement Center from 1962 to 1987 with Sister Gertrude Marie Manser as director. Sisters Rita Cocquyt and Mary Marcel DeJonckheere are current native SC vocations from Guardian Angels. The Sisters of Charity gave 60 years of active service to the parish.
S. Patricia Marie Donnelly was the last SC principal at Shrine Grade School in Royal Oak, Mich.
In 1928, the Rev. R.J. McQuillan asked for Sisters of Charity to staff his school, St. Luke. Mother Irenaea Fahey sent three Sisters: Sisters Celestine Malone, principal; Ann Rita Kelly; and Catherine Marie Elliott. The school opened with six grades, building to eight in the next two years. In 1971, St. Luke School merged with Epiphany School, ending a 43-year relationship for the Sisters of Charity, but before that women religious vocations were already coming. Adding to the legacy, Sisters who attended St. Luke include Sisters Mary Alicia Bomya, Cheryl Ann Grenier, Mary Barbara Philippart, Mary Dolores Schneider and Marie Irene Schneider. St. Louis School in Mount Clemens was in existence 15 years before the Sisters of Charity were asked to take over in 1943; the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters had staffed the school since 1928. Mother Mary Zoe Farrell sent four Sisters to take over the school in time for the 1943-’44 term with S. Mary Gemma Gunn as principal. In 1971, the parish, with the recommendation of the Archdiocese, closed St. Louis Grade School. The last principal was S. Michael Clare Mauntel who continued in the parish to work in pastoral ministry. From 1975-1999 the pastoral associate responsibilities were in the hands of S. Rose Arnold, assisted by Sisters John Elizabeth Baader and Genevieve Bankowski; they retired in 1999. Living, active vocations from St. Louis parish are Sisters Margaret Renee (Peggy) Deneweth and Jacqueline Kowalski. In 1954, the Rev. Lucien Herbert requested Sisters of Charity for his parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, the last school occupied by the Sisters of Charity in Detroit. S. Mary Helen McKenna, who served as principal, was one of the Sisters that Mother Mary Romana Dodd sent. The school opened with 300 pupils, with a steady increase into the 1960s. The last Sister of Charity working in the parish was S. Michael Clare Mauntel who served in pastoral ministry from 1975 to 2010. The parish continues to embody the welcoming spirit of the SC charism today after a 56-year relationship. (From left) Associate Randy Husaynu, S. Noreen Ellison and Associate Jack Hoolehan continue the SC legacy at Shrine parish in Royal Oak, Mich.
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