Detroit — Seventy-eight men and women received certificates May 28 as the first graduating class of the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan, a rigorous, four-year program designed to increase Catholics’ biblical knowledge and better equip them to serve in parishes, schools and ministries.

Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron and Fr. John Riccardo, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth and a member of the school’s board of directors, were among the 348 people in attendance and also spoke at the graduation, which took place at Burton Manor in Livonia.

Deacon Jack Gardner, director of the school, said some of the 78 newly certified aren’t finished with their education yet.

“Some are going on to continue to study in programs at Sacred Heart Major Seminary,” Deacon Gardner said, while others will go into teaching or ministry.

The Catholic Biblical School of Michigan, which was founded in 2010, currently has 386 students enrolled in its program, which covers the entire Bible in its four-year curriculum. Visit www.cbsmich.org for more information or to sign up for fall classes.