Archbishop Weisenburger thanks Detroit’s Catholics for their generosity in supporting the local Church's many vital ministries
Editor’s note: The Catholic Services Appeal is essential to the mission of the Archdiocese of Detroit. It funds and supports more than 100 ministries that serve the local Church in southeast Michigan, including Detroit Catholic. Visit www.givecsa.org to support the mission by making a gift today. We are grateful for your generous support and for your prayers.
DETROIT — The Gospel of St. John recounts a powerful exchange between Jesus and St. Peter after the Resurrection, in which Christ asks St. Peter, “Do you love me?”
Peter’s answer, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you,” led Jesus to give the first pontiff a directive: “Feed my sheep.”
This Gospel passage was used during Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger’s installation Mass on March 18 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and is the theme of the 2025 Catholic Services Appeal.
“Brothers and sisters, Christ’s words to St. Peter are also a call to all of us to give to others what we have received from God so that they, too, may know His abundant love,” Archbishop Weisenburger said in a video during the May 2-3 launch of the Catholic Services Appeal.
“It seems like an appropriate message for beginning my ministry to all of you,” Archbishop Weisenburger added. “Here in the local Church of southeast Michigan, each of us has been blessed by God with unique talents, resources and opportunities. These gifts are not meant to be kept for ourselves, but shared with others, particularly those in greatest need.”
Archbishop Weisenburger alluded to the final year of the National Eucharistic Revival, the Year of Mission, and how it is the Eucharist that powers the faithful to carry out the mission to “Feed my sheep.”
Likewise, the annual Catholic Services Appeal enables the Archdiocese of Detroit to educate the youth, form seminarians, accompany young people, reach out to diverse communities, and bring the saving message of Jesus Christ to parishes and schools throughout southeast Michigan.
The funds raised help the Church form disciples who, in turn, form more disciples, like Catholic school teachers who foster a Catholic identity in the classroom for students.
“In our world’s climate today, Catholic schools are more important than ever,” said Amy Cousino, principal of St. Joseph Catholic School in Erie. “When we support Catholic schools, we’re really investing in the future of the Catholic Church.
“Catholic identity is very important in our school,” Cousino added. “One of the things we have implemented is a virtue of the week, and our classroom management system is based on those virtues. Students cultivate those in their everyday lives, and we have a strong sense of the Catholic faith here.”
That Catholic identity formed in archdiocesan schools fosters a culture of vocations, which leads young men and women to discern where God is calling them in life.
The CSA provides financial support to aspiring priests during their seminarian formation, which in turn enriches the life of the local Church in Detroit.
“The beautiful thing about seminary formation is that whatever good it might do for me — if it makes me holier — that gift is meant to be shared with the people of God,” said Deacon Ben Schroder, a transitional deacon and a seminarian at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit from St. Kieran Parish in Shelby Township. “When people support Sacred Heart Major Seminary, they’re investing in their future priests, who in turn are going to invest and pour themselves out for God’s people.”
For young people choosing a different path and attending college or university, the Catholic Services Appeal supports ministries like Detroit Catholic Campus Ministry, which provides a Catholic presence on the grounds of Wayne State University, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and other public institutions in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
“In college, young people face such large challenges that can really pull them away from God,” said Alyss Alpas, an intern at Detroit Catholic Campus Ministry and a student at Wayne State. “It’s such a blessing to have a resource like Detroit Catholic Campus Ministry with daily Mass, adoration and confession. It’s really important to have faith formation in college, because people tend to falter around this age.”
The Catholic Services Appeal enables the local Church to evangelize to every corner of the archdiocese, reaching out to the rich tapestry of diverse communities that make up the people of God in Detroit and surrounding areas.
Lisa Card, a member of the Black Catholic Ministries Gospel Choir, said that Black Catholic Ministries is an essential part of the Church's mission to evangelize in one of the nation’s largest minority-majority cities.
“Black Catholic Ministries serves various communities around the city of Detroit, as well as many parishes and communities,” Card said. “When people come together to worship and serve, it equips everyone to do their part.”
A particular work of Black Catholic Ministries is promoting the Black Catholic Ministries Gospel Choir, an essential vehicle in delivering the Gospel message to and through the local Black community.
“It’s really important to get people excited about praising God, learning His word, and inspiring parishioners to start their worship for the week,” Card said. “In the Black Catholic Ministries Gospel Choir, we all have a purpose in spreading God’s love and message, and I think music just heals people’s souls.”
The Catholic Services Appeal further allows the Archdiocese of Detroit to provide spiritual and academic formation for its catechetical leaders, the men and women tasked with opening up the riches of the faith to those eager to learn about and join Christ’s church on earth.
“In catechesis, we are revealing Jesus Christ, not only to the children in the classroom, but also to their parents,” said Tina Kovalcik, director of religious education at Immaculate Conception Parish in Ira Township. “We are not only teaching them how to pray, but how to proclaim Jesus’ message to the world; that’s going to lead us all to heaven one day.”
Because of the CSA, Kovalcik and fellow directors of religious education across the Archdiocese of Detroit are able to revel in the joy of seeing children encounter the Lord through the sacraments and be molded as disciples of Jesus Christ.
“What I find so rewarding about my ministry is accompanying parents in forming their children in the faith,” Kovalcik said. “(I love) watching children celebrate the sacraments, or even infants at baptisms, and seeing how the Holy Spirit is working through them, seeing that grace being poured over them, and watching their faces, this expression, their happiness when they meet Jesus face to face in the sacraments.”
In addition to providing support for direct discipleship formation through varying stages of a person’s life, the Catholic Services Appeal supports ongoing formation for all the Catholic community through various pro-life and family ministries, the organization of men’s and women’s conferences and the continued communication efforts of the Archdiocese of Detroit, including the award-winning Detroit Catholic.
For more information on how to support the varying ministries of the Archdiocese of Detroit and to bring Christ to the people of southeast Michigan, visit www.givecsa.org.
In concluding his remarks in the Catholic Services Appeal video, Archbishop Weisenburger thanked the faithful for their generosity as they continue the mission to “Feed my sheep.”
“Today, as your new shepherd, I humbly invite you to reflect on the many blessings God has bestowed upon you, and to consider how you might use these gifts to support the mission of the Church in Detroit, my new home,” Archbishop Weisenburger said.
“Your prayers and financial gifts help to ensure that the Gospel is preached, the hungry are fed, and the love of Christ is made manifest to all,” Archbishop Weisenburger continued. “Please join us in this mission to bring Christ’s message of mercy and compassion to the world.”
