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. Now located in a primarily Hispanic neighborhood, near the Ambassador Bridge to Canada, Holy Redeemer High School was responsible for educating thousands of students. A bedrock of the southwest Detroit community, Holy Redeemer High School was committed to educating students regardless of ability to pay tuition. The high school was highly regarded by the community. The high school reported 90 percent of its alumni attended college or technical studies. 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.^[1]
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.
The High School excelled at several sports over the years, including two 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 1980's.
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 decision to close the high school disappointed the community. 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. 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 closing of Holy Redeemer High School came with regret and protest.
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.

Contents

Photo gallery

Notes

References

External links

Photo gallery

Notes

1. Most Holy Redeemer Parish History. Retrieved on July 7, 2007.

References

★ Save Redeemer

★ Last Days of Redeemer

★ GreatSchools.net: Holy Redeemer High School

★ Holy Redeemer Grade School

★ Most Holy Redeemer Parish

★ 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

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External links

★ Most Holy Redeemer Parish website