Detroit — Gesu Principal Christa Laurin can’t help but express her excitement when talking about the school’s renovated community room.

The brighter hallways, the LED light fixtures, the revamped layout which doubles the floor space of the room really do make a difference.

Indeed, the $500,000 renovation Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron blessed on Aug. 29 is a “night and day” transformation for the northwest Detroit Catholic school.

“When I look at this room, seeing how small it was, it’s incredible,” Laruin said. “I didn’t realize how dark it was before, but now it’s so bright and cheery. Yesterday, we had an assembly with parents (for the first day of school), and the parents were walking through, saying how bright it was.”

Introducing himself as the “principal for priests” in southeast Michigan, Archbishop Vigneron asked the students to thank God for the benefactors that made the renovations possible — specifically, UAW-Ford, who gave a $500,000 grant for the project.

“My job is to ask God, that through our use of this room and other spaces, we will give Him glory,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “We certainly want to thank the people who have made this gift possible. But most importantly, we need to pray for everybody who will use this space, including one another.”

After a reading from the Gospel of St. Luke and singing “This Little Light of Mine,” Archbishop Vigneron asked the students to pray and reflect on how God is calling them to shine their light.

“I want all of you to sit straight in your chair, hands on your knees, close your eyes and think for a minute about how you want to serve God because of what happens here,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “How will Gesu School help you be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect? Is it to be a doctor, a lawyer, an electrician, to work in a factory? Ask, where should my light shine?”

Founded in 1925, Gesu Catholic School serves the northwest Detroit community on West McNichols Road, sponsored by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

Today, the school’s community center serves as a gathering place for the University District Community Association, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Gesu Parish’s basketball outreach and is the precinct polling place.

“We’re part of this community,” Laurin said. “We’re not just a school; not just a parish. We need to reach out and be part of the community. In January of this year, we reached out to UAW-Ford, who helped out with the Solanus Casey Warming Center and Loyola High School, and thought they could help us out here.”



Help came in the form of a $500,000 grant, plus a pledged matching grant of $250,000 for 2018, after the parish approached UAW-Ford about the need to update the community room, which hasn’t been upgraded for more than 50 years.

“When Gesu approached us, it seemed like a very worthwhile project to us, and we wanted to help,” said Steve Guilfoyle, associate director for the National Program Center UAW-Ford. “Our vice president, Jimmy Settles for UAW, and Bill Dirksen, vice president for labor affairs at Ford Motor Company, both have a heart for children and have done a lot for children in the area.”
Guilfoyle said Gesu’s outreach to the community is what really got UAW-Ford excited about the project.

“When we found out there was a need, both for the children and the community, to fix things after conditions have deteriorated quite a bit, there was no question we wanted to get involved,” Guilfoyle said. “Both UAW and Ford Motor Company have been socially committed to the communities, families and people in the areas where they are.”

Before Archbishop Vigneron blessed the community room with holy water, he reminded the students that the sprinkling is akin to their baptism.

“The blessing is kind of like a baptism for this room, so I ask you to remember your baptism,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “Remember that you belong to God. So pray and think about what God is asking of you as you enjoy this space.”