Benefactors, Church and community leaders, archdiocesan bishops, priests and deacons, board members, faculty, staff and students—256 people in all—gathered in the Presidential Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan, for Sacred Heart's Sixth Annual Dinner, June 12. The guests mingled, renewed friendships and made new friends during a reception. Following a superb dinner, they enjoyed an enthusiastic address by guest speaker Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

The new archbishop of Milwaukee has a heart for vocations, having served as vice rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis and rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Do not be daunted by the recent Church scandals, Archbishop Dolan exhorted the attendees. Instead we should "shout from the housetops" even more passionately our love for Jesus, the Church and the Church's priests. "Now is not the time for the fainthearted," he said. "It is time for acts of love flowing from renewed hearts."

The guests also enjoyed a short video celebrating Cardinal Adam Maida's thirteenth anniversary as archbishop of Detroit. Cardinal Maida was humbled by the surprise testimony and grateful for the support of the guests. "The seminary does not belong to me, but to you," said the cardinal. "It is truly a work of God."

George Dann, state deputy of the Michigan State Council of the Knights of Columbus, along with Kevin McFarland, state secretary, presented to Cardinal Maida a check for $10,000. The gift was an expression of support as Sacred Heart's prepares for its upcoming capital campaign.

The Sacred Heart Major Seminary Foundation, the seminary's friend-and-fundraising entity, planned the evening and produced the video. Thanks go out to foundation President John LaFramboise, Executive Director Jo-Anne Mancini and their dedicated staff, including Richard T. Walsh, president of Walsh Enterprises, Bloomfield Hills, who served as dinner
chairperson. Fr. Steven Boguslawski, OP, the new rector of Sacred Heart, expressed his gratitude toward all who generously contributed to the event. The dinner raised over $128,000 toward meeting the operating expenses of the seminary. The annual dinners have raised nearly three quarters of a million dollars over the past six years.

The next Annual Dinner will be on June 10, 2004. Mark your calendars and plan to be there!