Shrine Catholic Schools is a private, co-educational

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

school serving preschool through grade 12. It is located in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Royal Oak is located roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cens ...

, and is affiliated with the

National Shrine of the Little Flower The National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica is a Catholic church in Royal Oak, Michigan. A designated national shrine, the church building is well-known for its execution in the lavish zig-zag Art Deco style. The structure was completed ...

Basilica. The school consists of Shrine Catholic Grade School on one campus and Shrine Catholic Academy (middle school) and Shrine Catholic High School on another campus. The school was founded as Little Flower High School, an all-girls school, in the late 1930s. The all-boys school, Shrine High School, was added later, and the schools were eventually merged.

History

Father

Charles Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic Church, Catholic priest based near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Lit ...

helped establish the institution while serving as one of the first

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priests to preach to a widespread audience over the medium of radio during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. His program became increasingly controversial as

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

approached, bringing national attention to the parish. The Bishop asked Fr. Coughlin to give up his radio show, which he did. The school maintained the name "Shrine of the Little Flower High School" into the 1960s, when it became "Shrine High School" until its latest name change in 2001.

Academy & High School Campus

Shrine's 6th through 12th grade campus is located on 20 acres in

. Features of the school include a chapel, learning resource center, an academic and college counseling center, three science labs, a two-story visual arts lab, football field, 2 fitness centers, and a student center dining hall. A new field house and the new Sanders Auditorium are the result of a renovation on the schools campus. Current technology is found throughout the school. The school has recently renovated classrooms to help support the addition of 6th grade students into the academy.

Athletics

Shrine participates in the

Michigan High School Athletic Association The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) is a service organization for high school sports in Michigan and is headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan, East Lansing. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Assoc ...

(MHSAA) and is a member of the

Catholic High School League The Catholic High School League (CHSL) is a school athletic conference based in Detroit, Michigan, led by director Victor Michaels. Most member schools are also members of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), the governing body fo ...

(CHSL) in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...

. The school has placed 17 athletes into the CHSL Hall of Fame. Shrine's sports include men's and women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

, cross-country,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, men's

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

, men's and women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, women's

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, men's and women's track and field, men's baseball, women's

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

, and women's

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

State championships

Notable alumni

Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. List of Kristen Bell performances, Her work includes both film and television, and List of awards and nominations received by Kristen Bell, h ...

(1998), actress *

Tom Cooney Thomas E. Cooney is a former American diplomat who most recently served as the charge d'affaires of the United States Embassy to Buenos Aires, Argentina from 2017 to 2018. He retired from the State Department with the senior rank of Minister Cou ...

(1986), former senior U.S. State Department diplomat *

Mike Haggerty Michael Keetel Haggerty (October 14, 1945 – November 28, 2002) was an American professional football offensive tackle who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Detroit ...

, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

football player *

Keegan-Michael Key Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He and Jordan Peele co-created and co-starred in the sketch series '' Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) for which he received one Primetime Emmy Award from ...

(1989), actor and comedian *

Tom Lewand Thomas J. Lewand is a Detroit-area business leader and a former executive for the Detroit Lions. The son of lawyer and Detroit economic development leader F. Thomas Lewand, Tom Lewand began his career with the Detroit Lions in 1995. By 2008, he w ...

(1987), former executive vice president and chief operating officer of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

Connie Paraskevin Constance Anne Paraskevin, known as Connie (married name Paraskevin-Young; born July 4, 1961) is a retired American professional track cyclist and speed skater. She is a four times sprint world champion, ten times national sprint champion and ...

(1979), four-time world champion track cycling champion * Jim Seymour (1964), former

football wide receiver *

Bill Simpson Bill or Billy Simpson may refer to: * Billy Simpson (jockey) (c. 1840–1873), South Australian jockey * Billy Simpson (footballer, born 1878) (1878–1962), English football player for Sunderland and Lincoln City * Billy Simpson (footballer, born ...

(1970), former

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

* John Wangler (1976), former

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

quarterback

References

External links

Shrine Catholic Schools
{{authority control Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Catholic secondary schools in Michigan Educational institutions established in 1941 Schools in Oakland County, Michigan High schools in Oakland County, Michigan Schools in Royal Oak, Michigan 1941 establishments in Michigan Private K–12 schools in Michigan