A Community of Faith Learn More

Our Mission

In partnership with families, St. Thomas the Apostle provides each student with a strong foundation of faith, academic excellence, and virtue so they may live generous lives with a love for God and service to their communities.

Our Parish

St. Thomas the Apostle is a Roman Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Lansing. Our mission reflects the life of our patron. When St. Thomas encountered the Risen Christ, his faith was encouraged and his heart was enlivened to become an apostle, spreading the Gospel and serving the early Church.
We encounter the Risen Christ in Word and Sacrament, most especially in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We encourage faith in our Lord Jesus Christ through prayer, education, and the spiritual formation of children and adults. The love of God enlivens our hearts and we bear witness to the Gospel with lives of evangelism and service.

When he appeared to St. Thomas, Jesus said, “Be not unbelieving but believe.” At St. Thomas the Apostle Parish we seek to answer this call in many and various ways by encountering Christ, encouraging faith and enlivening hearts.

Our Catholic Faith

St. Thomas has always been committed to providing an authentic Catholic education. We are proud to be a Catholic school.

  • Students participate in the “Education in Virtue, Disciples of Christ” program where they learn to exercise the
    essentials of vigorous moral character.
  • Religion is taught daily. The “Catechesis of the Good Shepherd” program is offered to preschool and kindergarten
    students.
  • All-School Mass is celebrated every Monday morning. Our Upper School also celebrates Mass on Wednesday mornings. Parents are always encouraged to attend.
  • Friday mornings we have Eucharistic Adoration
  • Every morning and afternoon, students and faculty pray together (all-school prayer).
  • Christian service projects are undertaken and completed quarterly, in each grade and as a whole school.

Our History and Tradition

1868
June 1868
St. Thomas School opened the doors to families in the greater Ann Arbor area. The School was staffed by Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters from Monroe.
1977
July 1977

St. Thomas High School (9th through 12th grade) became Fr. Gabriel Richard High School in 1977.

2003
June 2003

In 2003, a new high school building opened off-campus at Dominos’s Farms. The high school continues as the only Catholic high school between metro Detroit and Jackson.

2018
August 2018

In 2018, our school celebrated 150 continuous years of operation as the oldest Catholic school in the Ann Arbor area and one of the oldest in the country.  Over the past century and a half, thousands upon thousands of students have passed through the halls and graduated from St. Thomas the Apostle School.

2019
August 2019

We are a destination school with students come from many communities surrounding Ann Arbor.  Our student population is very diverse in culture, faith, and socio-economic background. St. Thomas the Apostle School has always been focused on offering an authentic and affordable Catholic education to families in the greater Ann Arbor area.

St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School