Halloween night at Sacred Heart Major Seminary was filled with laughter, excitement, and the unmistakable sound of children and families having a great time. On Friday, Oct. 31, Sacred Heart welcomed the neighborhood for its annual celebration, transforming the campus into a place of festive fun, community, and heartfelt connection.
Families began arriving long before the event officially opened, forming a line that wrapped around the block. By the end of the evening, nearly 2,000 people streamed through the gates.
“Even (Detroit) Archbishop (Edward J.) Weisenburger was in attendance,” noted Detroit seminarian Jonathan Ligenza, who organized this year’s celebration. The archbishop joined seminarians in greeting families and helping hand out treats as superheroes, princesses, and monsters paraded by with wide smiles and overflowing candy bags.
Seminarians worked tirelessly in the weeks leading up to the event, gathering an incredible 229 totes holding around 50 pounds of candy each. Children received a generous amount of sweets thanks to more than 100 parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit, and even parishes from Lansing and Toledo, who collected candy for the initiative.
Ligenza, a Discipleship II seminarian from Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington, shared how deeply moving the experience was for him and his fellow seminarians.
“This tradition is one of the ways that the seminary has shown its love to the surrounding community by not only creating a safe environment for kids to trick-or-treat, but also by sharing God’s love with those whom we are called to serve,” Ligenza said.
Ligenza said he reflected upon Blessed Solanus Casey’s life of gratitude and trust in preparing for this year’s event.
“Thank God ahead of time for all his blessings,” Ligenza said, quoting Blessed Solanus. “I did not know this year was going to be the biggest in terms of how much candy we would receive and how many people would be attending, but all I can do is thank Him for a successful event.”
Ligenza also credited Tom Pfaffenbach, a Detroit seminarian from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth who assisted in the planning, along with Sacred Heart’s other seminarians.
Ligenza emphasized how much joy the seminarians felt while serving.
“While the neighbors who came to trick-or-treat were overwhelmingly thankful for the event, they weren’t the only ones who benefited from the day; we seminarians felt great joy getting to see the smiles of the people who came to receive candy,” Ligenza said. “As seminarians, there is nothing better than to have served the people of God and love them through our hard work and perseverance. There was nothing better than to know that when we served our neighbor, we served the Lord himself.”
Archbishop Weisenburger reflected on the importance of the event for Sacred Heart Major Seminary and the neighborhood.
The archbishop remarked on the joy he saw in the crowd and the powerful witness of faith shown through simple acts of kindness. That witness continues to strengthen the bond between the seminary and the surrounding families, he said.
As the final pieces of candy were handed out and the evening came to a close, seminarians took joy in bringing delight to children and spirit of welcome to all who entered the seminary’s gates.
