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Bricks from the school:
The demolition contractor has agreed to save some bricks from the school for alumni. Currently the exact time-frame is unknown but estimated to be late fall - early winter. Further details and suggested donation will be announced once bricks are available. If you would like to be notified when bricks are available, click on the form below. Quantity may be limited, and bricks must be picked up in person.
2022 ANNUAL ALUMNI PARTY
Sunday, October 16th
Carl E Stitt American Legion Hall
After cancelling for the past two years, we are pleased to host the 2022 Annual Alumni Party. The party was held on October 16 and was a great success. Each year this wonderful get together has given Arrows of all ages the chance to reconnect with old friends and reminiscence about our days at St Alphonsus while creating new memories and new friendships.
ST. ALPHONSUS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Welcome!
We need you and your memories!
Please become an important part of the St.Alphonsus diaspora!
Click to join today.
Just $10 /year
Covers September 1 through August 31.
Keeps you in touch, and funds:
~ St. Alphonsus Network~
~ Alumni Scholarship Fund~
~ Alumni Newsletter~
Make a Tax-deductible Donation
We're here to help foster communication between alumni and to celebrate our special memories of St. Alphonsus Schools.
St. Alphonsus is one of those rare instances where the opening of the school preceded the founding of the parish. The first Catholic services were said in 1842 by the Redemptorist Fathers of Detroit. St. Alphonsus school was established in 1846. It was not until a decade later, in 1852, that a parish was formally organized.
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President: Dennis Modzelewski ('69)
5565 Sutters Lane, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301 (248) 855-2591
Vice President: David Katona ('72)
Treasurer: Karen Cardelli Andrusiak ('69)
Secretary: Renee Campau Vasiloff ('72)
Newsletter: Renee Campau Vasiloff ('72)
David Katona ('72)
Website: David Katona ('72)
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ADRIAN DOMINICAN NEWS
The Adrian Dominican Sisters live incredible lives. "Our Dominican Lives: A Sister's Story" is a series of video interviews exploring the lives of the Adrian Dominican family.
Visit adriandominicans.org/MeetDominicans/Sisters and click on the link to "Our Dominican Lives”. Click here for a list with links to interviews of some of the sisters who have served at St. Alphonsus.
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SISTER MARY WILLARD REAGAN, OP
Sister Mary Willard Reagan, baptized Elizabeth Reagan, died on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Michigan. She was 95 years of age and in the 76th year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Sister Mary Willard was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Willard and Mary Agnes (Dixon) Reagan. She graduated from St. Joseph Academy in Adrian, received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in History from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian, and earned a Master of Arts degree in History from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
Sister was an elementary teacher for six years at St. Edmund School in Oak Park, Illinois. She ministered in secondary education for 53 years in Port Huron, Dearborn, and Detroit, Michigan. Her ministry includes eight years as teacher at Dominican High School and three years as principal at Rosary High School, both Adrian Dominican Congregation schools located in Detroit. She was the guidance counselor at St. Alphonsus High School in Dearborn for 33 years (1970 to 2003). Sister became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Michigan, in 2004.
During her time at St. Alphonsus she touched the lives of many students and is fondly remembered for her insightful guidance and keen sense of humor. She was a member of the committee that in 1998 got the parish complex designated as a state historical site.
ALUMNI NEWS and EVENTS
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Spring 2023 Newsletter
The Winter 2022 - Spring 2023 combined newsletter is finally at the printer as of mid-March. You will receive your copy in the next few weeks.
You are invited to submit memories and short stories about your time attending St. Alphonsus to newsletter@stalsalumni.org.
To get on the mailing list join the alumni association, click on the "Join" tab above.
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St. Alphonsus Library - March 2023
Did you know that the Capuchins supported St. Alphonsus over 100 years ago with their assistance during the parish’s early development? Our gratitude for their service was as strong then as it is today. If you attend mass on Sunday, you are sure to meet one of these priests. Having them here at St. Alphonsus - St. Clement has presented a unique opportunity to get to know more about them and their work.
One of the priests who has recently come to celebrate mass with us is Fr. Anthony Kote-Witah. According to a recent article published in the Detroit Catholic by Janet Sugameli Biono, before Fr. Anthony became a priest, he was an activist that spoke out against the injustices happening in his homeland of Nigeria. When it became dangerous for him to remain in Nigeria, due to his activism, he escaped. After spending time in a refugee camp, he entered the Capuchins first becoming a brother and later a priest. The article also states that, “Although today, there is less fear for activists who speak out, disease, infection and death continue to result from the already polluted farmland, crops and rivers. Families have been torn apart from the devastation.”
Today, Fr. Anthony’s vision is to build an orphanage and library for the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta subregion of southern Nigeria. He desperately wants to make education an option for these children and the local adults. Since the area was colonized by the British, most people speak and read English, so books and textbooks will be valued. This is where we can give back and assist Fr. Anthony with his cause. We have books! Lots of them!
During the initial inspections of the school buildings, in preparation for the demolition, library books were not found. The library was completely empty, and it was assumed that the books had been disposed of years ago. Later in the fall, a closed and unlit storage room near the gym was opened and found to be stacked to the ceiling with boxes. The boxes contained books from the library and loose stacks of textbooks left behind by the charter school. Efforts to donate the books locally were unsuccessful until Fr. Gebre Boyine, another Capuchin, mentioned Fr. Anthony’s vision.
He immediately put us in touch with Fr. Anthony who had been accepting the donation of small boxes of books for the planned library at the orphanage. Fr. Anthony visited the parish to inspect the books and was overwhelmed, immediately agreeing to take all the books and textbooks. Soon after that, parish volunteers, alumni, and the Knights of Columbus helped load the books and move them out of the school to a safe temporary storage location. The next step in the process is to transport the books to Chicago for shipment overseas. To accomplish this task, donations and assistance are being accepted.
The project’s fundraising arm is known as the Ken Saro-Wiwa Memorial Foundation, named after an Ogoni human rights activist who was killed in 1995. The project is currently in the fundraising stage, with plans to start construction soon on nearly twenty acres of donated land in the town of Bane. It is important to note that Fr. Anthony intends to name the library the St. Alphonsus Library, continuing the incredible legacy of 160 years of education in Dearborn.
A fundraising dinner to support the project will be held in May:
Night of Hope Dinner May 10, 2023
REGENCY MANOR
25228 W 12 Mile Road
Southfield, MI 48034
Guest speaker: Rev. Fr. Anthony Kote-Witah OFM CAP.
Join us for a Night of Hope in benefit of the Ken Saro-Wiwa (KSW) Memorial Foundation and help kick start the building of an orphanage in Ogoni, Nigeria — which will house the homeless and orphans who are victims of crisis, war, and natural disaster.
To sponsor or attend the dinner, please contact:
Callista Ugorji (248) 933-0447 Nita Sadek (248) 444-4124
To read an article at Detroit Catholic about Fr. Anthony and his plans for the orphanage and library click HERE.
Online Mass from
St. Alphonsus – St. Clement
We are thankful that so many parishioners are returning to mass. For those who are unable to attend mass in person we are continuing to live-stream mass every weekend so you can remain connected with our parish family by participating in the mass online.
The 4:00 PM Saturday and 9:00 AM Sunday masses can be seen on our YouTube channel. To view the current week’s masses or previously recorded masses visit www.stals-stclem.org and click on “Livestream Schedule”.
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MASS SCHEDULE:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 8:30 a.m.
Saturday Mass: 4 p.m.
(3 p.m.~ Confessions / or by apt.)
Saturday Mass @ Allegria Village: 6 p.m.
Sunday Mass: 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.
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St. Alphonsus-St. Clement Parish
Church: 13540 Gould St
Office: 7469 Calhoun Street
Dearborn, Michigan 48126
Office: (313) 581-5218
Fax: (313) 584-6530
Email: info@sta-stc.comcastbiz.net
Fr. Terrence Kerner - Administrator
Rev. Gregory Deters, Associate
ALLEGRIA VILLAGE CHAPEL
15101 Ford Rd., Dearborn, MI 48126
Phone: (313) 846-7712 ext. 1121