NDP AND WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

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October 7, 2025

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

Notre Dame Prep's campus ministry and upper school students gathered Sunday in Detroit at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament for Mass, prayer and a pilgrimage walk down Woodward.

In a show of solidarity and faith, Notre Dame Prep’s campus ministry led a contingent of students Sunday to the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, where they joined hundreds in the World Day of Migrants and Refugees Pilgrimage Walk and Mass.

The Oct. 5 event — organized by the Archdiocese of Detroit and Strangers No Longer and held under the theme of “hope,” chosen by Pope Francis — included a prayer walk, multicultural liturgy, and symbolic presentations representing immigrant communities.

Students at the heart of the walk and liturgy

From Notre Dame Prep, Director of Campus Ministry Della Lawrence accompanied students Katie Fortino, Emma Shorter, Hayden Sesi, Evan Tringaj and Jaylen Tillery, who, along with student representatives from U-D Jesuit, Mercy and Regina high schools, led the opening awareness prayer and the pilgrimage walk. NDP sophomore Adam “AJ” Habbo also served at the altar during the Mass alongside Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger.

“Students remind us that while political debates continue, we can always choose compassion by taking time to get to know one another, to listen, to dialogue, to care,” Lawrence said prior to the event. 

Participants also were encouraged to engage with someone they didn’t yet know, sharing about cultural heritages and traditions.

During the prayers of the faithful, petitions were read in multiple languages, and representatives from immigrant communities brought gifts to place on the altar as symbols of their journeys. A Ugandan choir and a Hispanic music ensemble led a stirring congregational song. 

“This work is happening around the world, and we want our students to see that they are part of something bigger,” Lawrence explained in a recent school-published piece. 

A celebration of hope and solidarity

The pilgrimage walk, beginning outside the Cathedral grounds, symbolized walking with migrants and refugees — a public gesture to accompany those who journey far from home. 

Weisenburger presided over the Mass, held in the Cathedral’s ornate neo-Gothic space, which was designated "Detroit’s cathedral" in 1937. 

During the liturgy, participants heard testimonies and observed cultural expressions of faith. After Mass, the gathering shifted outdoors to the Cathedral’s plaza where food, fellowship, prayer and further conversation took place.

Organizers emphasized that participants were not there simply to observe, but to act — to dialogue, to learn, and to carry hope into their communities.

Strangers No Longer — the lay Catholic network helping to coordinate the event — was founded to build “Circles of Support” in parishes, schools and immigrant communities across Michigan. 

Beyond Detroit — a school grounded in global solidarity

At Notre Dame Prep, students have for weeks been reflecting on migration through daily prayer, symbols in school hallways and facilitated student reflections as part of National Migration Week.
 
The school has previously partnered with Strangers No Longer and other Catholic high schools in immigration and faith conferences, diving deeper into causes, effects and advocacy. 

Lawrence noted that while the subject of migration can be politically fraught, the work of compassion transcends partisanship. 

“By witnessing to the God-given dignity of every person, including the migrants and refugees in our midst, we pave the way for an approach rooted in mercy, justice and the common good,” she said. 

For many NDP students, the day was more than a field trip — it was a living lesson in faith, service and global awareness.

 

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.