Dearborn Heights — Despite not having a school of its own, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish is showing its support for Catholic education regardless, pledging $100,000 over two years to two nearby Catholic schools affiliated with other parishes.

Following an all-school Mass on Feb. 4 in honor of Catholic Schools Week, Fr. Terence Kerner, pastor of St. Kateri, presented a $25,000 check to St. Sebastian School in Dearborn Heights, a pledge to be renewed in 2015 with an additional $25,000. Fr. Kerner also presented a check of the same amount to Sacred Heart School in Dearborn the following day, with the same renewal plan for the following year.

Fr. Kerner said that as part of his parish’s Changing Lives Together initiative, “this was a priority.”

The money came from the sale of the former St. Martha Parish building after the 2013 merger of St. Martha and the former St. Joseph Parish, Dearborn, into St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Fr. Kerner said.

St. Kateri does not have a school of its own, but Fr. Kerner said nevertheless “even before the sale was finalized the priority was to support Catholic education.”

The decision follows calls by Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron for a greater community approach to Catholic education. The archbishop told The Michigan Catholic in a January interview he believes schools should be “the responsibility of the whole Catholic community of southeast Michigan,” and not just individual parishes.

Sr. Geraldine Kaczynski, FSSJ, principal of St. Sebastian School, said the school was “humbled and overjoyed” by the gesture.

“This is such a gregarious show of generosity, that it is overwhelming us,” she said, expressing the hope that this “will perhaps plant a seed in other people to be extremely generous with Catholic schools, to continue the fine legacy that Catholic schools carry.”

Melissa Lambrecht, principal of Sacred Heart School, said the entire school community was appreciative.

“The money we received will help us live out our mission statement of providing academic excellence, discipline and faith formation inspired by the Gospel,” Lambrecht said. “We are grateful that St. Kateri serves as a great role model for all of us to follow in supporting and seeing the value of Catholic education.”