DETROIT — The Archbishop’s Gala, the largest annual fundraiser in support of Detroit’s Sacred Heart Major Seminary, raised almost $1 million on June 17, the seminary has reported.

The gathering, which took place this year at the newly renovated Cobo Center in downtown Detroit, attracted nearly 900 guests and raised $995,000. Both totals are higher than any previous year for the formal fundraiser, now in its 19th year.

The Archbishop’s Gala raises funds each year in support of the seminary’s mission and education of priests, deacons and lay ministry students.

The formal gala included fine dining, video presentations on the seminary’s work, raffles and a musical performance by Sacred Heart seminarians and members of the Archdiocesan Chorus.

Large donors included the Michigan Knights of Columbus, which gave $135,000 to complete a pledge of $1.25 million to fund the Fr. Michael J. McGivney Chair of Life Ethics at the seminary, which has been held by Janet Smith, Ph.D., since 2004. St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Madison Heights pledged $22,000 to the seminary, which will help repair the entryway to the seminary’s main chapel.