Holy Redeemer High School (Detroit)

Holy Redeemer High School was a 123 year old Roman Catholic school in southwest Detroit which was closed by the Diocese of Detroit in 2005. The school was founded in 1882 by the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) sisters with the assistance of the Redemptorist Fathers (CSsR). Holy Redeemer Catholic Parish and grade school both remain open and the high school - until the day it closed - was a founding member of the Archdiocese of Detroit Catholic League for Athletics. Located in Southwest Detroit in a multi-cultural neighborhood, near the Ambassador Bridge to Canada, Holy Redeemer High School was responsible for educating thousands of students since its founding. A bedrock of the Southwest Detroit community, Holy Redeemer prided itself in educating students regardless of faith, ethnic background or ability to pay tuition - as far as Holy Redeemer was concerned - there was no such thing as a "bad kid" - only kids seeking the guidance and love that a school like Holy Redeemer excelled in. Many a student has gone on to live a productive and prosperous - where no such life might have existed - were it not for the committed work of the staff and volunteers at Holy Redeemer. In 2002, the entire Parish grounds were recognized as part of the West Vernor/Junction Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its architecture and historic importance. [ [http://www.mostholyredeemer.net/historyeng.htm Most Holy Redeemer Parish History] . Retrieved on July 7, 2007.]

At its height of enrollment in 1972, Holy Redeemer's student population number was almost 1,000. The Diocese of Detroit in 1971 closed St. Gabriel, All Saints, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Vincent High Schools to make Holy Redeemer the regional Catholic High School for southwest Detroit, Ecorse and River Rouge. Later, St. Andrews (late 1980s), St. Hedwigs (mid 1990s) and St. Alphonsus (early 2000s) closed leaving Redeemer the only Catholic school remaining on the far west side of Detroit/East Dearborn.

Although over 90% of all Redeemer graduates went on to secondary (college) education and the enrollment of the school was near 200 students the Diocese closed the high school without any input or discussion from the community at large or the staff of the school. At the time of the school's closing the population was approximately 70% Latino, 20% African-American and 10% Caucasian. The student population was approximately 80% Catholic and the number of students going on to college was approximately 90% of the graduating class. As a small school Redeemer excelled at seveal sports over the years including 2 state basketball championships, an individual state championship runner in cross-country, several state finalists for wrestling and numerous district, regional and league championships in all sports. A coach who rose to national prominence was Bill McCartney, who served as an assistant football coach under his older brother Tom during the 1965 season, and as head basketball coach 1965-1969, taking the team to the Detroit City Championship during the 1968-1969 season. The parish was the centerpiece of the movie, The Rosary Murders, starring Charles Durning and Donald Sutherland, filmed on location during the early 1980s.

Prior to closing of the high school, the Redemptorist Fathers who founded Holy Redeemer parish and school left the parish in about 2000 and the IHM religious sisters closed their expansive 4-story convent a few years after, due to declining numbers of religious members. The Basilian Fathers who administered Holy Redeemer High School for approximately five years until the time of its closing appeared unable to provide the Diocese of Detroit with a commitment to staff the school for an additional five years as requested by the Diocese to the principal, Fr. Joe Redican, in place at the time of the school's closure.

Even if the Basilian Fathers had been able to commit to an additional five years as requested by the Diocese, the Diocese could still have closed the high school, having closed other Diocese-supported schools in the City of Detroit and adjacent suburbs. The Diocese currently operates high schools in more affluent to middle class suburban Detroit communities. The same year Holy Redeemer High School closed, the Basilian Fathers opened a new multi-million dollar Catholic Central High School in an affluent suburb of Detroit - Novi, Michigan with a much higher enrollment of about 1000. The timing of the opening - although unfortunate - was not related to Holy Redeemer's closure in that the planning and building of the new Catholic Central High School began several years prior to the Archdiocese of Detroit's decision to close Redeemer and all the other Detroit based Catholic schools. The closing of the school was against the wishes of the students, school administration, faculty and staff and was done so at the mandate of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Other schools closed included: DePorres, St. Catherine Drexel, Notre Dame, St. Clement, East Catholic, Dominican, Bishop Borgess, Bishop Gallagher and a number of grade schools. The Diocese of Detroit which once maintained over 100 high schools throughout the Metro Detroit Region now claims fewer than 15 remaining schools. The majority of students displaced from Holy Redeemer enrolled at St. Frances Cabrini High School in Allen Park, with other students primarily enrolling in Western High School, Southwestern High School and Cesar Chavez High School. The Southwest Detroit community regarded the process used to close Holy Redeemer High School as well as the final decision to close with regret and anger.

Holy Redeemer, as the last remaining founding parish school member of the Detroit Catholic Athletic League, was once considered the premiere school of the Diocese. The colors of Holy Redeemer High School were purple and gold and the mascot was the lion. The address of the High School was 5668 Baker, Detroit, MI 48209 and the campus continues to be located at the corner of Junction and Vernor, where the open grade school remains. A portion of the high school building is currently leased to the group "Covenant House" and is utilized to educate "at risk" children who have prior academic problems, family problems, etc. Thus, the building continues to perform its purpose in providing opportunities to those who need it the most. The older portion of the high school, attached to the gym, has been physically walled off from the rest of the school and is vacant.

Holy Redeemer Grade School under the direction of the IHM sisters remains open and continues to carry on the tradition of all the many religious orders (IHM sisters, Redemptorist fathers, Basilian Fathers and many others over time) who have dedicated themselves to the idea of social justice through actions and deeds.

Photo gallery

ee also

*Archdiocese of Detroit

Notes

References

* [http://saveredeemer.tripod.com/ Save Redeemer]
* [http://saveredeemer.tripod.com/id4.html Last Days of Redeemer]
* [http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/mi/private/4044/ GreatSchools.net: Holy Redeemer High School]
* [http://www.holyredeemer.net/ Holy Redeemer Grade School]
* [http://www.mostholyredeemer.net/ Most Holy Redeemer Parish]
* [http://michigan.schooltree.org/private/Holy-Redeemer-High-010025.html Holy Redeemer High School] profile on schooltree.org]
*Crain's Detroit Business - March 21, 2005, page 1 - Fund raising falls short; Catholic school closings end business efforts to save some schools]
*The Associated Press - March 16, 2005, Wednesday, BC cycle: Archdiocese to close 17 Detroit-area Catholic schools to close

Further reading

*Cite book| author=Godzak, Roman|title= Archdiocese of Detroit (Images of America)|year=2000|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|id=ISBN 0738507972
*Cite book| author=Godzak, Roman|title= Catholic Churches of Detroit (Images of America)|year=2004|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|id=ISBN 0738532355
*Cite book| author=Godzak, Roman|title= Make Straight the Path: A 300 Year Pilgrimage Archdiocese of Detroit|year=2000|publisher=Editions du Signe|id=ISBN 2746801450
*Cite book| author=Tentler, Leslie Woodcock with forward by Edmund Cardinal Szoka
title= Seasons of Grace: A History of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit|year=1992|publisher=Wayne State University Press|id=ISBN 0814321062
*Cite book|author=Tutag, Nola Huse with Lucy Hamilton|title=Discovering Stained Glass in Detroit|publisher=Wayne State University Press|year=1988|id=ISBN 0-8143-1875-4

External links

* [http://www.mostholyredeemer.net/ Most Holy Redeemer Parish website]