Detroit, MI

Detroit sees first new Catholic place of worship in over 60 years

Published

12 months ago

April 2, 2025

Detroit sees first new Catholic place of worship in over 60 years

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Loyola High School in Detroit, a private Catholic school for boys, is seeing some major improvements including a new chapel.

It’s big news for the city as it marks the first new Catholic place of worship in Detroit in more than 60 years.

On Wednesday, students, school leaders and community members gathered together to celebrate the grand opening of the new St. Peter Claver Chapel and the new Wayne and Joan Webber Welcome Center.

Both spaces are extensions of Loyola High School.

VIDEO: Take a walk-through tour of the new chapel

VIDEO: Walk-through tour of the new chapel

“It feels wonderful for me to still be in my initial weeks here and to be able to do something this joyful,” said Detroit’s new Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, who led Wednesday’s service in the new chapel.

Related video: Detroit’s next Archbishop talks about the future and the challenges he faces

Detroit’s next Archbishop talks about the future and the challenges he faces

Students now not only have a new entrance to the school, they also have a new facility for daily prayer and reflection whereas before, services were held in the gym.

“What this chapel means to me is I get to grow in my faith and my beliefs in God more,” Rommell Murry said.

The Archdiocese of Detroit told 7 News Detroit like many other dioceses around the country, they too have experienced a decrease in the number of parishes and church buildings.

“This is going to be a blessing not just for a 100 or 150 young men at a time; this will be a blessing for the whole community,” Weisenburger said.

Deborale Richardson-Phillips, Ph.D., Loyola High School’s first female school president, agrees.

“Loyola High School is part of the revitalization of the Detroit area,” she said. “This chapel, and certainly our welcome center, will give people the opportunity to welcome people into our home in ways that we haven’t before.

Everything in the chapel — the chairs, piano and pieces on the chancel — was donated, and school leaders say it’s the community’s support that made it happen.

“This remarkable addition to our campus would not have been possible without the generosity and vision of those of who supported Empower Loyola,” Richardson-Phillips said.

A campaign generated more than $9 million in donations. Cynthia Webber Helisek was one of those donors.

“It took no thoughts whatsoever to say yes to the projects,” she said.

The welcome center is named after her uncle Wayne and aunt Joan Webber, who were big supporters of school — and so is she.

“Most importantly, I want the boys to know they are very valued in this space, and they deserve a beautiful space to learn,” Helisek said.

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Detroit, MI

PWHL players bond with women’s hockey pioneers at Detroit clinic | NHL.com

Published

9 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

PWHL players bond with women’s hockey pioneers at Detroit clinic | NHL.com

Both generations on the ice Friday are intent on growing the game for today’s kids. Hartje and the Polar Bears believe an important step for women’s hockey in Michigan would be starting a Division I college team.

“I think if the PWHL establishes a team in Detroit, it will put a lot of pressure on the colleges to make sure there’s a D-I team in the state,” Hartje said. “Michigan has the second-highest number of players in the league, and it would have been a dream for us to be able to stay in the state to play.”

It’s been a problem for decades. Pierson had to turn down the offer from Boston University, because her family couldn’t afford to send her to New England for college. Hartje ended up at Yale University, and Megan Keller, who scored the gold medal winning goal for the U.S. in the 2026 Winter Olympics and plays for the PWHL’s Boston Fleet, went from suburban Detroit to Boston College.

Meanwhile, 2026 U.S. men’s Olympic team members and Michigan natives Dylan Larkin of the Red Wings and Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets were able to stay in the state to play with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, then based in Ann Arbor, before moving on to the University of Michigan in the same town.

“Megan’s brother played at Michigan State, and I’m sure she also would have stayed here to play for a Michigan school,” Skarupa said. “It’s imperative that Michigan gets a college program.”

Skarupa is serious about growing the game. She is working with Keller and the NHL Foundation U.S. to identify recipients for its $100,000 Empowerment Grant Program for Girls Hockey.

“Every time I go back to a city, there are new teams, new girls and new faces,” she said. “It’s a testament to growth all over the world, but it is tremendous inside the U.S.”

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Detroit, MI

Retired Detroit sergeant faces new sexual assault charge involving 14-year-old victim from 2002

Published

21 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Retired Detroit sergeant faces new sexual assault charge involving 14-year-old victim from 2002

Updated on: March 27, 2026 / 12:23 PM EDT
/ CBS Detroit

An additional case, this one involving a victim who was then 14 years old, has been added to the sexual assault investigation against a former Detroit Police Department sergeant.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the latest charges on Friday against Benjamin Martin Wagner, 68, who now lives in Greenville, N.C. He had retired from the Detroit Police Department in 2017.

The victim in the additional charges was 14 years old when the assault happened in October 2002 in Detroit, Worthy said. The prosecutor alleges that Wagner approached the victim, pointed a handgun at her, ordered her away from the location and then sexually assaulted her.

In this case, he faces charges of kidnapping, two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. An arraignment hearing took place Friday in the 36th District Court in Detroit. A probable cause conference is scheduled for April 7.

The woman is now 37 years old.

“She has lived with what happened to her for 23 years and has now bravely decided that she wants to be a part of holding him accountable,” Worthy said.

Wagner participated in a court hearing Thursday and was remanded to jail, one week after he was charged with 15 counts of kidnapping and rape in five separate sexual assault cases. All of those incidents happened between 1999 and 2003 in the northwest side of Detroit, with the victims being young women between the ages of 15 and 23.

The court dates for the earlier list of charges are April 7 for a probable cause hearing and April 14 for a preliminary exam.

Wagner joined the Detroit Police Department in 1989 as a police officer and was eventually promoted to sergeant. He retired in 2017 and moved to North Carolina.

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Detroit, MI

Metro Detroit weather forecast, March 26, 2026 — 11 p.m. Update

Published

1 day ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Metro Detroit weather forecast, March 26, 2026 — 11 p.m. Update

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