Berkley — Our Lady of La Salette Parish is inviting all to celebrate a night of music, culture and faith with an international flair.

On July 24, the parish will host La Maitrise des Hauts de France, a world-renown boys choir hailing from Lambersart, France.

Having La Maitrise des Hauts de France visit Our Lady of La Salette is a way for parishioners to honor the church’s French roots and host an intercultural event for the community, according to the parish’s music director, Peter Rogers.

“Our church just celebrated its 90th anniversary,” Rogers said. “It started out as a refuge church, and then the archdiocese didn’t have enough priests, so the La Salette Fathers staffed the parish until the mid-1980s.”

The parish has hosted multiple concerts and is willing to open its doors to outsiders and be a venue for musical groups around the area. But this is the first time Our Lady of La Salette will be hosting an international group.

“We are always trying to promote the arts here; we feel it’s a big part of the New Evangelization and a way to open people up to the Church. We’ve been doing some extensive work trying to get our message out, and events like this show we are welcoming church,” Rogers said.

Built in the 1960s with mostly parishioner funds, Rogers said the building has ideal acoustics for a concert.

“The church itself is really simple, but groups always compliment the building for its acoustics,” he said.

Since the parish was first contacted by La Maitrise des Hauts de France in September 2014, Rogers said parishioners have been excited about the group coming to Berkley.

“When I heard the group was coming to our parish, I thought it was very exciting,” said DeeAnn Uhlarik, of Oak Park. “I didn’t really know what to expect from the choir, but I wanted to hear the story about what they’re doing and why they are traveling.”

Uhlarik will be hosting two boys during their stay in Metro Detroit.

“Our parish is a wonderful group of people who helped us out when we had a sick family member a few years back,” Uhlarik said. “I wanted to pay it forward and make sure they boys were taken care of during their time here. Plus my daughter is taking French at Bishop Foley High School, so she’s excited.”

Uhlarik and other parishioners hope the visit from La Maitrise des Hauts de France will help the parish reconnect with its French roots.

“The La Salette Fathers left about 15 years ago, and it’s been tough for us to maintain our French roots. But I think this is going to help us get back in touch with our history.”

Host families will meet their guests the day of the concert and have dinner and breakfast with the boys before they head to their next stop on tour.

“We won’t have as much time to spend with them,” Uhlarik said. “We are trying to think of some traditional American, Michigan food for them to try.”

In addition to hosting the boys, the parish is focusing on getting the word out to as many people as possible about this unique intercultural experience.

“This is a way to showcase the music of the church and to introduce people to culture they would not otherwise experience,” Rogers said.

La Maitrise des Hauts’ visit to Berkley is part of its Great Lakes Summer Tour, which features stops in Gaylord, Battle Creek and Windsor, along with other locations in the upper Midwest and southern Ontario.

The group has been touring the Great Lakes area since 1986 and will start its North American tour in Toronto on July 12.

“It is exciting for us to explain to our young singers the historic links between France and North America, and the cultural heritage still existing in the area,” said Jerome Cupelli, choir director. “We are grateful to Peter Rogers for having contacted us and having accepted our invitation to performing in Berkley, and for all his preparatory work for our concert and our stay in the Detroit area.”

After the group’s North American leg of the tour, La Maitrise des Hauts de France will be participating in the 40th International Congress of Pueri Cantores in Rome, where the group will perform before Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The program is being advertised as a sacred music concert, but Rogers said the group performs a wide variety of classical music in both a cappella and accompanied by organ.

The concert is free, but music lovers will still have a chance to support the group by making a donation at the event or buying CDs.

“They are one of the more well-known singing groups in the world,” Rogers said. “They looked at our history and the La Salette Fathers who staffed the parish for many years, and that’s why they contacted us. After they see us they are going to sing for the Holy Father and the U.S. Congress, so this is a big deal to have them come visit us.”

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La Maitrise Des Hauts de France

Where: Our Lady of La Salette Church, 2600 Harvard Road, Berkley

When: 7 p.m. Friday, July 24

Cost: Free

Info: Visit www.mhdf.fr or call (248) 541-3762