Perhaps the walls of Our Lady of LaSalette Church could tell stories. This church has been a beacon of faith for a century. Our Lady of LaSalette Parish started in 1921. A small group of Catholics in Berkley bought land to build a church. Within three years Our Lady of Refuge Parish was established.
The future looked promising. The Great Depression brought progress to a standstill. The parish lost its money. Many parishioners lost their jobs.
In 1932, the Archdiocese of Detroit asked the Missionaries of La Salette to come to Berkley. They would staff the barebones parish. During those hard times people volunteered to excavate a basement for the church. They bricked it in. This pride and unity saved the parish. The original name of the church changed to Our Lady of La Salette. The La Salette Missionaries ministered at the parish from 1932 to 1994.
As the country recovered from the depression life improved. Our Lady of La Salette acquired most of the property it owns today. In 1943, Our Lady of La Salette School began with two classrooms in a garage. The Sisters of Mercy staffed it. Its first enrollment was 100 children. A new school building was built in three stages from 1947 to 1953. In the early 1960s enrollment peaked with over 1000 students. After over 70 years of Catholic education the school closed in June 2013.
A new rectory was built in 1963. The current Our Lady of LaSalette Church was built in 1967. From 1953 until 1967 the church was located on the present site of the Father Landry Parish Center. The current church was dedicated on September 16 1967. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Breitenbeck dedicated it.
In 1994, the La Salette Missionaries withdrew from the parish. Responsibility for staffing Our Lady of La Salette Parish was returned to the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Our Lady of LaSalette Parish celebrated its centennial. Archbishop Allen H Vigneron joined the congregation to celebrate the community’s centennial. He gave thanks for the graces born from the parish over the last 100 years.
Archbishop Vigneron invited parishioners to reflect on the countless sacraments. Baptisms confirmations and first Communions all took place at the parish over the years. He encouraged the parish to imagine the sacraments of penance and reconciliation. He asked them to think of the priests who made this possible.
Our Lady of La Salette has a record of giants in faith. Brick and mortar do not make a church. People do. The measurement of a parish’s faith can be judged by the sacrifices people make.