A QUIET TESTAMENT OF FAITH

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August 3, 2026

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Nine years ago, a pile of construction steel — and an unlikely duo — set the stage for one of Notre Dame Prep's most distinctive expressions of Catholic identity.

Nearly a decade after their installation, the Stations of the Cross in Notre Dame Prep’s Mary Courtyard have become woven into the spiritual life of the school community. Students pause before them during Lent. Families linger while visiting campus. Alumni return to a familiar place of prayer, while prospective families encounter an artistic expression of Catholic identity unlike anything they expected.

The fourteen abstract steel sculptures have quietly become part of the landscape — not simply as works of art, but as invitations to prayer, reflection and conversation. Their enduring impact is exactly what their creators hoped for. Behind the Stations is a remarkable story of imagination, collaboration and faith that transformed ordinary construction steel into one of the school’s most distinctive expressions of its Catholic mission.

The inspiration began with a pile of steel

The idea did not begin in a church, but with a pile of twisted reinforcing steel.

In January 2018, as construction crews completed Notre Dame Prep’s Easterwood Wing, a state-of-the-art STEAM facility, then-middle school religion teacher and former architect Mark McGreevy noticed a stack of rebar resting near the library. To most people, it was simply construction material destined to disappear forever inside concrete. McGreevy saw something else.

“Wouldn’t it be interesting,” he later recalled, “to take from the material that would otherwise be hidden inside a building and configure it in a way that tells the tale of Christ’s crucifixion?”

That passing thought sparked an extraordinary journey of creativity and collaboration that would eventually transform discarded construction steel into fourteen sculptures that continue to shape the spiritual experience of Mary Courtyard today.

An unlikely partnership

When McGreevy shared his vision with school leadership, then-school president Fr. Leon Olszamowski, s.m., and then-vice president Andy Guest immediately embraced the concept. The project also found a passionate advocate in longtime art department chair Sandy LewAllen, now retired, who knew exactly who could bring the vision to life.

She recommended local sculptor Scott Berels, whose large-scale metal artwork had already earned a reputation for creativity and craftsmanship.

At first glance, the partnership seemed unlikely. McGreevy was an architect and religion teacher immersed in Scripture and Catholic tradition. Berels was an accomplished artist whose career centered on transforming industrial steel into contemporary sculpture and who readily described himself as “decidedly nonreligious.” Yet those differences quickly gave way to a shared creative vision.

“All three of us really hit it off,” Berels recalled. “We knew we wanted to do it differently than how it was ever done before — but still make it understandable, too.”

That common purpose became the foundation for everything that followed.

Listening before creating

Rather than immediately sketching ideas, Berels deliberately entered what he called “listen-only mode.” Over several meetings, he absorbed McGreevy’s thoughts about each Station, the theological significance behind every scene and the spiritual experience they hoped visitors would have while walking through the courtyard.

It wasn’t because he lacked ideas. He wanted to understand the story before attempting to tell it.

That humility impressed McGreevy.

“The reason he became an artist,” he later reflected, “was to be creative. I wanted his creative input.”

Instead of commissioning someone simply to fabricate predetermined designs, McGreevy invited Berels to become a true artistic collaborator. The decision changed everything.

When theology met art

Designing the Stations became an ongoing conversation between theology and art. McGreevy explained the biblical narrative and symbolism while Berels explored how those ideas could be translated into welded steel.

Many concepts evolved during fabrication. What appeared elegant in a sketch sometimes proved confusing in steel, while other ideas became stronger as the material itself suggested new possibilities. Rather than viewing those revisions as setbacks, both men embraced them as part of the creative process. Every sculpture became a dialogue between faith and artistic imagination.

Inviting contemplation

The goal was never simply to illustrate biblical events.

Unlike traditional Stations of the Cross filled with detailed figures and scenery, these sculptures rely on suggestion rather than explanation. Curving steel bars imply movement. Open space conveys emotion. Viewers are invited to complete the image through contemplation rather than observation.

“It’s abstract,” Berels explained, “but understandable.”

That balance became the defining characteristic of the project. The sculptures communicate the story of Christ’s Passion without becoming overly literal, inviting visitors not merely to recognize familiar scenes, but to enter into them.

A gift to the community

The vision became reality through extraordinary generosity. Alumnus Kristopher Powell ND’75 provided a $50,000 gift that funded the Stations’ creation, allowing the project to move from concept to permanent installation.

Since then, the sculptures have become part of Notre Dame Prep’s spiritual landscape. Religion classes gather there during Lent. Families pause while visiting campus. Alumni return to revisit a familiar place of prayer, and prospective students encounter an expression of the school’s Catholic identity unlike any they have seen before.

Nine years later

Looking back nearly a decade after the Stations were installed, McGreevy believes they have accomplished something even more meaningful than he first imagined.

One of the best decisions made during the planning process, he says, was keeping all fourteen Stations together rather than scattering them throughout Mary Courtyard.

“I am very grateful that I chose not to do that,” he reflected recently. “One of the unexpected gifts is the way the Stations do not draw attention away from Mary or from the beautiful statue that was meant to be the focal point of the courtyard. Instead, they remain quietly in the background, allowing Mary to invite all who walk through the courtyard to share in the life and love of her Son.”

For McGreevy, that quiet relationship between the Stations and the Blessed Mother has become one of the project’s greatest successes. Rather than competing with the courtyard’s central Marian focus, the sculptures deepen it.

An invitation to wonder

Another unexpected blessing has been the enduring sense of mystery the sculptures continue to evoke.

Nearly a decade later, visitors still ask questions: ”What does this one mean?” ”Why did you do that?” ”What is happening in this station?”

For McGreevy, those questions are evidence that the Stations function as conceived .

“Parents and students are looking closely at the figures and thinking about the Passion of Christ,” he said. “That is exactly why they were created.”

Rather than providing every answer at first glance, the abstract forms encourage viewers to slow down, look carefully and engage personally with Christ’s journey to Calvary.

A living tradition

One of McGreevy’s greatest joys came during Lent of 2025 — shortly before retiring after many years of service to NDP — when he attended a middle school Stations of the Cross prayer service in Mary Courtyard.

Watching students pray before the sculptures affirmed everything he had hoped they would become.

He now hopes that tradition continues each year — not only during Lent, but throughout the school year — as future generations encounter Christ’s Passion through these unique works of sacred art.

“It feels very Marist,” he reflected, “that the figures sit quietly in the background — unassuming, yet powerful reminders of who we are and why we are Catholic. In their quiet presence, they continue to do exactly what they were created to do: invite us to pause, reflect and remember Christ’s love.”

From ordinary steel to sacred story

The story of Notre Dame Prep’s Stations of the Cross begins with discarded construction steel, but it does not end there.

An architect imagined possibility where others saw scrap metal. An art teacher recognized the right sculptor. A gifted artist listened before creating. School leaders embraced an unconventional idea, and a generous alumnus made the vision possible. Together, they transformed ordinary building material into one of the school’s most distinctive expressions of faith.

Nearly a decade later, the Stations continue to fulfill their original purpose. They complement rather than compete with the Marian focus of the courtyard, inviting students, parents, alumni and visitors to slow down, contemplate Christ’s Passion and encounter the Gospel in a fresh way.

Like the rebar hidden within a building’s foundation, the strongest expressions of faith are often those that quietly support us. That is the enduring legacy of the Stations of the Cross in Mary Courtyard — not simply fourteen sculptures fashioned from steel, but fourteen enduring invitations to encounter Christ.

For information on admission to Notre Dame Prep, please click here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

About Notre Dame Preparatory School
"At Notre Dame Prep, we inspire our students to become the best versions of themselves. We challenge them through an experience of academic excellence, focused on active, project-based learning. We invite them to explore a world of opportunities beyond the classroom. We guide them as they grow in spirituality within a community strong in its Catholic and Marist identity."

Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School's upper school enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame Prep's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDP is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.