Faith

All Grade School and Academy Students attend Mass on a weekly basis. High School students also attend Mass weekly.

Students attend all schools Masses annually at the National Shrine Basilica, celebrating major feast days of St. Therese, All Saints Day, Immaculate Conception and Catholic Schools Week.

Students participate in service learning and community outreach projects throughout the school year which allow them to use their Catholic faith to service our local and global community.

Shrine Catholic Grade School and Early Childhood Center

Service learning is a strong part of our religion curriculum. What is Service Learning? Service-learning refers to learning that actively involves students in a wide range of experiences, which often benefit others and the community, while also advancing the goals of a given curriculum.  This outreach shares our Shrine spirit with the greater community.

Shrine Catholic High School and Academy

In keeping with the example of our patroness, Saint Therese, our students participate in annual service as a part of their graduation and confirmation requirements. A minimum of ten hours per year is required for our high school students, though most students far exceed this threshold. Our students partner with community organizations across Metro Detroit, including Gleaners Food Bank, Angels’ Place, the Welcome Inn and The Friendship Circle, as well as many of their home parishes.

Faith-based, grade level retreats are part of the Academy and High School curriculum.
The ongoing spiritual growth of each student is a high priority. The retreat program offers a full day retreat for each grade, 7-12, and an optional four-day retreat for juniors and seniors. Kairos is a Christian retreat program, widely used throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit which allows participants to contemplate God’s role in their lives.

Shrine Catholic Schools have a family focus where parents are invited and encouraged to participate in their children’s faith formation.

Sharing the Gospel since 1926
Situated in Royal Oak, the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica is the spiritual home of 2,500 families and thousands more who visit us every year.

Visit the Shrine Parish Website 

All children who are Catholics registered as first-graders at Shrine Catholic Grade School, will be contacted regarding candidacy for their First Reconciliation and First Communion. Please note that two years of preparation are required before receiving Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. In order for your child to receive these two sacraments at the traditional time of second grade, he/she must attend Religious Formation classes or Catholic school starting in the fall of first grade.

Confirmation at the National Shrine is usually received in the fall of the ninth-grade year after successful completion of a two-year period of intense preparation during grades seven and eight. Older candidates can also be accommodated. The preparation aims to lead candidates to a personal relationship with Christ and His Church including active discipleship and participation in Shrine’s Youth Ministry. 

Confirmation candidates concurrently in formation at Shrine Catholic Academy.  Formation can be accommodated for parishioners attending other Catholic schools.

Registration for Confirmation preparation takes place during an intake interview with a Shrine mentor. By getting to know your son or daughter better, we will be better equipped to assist him or her through the preparation process. Because sacraments are received from the parish and not the school, registration using this process is required regardless of school attending.

When registration for the fall opens, Religious Formation students and Catholics enrolled at Shrine Catholic Academy will be invited to sign up for an interview appointment.  

Crossroads
Crossroads exists to help our 7th and 8th grade teens grow in relationship with and love of Jesus. Led by Brennan McHugh our Coordinator of Youth Ministry, parent volunteers, and high school leaders. We normally gather twice a month in the Youth Room at Shrine to build community and enrich our faith lives. We have teens from Shrine Academy joining many different schools, and at our meetings we laugh and get to know one another, listen to teachings, and engage in prayer and discussion. In the 2019-20 school year, we covered topics such as the Core of Our Catholic Faith, How to Live as a Disciple, Living Greatness like the Saints, and Hope.

Rise
Rise is the high school ministry at Shrine Church. We exist to encounter and fall in love with Jesus and the Catholic faith, pursue growth in Him together, and boldly proclaim Him with our words and actions to all – especially those who do not follow Christ.