What do Notre Dame’s Marists have in common with America’s first ordained priest?

What do Notre Dame’s Marists have in common with America’s first ordained priest? Turns out, there's plenty.

From left, Notre Dame’s Marists are Fr. Ron Nikodem, s.m., campus minister, Br. Louis Plourde, s.m. sacristan; Fr. Leon Olszamowski, s.m. president; Fr. Jim Strasz, s.m., director, Marist Way; and Fr. Joe Hindelang, s.m., principal, upper division.

On the anniversary of the day the first Catholic priest was ordained in the United States, we also gratefully acknowledge the nearly 200 total years of service to students of Notre Dame and elsewhere by our own four priests and brother: Fr. Leon Olszamowski, Fr. Jim Strasz, Fr. Joe Hindelang, Fr. Ron Nikodem and Br. Louis Plourde,

Fr. Stephen Theodore Badin was ordained on May 25, 1793, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Like Fr. Stephen Theodore Badin, who was ordained on May 25, 1793, in Baltimore, Maryland, by then Bishop John Carroll, our Marist fathers and brother are serving and sacrificing for the benefit of young students as well as the community at large.

And it is also fitting to mention on this anniversary that our Marist religious and Fr. Badin share more than just a life of Catholic service. In fact, what they also share is a connection to ‘Notre Dame’ and Detroit.

Included in an estimated 100,000 miles of total travel during his missionary work in the United States, Badin spent a better part of 1828 in the Detroit area in early settlements that later became southeast Michigan. He went on to do more missionary work in Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and then Indiana, where he eventually donated 524 acres of land near South Bend to a local diocese. This land later became the site of the University of Notre Dame, which is also where Badin’s remains were interred after his death in 1853. Badin Hall at UND is named after him.

For Fr. Leon, who will celebrate his 50th year as a priest in a couple of years; Br. Louis, who will celebrate 50 years as a Marist in September; and Fathers Joe, Ron and Jim, with 39, 23 and 37 years as priests, respectively, service to the Notre Dame community has been a life-long mission where they continue to shepherd our school as Oakland County’s beacon of academic excellence — and truly an exceptional “world of education” in Michigan.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division 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's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.