About St. John Paul II Shrine · Orchard Lake, Michigan
The Shrine of St. John Paul II is an Archdiocesan Shrine located inside the Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake, the spiritual centerpiece of the Orchard Lake Schools campus in Orchard Lake, Michigan (West Bloomfield Township mailing address). The 1962 chapel sits at the exact center of the historic Polish Catholic campus, was re-dedicated to St. John Paul II on June 22, 2016 by Archbishop Allen Vigneron, and serves the Orchard Lake St. Mary's Preparatory students, the OLS staff, and the wider Polish-American Catholic community with daily Mass, daily Eucharistic Adoration, weekly English and Latin Masses, a Sunday Polish-language Mass broadcast on 690 AM, and a strong program of Polish cultural and devotional events. It is also a designated Jubilee Year 2025 pilgrimage site.
- Established
- 1962 (chapel); 2016 (Shrine dedication)
- Patron
- St. John Paul II (the chapel itself is originally and still known as the Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake; the Archdiocesan Shrine is dedicated to St. John Paul II)
- Rector
- Rev. Bernard Witek SDS (Director, St. John Paul II Liturgical Center)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Detroit
Why belong here
The Shrine welcomes anyone seeking a deeply Catholic, bilingual English–Polish devotional life on a storied campus. The Polish saint who is its patron literally walked these grounds twice as Cardinal Wojtyła of Kraków, and his relic is venerated in the chapel. You can attend a daily 7:00 pm English Mass, kneel before the Blessed Sacrament in daily Adoration, join the First Thursday vocation prayers, First Friday Sacred Heart devotions, or First Saturday Holy Hour, hear the Latin Mass on Sunday, or join the monthly Polish Mass and luncheon — and your visit supports a living Polish-Catholic heritage that includes the bilingual "Pan z Wami" missalette used by Polish parishes across North America.
Mass times at St. John Paul II Shrine
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday–Friday: 6:00 pm – 6:55 pm
- Saturday: 8:00 am – 8:55 am
- First Thursdays, First Fridays, and First Saturdays (special schedule — see the Liturgical Center Liturgy Schedule)
Adoration times
- Daily Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (weekday hours included within the chapel day)
History of the Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake
Built in 1962 at the exact center of the Orchard Lake Schools campus, the Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake was dedicated to Mary, Queen of Poland and patroness of the schools. Designer Walter Rozycki (an alumnus) shaped a 750-seat sanctuary whose curved Oregon Douglas-fir beams rise like hands folded in prayer, faced in Pennsylvania fieldstone and African mahogany and floored in Italian Aurora marble. A 25-foot copper statue of Our Lady of Orchard Lake was hoisted onto the facade in November 1962, and a larger-than-life copper Last Supper of Christ and the Apostles was installed behind the altar in March 1967.
- 1962 — Chapel constructed; 25-ft copper Our Lady statue installed on facade
- 1967 — Copper Last Supper of Christ and the Apostles installed behind the altar
- 1969 — Cardinal Karol Wojtyła of Kraków visits the campus for the first time
- mid-1970s — Cardinal Wojtyła returns; kayaks on Orchard Lake
- 2013 — Restoration campaign launches to mark the chapel's 50th anniversary
- June 22, 2016 — Archbishop Allen Vigneron consecrates the chapel as the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. John Paul II
- 2023 — The St. John Paul II Liturgical Center is founded as a division of the Orchard Lake Schools
- 2025 — Designated a Jubilee Year pilgrimage site for the Archdiocese of Detroit
The Archdiocesan Shrine, Relic and Altar
On June 22, 2016, Archbishop Allen Vigneron consecrated the chapel as the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. John Paul II. Since that dedication, the Shrine has received a marble-and-gold reliquary housing a first-class relic — a portion of the blood-stained garment worn by Pope John Paul II during the May 13, 1981 assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square. The relic was obtained through Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, the pope's longtime personal secretary. A devotional side altar to the saint has been added, and a separate St. Faustina and Divine Mercy side altar complements the devotional program.
- First-class relic of St. John Paul II (blood-stained garment from 1981)
- Marble-and-gold reliquary
- Devotional side altar to St. John Paul II
- Side altar to St. Faustina and Divine Mercy
A Saint for Our Times — Cardinal Wojtyła at Orchard Lake
Before his historic 1978 election as the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła visited the Orchard Lake campus and seminary twice — spending time with the Polish seminarians, including a memorable kayaking excursion on Orchard Lake. A kayak, paddle, and life preserver from those visits are still displayed in the chapel vestibule. Today, every month the Orchard Lake Schools campus newsletter carries a full page devoted to a quote from John Paul II with commentary — a tradition that keeps his spiritual presence vivid on campus long after his death in 2005.
- Two papal-era visits by Cardinal Wojtyła (1969, 1970s)
- Kayak and paddle used by the future pope on display in the vestibule
- Monthly JPII quote page in the Orchard Lake Schools campus newsletter
Mission and Identity
The St. John Paul II Liturgical Center is a division of the Orchard Lake Schools whose mission is to foster Catholic identity in the spirit of St. John Paul II by providing liturgical celebrations and spiritual guidance to the students and staff of the Orchard Lake Schools, outreaching to the community at large, and promoting Polish Catholic spirituality and traditions. It publishes the bilingual Polish–English missalette Pan z Wami, continuing the legacy of the former Polish American Liturgical Center and serving Polish parishes across North America.
- Fostering Catholic identity in the spirit of St. John Paul II
- Liturgical and spiritual care for OLS students and staff
- Outreach to the wider Polish-American Catholic community
- Promotion of Polish Catholic spirituality and traditions
- Publication of the bilingual missalette Pan z Wami
Polish Heritage & Special Events
Each year the Liturgical Center hosts roughly six special Polish religious and national celebrations, including the much-loved Wigilia (Polish Christmas Eve) celebration with Mass, carols sung by the Filarets Choir, and a traditional Christmas Eve dinner served in the OLS Dining Hall. Polish Bible study (Krąg biblijny) and a monthly community luncheon after the 1:00 pm Polish Mass bind the community together across generations.
- Wigilia: Polish Christmas Eve Mass, Filarets Choir carols, traditional dinner in the OLS Dining Hall
- Monthly Polish Mass + community luncheon in the Dining Hall
- Polish Bible study (Krąg biblijny) per monthly schedule
- ~6 special Polish religious and national holiday celebrations each year
Staff
The St. John Paul II Liturgical Center is led by Rev. Bernard Witek SDS as Director and is administered by Małgorzata Wozny. The Center operates under the Orchard Lake Schools, whose Board of Regents is represented in the Liturgical Center by Chairman Pro Tem Joseph Majcher.
- Rev. Bernard Witek SDS — Director
- Małgorzata Wozny — Administrator
- Joseph Majcher — Chairman Pro Tem
Visiting Orchard Lake & Jubilee Pilgrimage
The Shrine is a designated Jubilee Year 2025 pilgrimage site in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Pilgrim visitors are warmly welcomed at weekend liturgies, and the Shrine sits on the same Orchard Lake Schools campus as the Lourdes Grotto, the seminary chapel (origin of the broadcast Polish Mass), and the Polish mission heritage museum exhibits.
- Designated Jubilee 2025 pilgrimage site
- Polish Catholic heritage preserved on a single campus alongside the Seminary Chapel and Lourdes Grotto
- Sunday Polish Mass broadcast on 690 AM Detroit for at-home pilgrims