A pilgrimage to the parishes of the U.P.

MaryAnn Bernier, vice chancellor, and executive assistant to the bishop and to the chancellor, has visited and photographed all the parishes in the Diocese of Marquette. She shares her journey. 

Tell me a little bit about your travels around the diocese.
When I was first hired to work in the Office of the Bishop, Bishop Doerfler told me it was his goal to visit every parish and mission of the diocese in his first three years. I decided that if I was to support him, the pastors and parishes, that it would be helpful for me to visit them as well. So I set out to visit all of the churches of the diocese. My husband was onboard with my goal and to facilitate our travel around the diocese and ensure he had something to keep him busy while I photographed the churches, he mapped out all of the golf courses near our churches!

We traveled to the different areas weekend by weekend. It took a year and a half of travel to visit them all. When I visited each church, I photographed the church inside and out and tried to capture the beautiful details. Every church no matter how elaborate or simple had unique details, including things like the building materials, surfaces, linens, statues, lighting, stained glass windows, stations of the cross, crosses or crucifixes, baptismal fonts, bells or the gardens or grounds. While visiting, I also prayed in each church for the pastor, the parishioners and the people of the community. It was also a pleasure to visit the communities, stop at local businesses, eat at restaurants and enjoy the surroundings. I think I could write a travel book on great and unexpected places to eat in the U.P.! 

Was there something you encountered in particular that interested you?
What interested me the most was the precious gifts that each of the churches are to all of us. Each church is unique, there are many cultural influences and so many people who sacrificed to build the churches. I was very interested in learning more about the story behind each church and the communities in which they were built.

There are several good sources of information on the history of the diocese and the churches. “The History of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie & Marquette” by Msgr. Antoine I. Rezek is a great resource. You can find a link to the digital, searchable version of both volumes on the diocesan archives web page found at: https://www.dioceseofmarquette.org/archives. A scanned searchable copy of the 1853-1953 Centennial issue of the Northern Michigan Edition of the Our Sunday Visitor is also available, as well as links to historical Official Catholic Directory editions.

Would you make the same trip again if you had the opportunity to do so?
Yes, I’m actually planning to visit all of them again prior to my retirement, which is scheduled by the end of 2025. I would really love to visit more of them when I would have the opportunity to also attend Mass.

Was there anything that moved you spiritually or impacted your faith in some way? 
Yes, I had many beautiful and peaceful experiences while out visiting the churches. At St. Sebastian in Bessemer, my camera was giving me trouble. I was so annoyed that I might not be able to continue photographing the church. I was fumbling with my camera and finally figured out the problem, looked up at the altar to find a beautiful ray of sunlight coming in the sky light and coming right down on the crucifix and altar.

At St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Bay Mills, I was photographing inside the church and was touched by the beautiful ways that the Native American traditions were reflected throughout the church in the altar linens, statues, stations of the Cross and decor. As I was photographing near the tabernacle, a beautiful reflection of light was over the tabernacle in a shape that reminded me of an American Eagle with its wings spread out.

At St. Ignatius Loyola in St. Ignace, if the light is coming in the church just right onto the hanging crucifix, a shadow of the two crucified on either side of Jesus are reflected on the wall behind the crucifix. At Holy Redeemer in Menominee, I sat as the early morning light came in through the beautiful stained glass windows and I just felt saturated by Jesus’ love for all of us.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your experience?
God calls us to be present with him and our churches are beautiful, sacred spaces in which we can go to do so. If you haven’t had the opportunity or haven’t taken the opportunity to visit the beautiful churches of our diocese, I highly recommend doing so. I was blessed to visit with people along the way and hear their stories and be on the receiving end of some truly wonderful U.P. hospitality! A book was given to Bishop John with photographs of all of the churches as a gift when he completed visiting all of the churches.

A three-volume set of photography books with all of the pictures taken has also been donated to the diocesan archives and the photographs made available for use for diocesan purposes. They may be viewed at dioceseofmarquette.org/archives.

To read this story and others in The U.P. Catholic, visit https://www.upcatholic.org/UP-Catholic-03102023-e-Edition/12/