Special coverage:
Author photo of Patricia Montemurri

Patricia Montemurri

Patricia Montemurri is a retired Detroit Free Press staff writer, who has covered the Catholic Church from local pews to the Vatican. She is the author of five books about the local history and impact of Detroit-area Catholic institutions.

By this Author

Fr. William Cunningham leads an annual Walk for Focus: HOPE in Detroit in the early 1980s. (Courtesy of Focus: HOPE)

From progressive to conservative to 'an earthquake at the seminary': A history of Detroit's Sacred Heart

A Detroit seminary has gone from liberal in the 1960s to conservative in recent decades. Bishop Weisenburger's dismissal of three Pope Francis critics signals a sea change at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. 

Clida Ellison "was an absolute pillar of the church," says a former pastor of Gesu Catholic Church in northwest Detroit. (Patricia Harrington)

Clida Ellison, Detroit lector, cook and mother of independent-minded sons

Saints Next Door: When Clida Ellison died of complications of COVID-19 at age 82, the pandemic prevented a funeral at the parish where she "was so beloved. She could have easily packed Gesu Church under normal circumstances."

After 175 years, Monroe IHMs going strong and teaching green

Michigan's oldest established congregation of Catholic sisters made their mark as pioneering educators by opening a school in 1845. Now, 175 years later, they're teaching us how to live green.

Advertisement