Shrine of the Little Flower's master plan
Renovations continue on the parish grounds and at the schools
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 22, 2006
Royal Oak – National Shrine of the Little Flower has much more to celebrate than the feast of its patron saint, St. Therese of Lisieux.
Phase II of the archdiocese's only national shrine has recently kicked off, as the parish continues to work on projects that are a part of its master plan. The plan was created in response to a survey of the parish's 4,400 families' needs and wants.
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Photo by Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
A model of the St. Therese statue which will be placed inside the new gathering hall. | So far, the schools' science labs have been updated, the old convent was torn down, and, most recently, work started on the building of a parish gathering hallway. The hall will connect the church, offices and adoration chapel, explained Msgr. William Easton, the parish's pastor.
When the parish was working on its school plans, created to have a guide for how to take the schools into the 21st century, it decided to then take a look at the needs of the parish as a whole: "where we would like the parish to be 10 years from now, 20 years from now, 30 years from now," Msgr. Easton said.
Msgr. Easton said having a plan in place eliminates surprises and second guesses. For example, although "The Last Supper" (see related story) wasn't part of the parish's master plan, since they'd already had a plan in place, it was easily worked in based on where future additions would go.
"This helps us to plan ahead so all of the things are done the way they should be," Msgr. Easton said.
The first parts of the plan to be tackled include:
- new school technology
- new school science labs
- a new high school library
- opening a conference center to a nearby strip mall
- taking down the old convent
- installing a parking lot in the convent's old location
- and moving the perpetual adoration chapel into the Fr. Coughlin building.
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Photo by Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
The adoration chapel, in the Fr. Coughlin building, will also connect to the new gathering hallway, approximately where the pine tree is in the photo. |
The next phase of project – already on its way – will be to build a gathering hallway that will connect parts of the church. The hallway – what Msgr. Easton jokingly called "Main Street Shrine" – roughly follows where a sidewalk now connects the church entrance to the parking lot.
The gathering hallway and the improvements to this point will cost about $2.5 million, Msgr. Easton said.
Essentially, the hall will make one large building out of the parish offices, adoration chapel and the church. It will be about 20 feet wide, which will give people space to congregate before and after Mass.
 Celebration
Oct. 2: Dedication of sculpture "The Last Supper," following 7:30 p.m. evening prayer. Cardinal Adam Maida will be presenting, and artist Timothy P. Schmalz will attend.
Oct. 3: "Art and Worship" presentation of inspiration and influence of spiritual artwork by "The Last Supper" artist Timothy P. Schmalz at 7:30 p.m. in the church. Visit www.tschmalz.com. | The design of the connector building will be made up with the same design as the church. Inside the building, approximately behind where the outdoor statue of St. Therese is now, will be another statue of St. Therese. The outdoor Stations of the Cross garden will remain.
Some things will be moved around a bit, and large restrooms will be built where the parish's maintenance shed is now. A new waiting room and reception area will also be built.
The plans call for the work to be complete by Christmas, but Msgr. Easton said he'd be happy if it were done by spring. After that, the parish can look at starting the next phase: adding a new field house at the high school and turning the existing gymnasium into a performing arts center.
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Photo by Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
The existing outdoor St. Therese garden won't be affected by upcoming renovations, but the gathering hall will extend to behind where the St. Therese statue is now. | Much later on, the plans call for the building a new parish hall at the far end of where the connecting hallway will be.
When it seems like there's a lot to do yet, Msgr. Easton reminds himself that the great churches of the world took 100 or more years to build.
All four phases of the project total about $14 million. Parishioners have been very supportive, he said, and the project couldn't happen without their contributions.
"This parish is extremely generous," he said. "It's the work of the whole community."
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