Quote Originally Posted by econ expat View Post
Monsignor Hickey was related to the founders of Hudson's. Interesting guy. [...] An apartment was built for him in the Bell Tower.
Thank you for resurrecting this thread... it brings back many
memories that had "faded away" [[easy to do at my age...)

Indeed, Msgr. Hickey was a very cultured and kind gentleman
who encouraged many forms of art in and out of church,
including music. The organist at St. Mary of Redford was
closely related to the famous Belgian composer Flor Peeters,
and I took some improvisation lessons from him - in the 1960s
IIRC. [[My 7th grade teacher [[IHM nun) was a poobah at
SMR school, got me access to the organ and Mr. Peeters when
parents visited Detroit.) The Msgr. occasionally "looked in" the
choir loft, and we had a few conversations. I remember him
as a very nice man... Some of his pictures were hung on the
side walls of SMR, and he led me around and discussed them.
Unfortunately, I can't recall what he said <gulps Geritol>...

What is the status of SMR today? Is it still a viable parish?
I heard their [[large) school was closed... is that so?