Detroit — As the annual celebration of the feast day of the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Detroit approaches July 26, St. Anne Parish, Warren, is bringing out a familiar tune.

And other parishes considering how to mark the day might consider using the hymn to St. Anne that has become a new tradition at the Warren church.

Download it The sheet music for the Hymn to St. Anne, prepared by Fr. Alberto Bondy and David Wagner, and produced by Bob Barnhard of St. Mary Parish, Detroit, is available for download.

“I was a student at St. Anne School from 1950 to 1957, and I remember we sang it during
all those years,” recalled Fr. Alberto Bondy, pastor of St. Anne Parish.

“But when I returned as pastor in 2005, the hymn was no longer sung, and nobody seemed to remember anything about it,” he said.

Whatever the reason the hymn had fallen into disuse, Fr. Bondy decided it should again become part of the liturgical life of the parish and school.

So Fr. Bondy wrote out the words and worked with David Wagner, the parish music director, to get the music put down on paper. As a result, the hymn written in the 1940s by Sr. Mary Robert, IHM, again extols the praises of the grandmother of our Lord.

Students sing it as part of regular weekly school Masses, and the hymn is sung on the parish’s patronal feast day and during Lent, and also whenever Solemn Benediction is offered.

Since Wagner's working copy of the sheet music was only roughly hand-notated, he asked Bob Barnhart, organist at "Old" St. Mary Church in Detroit's Greektown, to prepare a more polished version using computer software, which is available by clicking the link with this story.