Many were not Catholic, but they arrived at St. Joseph Catholic Church the night of Nov. 30 nonetheless — first a trickle, then a steady stream. Soon, a sea of varsity jackets and sweatshirts emblazoned with Oxford High School’s mascot, the Wildcats, overwhelmed the vestibule of the Lake Orion church.
On a 40-acre plot of land in Howell, in the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, stands the humble foundation for the establishment of a worldwide network of health care facilities that St. Pio of Pietrelcina set in motion nearly 70 years ago. Padre Pio once said this was the most important thing he did. His dream was the project would one day expand to other parts of the world. That day has now come.
There is an African proverb that says, “As long as a person’s name is called, they never die.” With the spirit of that proverb in mind, John Thorne, pastoral minister at Sacred Heart Parish in Detroit and executive director of the Detroit Catholic Pastoral Alliance, created a memorial in his front yard for Black men and women whose lives have been taken unjustly, complete with crosses bearing their image and name.
