Category: News & Events

Calling all families with children in grades 1-8 attending non-Catholic school or being homeschooled. Classes meet on Wednesday nights from late Sept-April. Use this link to register or Contact Mindy Serra, Director of Faith Formation at mserra@hsparish.org or (616) 453-1591 for more information.

Students of all ages & teachers are invited to bring their backpacks to Mass for a special Back-to-School Blessing. Fr. Mark and Fr. Hunter will bless backpacks and pray for a safe, successful, and faith-filled school year.

Reverend Kyle J. Kilpatrick is appointed Co-chaplain at West Catholic High School, effective August 1, 2026. This is in addition to his assignment as Pastor of the Basilica of Saint Adalbert and Saint Mary’s Parish.

Reverend Logan M. McGahan is appointed Co-chaplain at West Catholic High School, effective August 1, 2026. This is in addition to his assignment as Parochial Vicar of Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Rockford.

Reverend Hunter D. Ostapowicz is appointed Co-chaplain at West Catholic High School, effective August 1, 2026. This is in addition to his assignment as Parochial Vicar of the Parish of the Holy Spirit in Grand Rapids.

Help us fill a box truck with diapers for families in need from July 4- 26! Together with St. Anthony of Padua, we’re collecting size 3–7 diapers. The Box truck will be parked in the Holy Spirit west parking lot July 17-26th, or you can leave them in the narthex between the donation bins. All donations benefit families at St. Gianna’s No-Cost Boutique.

1st Saturdays of the Month
7:00-8:00 am

All Men of Holy Spirit are invited the First Saturday of each month for a Holy Hour in the Chapel from 7:00-8:00 am. Work lives are demanding and family commitments can be overwhelming; this is a time for you to focus on your relationship with Christ. Come join other men from our parish in surrendering this hour and entrusting all of your needs to God our loving Father.

Come the first Saturday of each month!
Upcoming dates:

• Saturday, September 5
• Saturday, October 3
• Saturday, November 7

Questions? Contact Michael Morrison at mmorrison@hsparish.org.

We had the opportunity in January to support our seminarians in a very tangible way by donating items for care packages. Each seminarian received their own care package of items such as black socks, notecards, a roll of stamps, local coffee, a new coffee mug, and much more, along with prayers from our parishioners.

Thank you to all who donated to this collection and to the small groups who helped assemble and package the care packages to be sent out. The seminarians sent many cards of appreciation, having felt our love and support while they’re away at seminary, and shared of their prayers in return for us as well. We look forward to making this collection happen again next January!

Will you join us? We need your presence in Lansing on Thursday, Nov. 6 to make sure our elected
officials know that the defense of life matters to Michiganders!

Transportation options: The diocese will be sponsoring two buses for this year’s Michigan March for Life in Lansing. One bus will pick up and drop off at St. Isidore the Laborer Catholic Church in Grand Rapids, and the other pick up and drop off at St. Francis de Sales, Norton Shores. The cost is $23 per person. To reserve your spot, on either bus, participants must pre-register through this link HERE or contact Lauren Vandervort at lvandervort@GRdiocese.org or (616) 246-0588.

Bishop Walkowiak issued the following statement following today’s attack on a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Michigan.

“I wish to express my sorrow over the tragic attack that occurred today at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township.

No one should ever fear for their safety while gathering to worship. The ability to pray, to assemble peacefully, and to express one’s faith is not only a constitutional right but a moral necessity for a compassionate society.

My prayers are with the victims, their families, and the entire Latter-day Saints community as they grieve and seek healing in the face of this senseless violence.”

Please keep the faith community and the community at large in your prayers during this time.

May God comfort all those affected and may we work together to be instruments of peace in a world that so desperately needs it.

From the September 27-28 Bulletin:

There are moments in history that remain etched in our hearts forever.

I still remember that Friday, November 22, 1963. I was only a child in first grade at St. Timothy’s Catholic School when our principal, Sister Mary Bede, came over the loudspeaker to announce that President John F. Kennedy had been shot and killed. We knelt, we prayed, and we were dismissed early. When I arrived home and saw my mother in tears, the reality of loss and disbelief sank in.

Years later, on September 11, 2001, I was serving as Director of Faith Formation at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Holland, Michigan. That morning, as I was preparing to speak to young mothers about raising their children in the faith, the tragic news began to unfold, of one plane then another crashing into the Twin Towers. Our parish staff sat together in stunned silence, watching as fear and grief gripped our nation.

This year, on August 27, news broke of the killing of two students and the wounding of many more during Mass at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis. Young lives lost, innocence shattered—at a school Mass of all places. Once again, disbelief gave way to sorrow and even a sense of insecurity.

And then, just days later, another act of violence reminded me how fragile life can be and how real evil is in our world. In recent days, I came across a few videos of Charlie Kirk. Whether or not one agrees with his views, I was struck by the way he engaged with people who disagreed with him. He would lower his microphone while they spoke, listening with patience and respect. Only after they had finished did he raise the microphone again to respond. What a simple, but powerful, example of treating others with dignity—even in disagreement. This is a quality our world sorely needs and one that we as Christians are called to model.

My friends, we cannot deny that evil exists. We see it. We feel it. We grieve it. And yet, Christ never calls us to give in to despair. He does not invite us to live in fear or let darkness dictate our response. Instead, He calls us to courage, to light, to hope. His cross and resurrection assure us: evil may roar, but it will never, ever have the final word.

So what is our response? We must become people of prayer, people of love, people of steadfast witness. We must treat others with dignity and respect—even those with whom we disagree. We must build communities where hope is stronger than hate, where mercy overcomes violence, and where the light of Christ outshines every shadow.

Evil must not win. And, through Christ, it will not win. The empty tomb is our eternal proof.

So let us go forward – not hiding, not shrinking back, but shining the light of Christ in every word, every action, and every encounter. This is how we honor those who have been lost. This is how we resist evil. And this is how, by God’s grace, we live as Easter people: people of hope.

Love,
Fr. Mark

Mission Appeal for Catholic Diocese of Butare located in Rwanda – Africa
August 9-10, 2025

This year our parish was privileged to participate in Missionary Cooperative
Plan to support the mission cause of the Diocese of Butare in Rwanda – Africa. The
diocese continues with her mission of evangelization through Catholic Education. Fr. Denis Kiyenje spoke at all Masses about the mission. Due to the generosity of our parish, the second collection raised a total of $7,800 for Rwanda!

Rwanda is a small country situated in the middle of Africa. The good news is that Rwanda has resurrected to a new life after the 1994 experience of a horrific genocide that was politically motivated during which one million people were murdered and left behind many broken hearted like orphans, widows, traumatized…, and many destroyed infrastructures like schools, medical centers, even churches. Now there is peace in the country and a significant progress.

The mission of the Diocese of Butare is focused on Catholic education, teaching the youth unconditional love, peace, and reconciliation. These efforts have made a great difference in the hope of the Catholic Church and have contributed tremendously to the building of a new Rwanda. The Catholic Faith is strong and vocations to priesthood and religious life are booming.  More than 60% of the country’s population are Catholics. 

Catholic education has proven to be an effective means of evangelization and conversion of the youth’s hearts for the bright future of the country. The financial support from you our brothers and sisters in Christ will help us in water project, to add more classrooms, to buy computers, books and school supplies, and it will enable us to carry on our mission of making the love of Christ present to the people of Rwanda. Currently the Diocese of Butare is establishing a new Catholic high school for 500 students which teaches computer science for which we are asking for your support.