A 40-page overview on the Orchard Lake Schools, with pre-kindergarten to post grad offerings, including America's oldest Polish Seminary, the Dabrowski School and an internationally known boarding and and prep high school (Orchard Lake St. Mary's) that together have produced CEOs, two men nominated for Sainthood and a Polish priest nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The organization's main campus is in Orchard Lake, Michigan with a smaller campus in Krakow, Poland.

1. Orchard Lake Schools
Polish Seminary,
St. Mary’s Prep,
Polish Mission

2. Why the Church matters:
Catholicism helps answer every "why" question:
Why am I here? Why is he here?Why did that happen?
Why God?
WHY?

3. Why Catholicism matters: Roots
❖ Catholic institutions provide "Rootedness."
❖ "Rootedness" reminds us of who we are.
❖ "Rootedness" helps show us who we are meant to be.
❖ "You can't know where you're going until you know where
you've come from."
❖ A lack of rootedness in today's secular world can lead to:
Personalism, Relativism, Materialism -- the "now" and "me." We
chase money, power, pleasure and honor because we feel
incomplete. Our hearts are restless until they rest with Thee.

4. What can the world learn from Poland?

5. Cardinal Timothy Dolan:
❖ "(Poland) can be used as a model for standing up for
eternal values in a culture that very often snickers at and
questions them. Poland is a pro at that. They’ve done it for
a great part of their history. They did it in a particularly
heroic way from 1939 to 1989, when they were under the
oppression of the Nazis and the Communists. They were
genuinely a light to the world, in reminding us that — to
recover the truth in a culture of lies — the dignity of a
human person — where the people were being stuffed in
the ovens, and the sacredness of human life, when human
life was being jackbooted by thugs, whether they be led by
Hitler or Stalin — Poland kept its faith, knew its values,
trusted God, like the people of Israel."

6. Did Jesus give Polish Catholics and
other "chosen souls" a special
mission?

7. The Spark from Poland
"I bear a special love for
Poland, and if she will be
obedient to My will, I will exalt
her in might and holiness.
From her will come forth the
spark that will prepare the
world for My final coming"
(Diary of St. Faustina, 1732)
"I have come to bring fire on the Earth and
how I wish that it were already kindled." -
Luke 12:49

8. "The spark
that will prepare
the world.."

9. Finding your destiny, your niche
❖ "Jesus is inviting you, calling you, to leave your mark on life, to
leave a mark on history." - Pope Francis, to World Youth Day
pilgrims in Krakow, Poland July 30, 2016.
❖ “'To be called' means to know why one lives, why one exists...the
first truth and most basic one is this, every person has a vocation
in life and on this vocation lies a person’s greatness; the second
truth is this: everyone of us has to comprehend his own personal
vocation." - St. John Paul II, Orchard Lake Homily, Sept. 23, 1969.
❖ A powerful "Brand," fills and "owns'' a unique "niche" in a way no
competitor can.

10. During Poland's Insurrection of 1863 our
founder, Father Joseph Dabrowski, escaped 2,000
Russian troops when he found "a niche" in a wall.
"There was a niche in the wall, not large but of
sufficient depth to receive a human body -- I
considered this a revelation of Divine Providence"
Father Dabrowski, the father of Polish American
education, escaped Poland, became a priest starting
our Polish Seminary in 1885. He fed it through the
work of organizations he began, invited or worked
with:
- St. Mary's Preparatory
- St. Mary's College (now part of Madonna University)
- The Felician Sisters
- Polish Roman Catholic Union of America.
- Polish National Alliance.
- More than 800 Polish American parishes that
provided students and financial support.
The Orchard Lake "niche"

11. Orchard Lake Schools
SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary
Foundations in Faith Formation
St. Mary’s Preparatory
God. Family. St. Mary’s
The Polish Mission
Preserving Cultural Ethnicity & Tradition

12. Orchard Lake Polish Seminary: SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary (Krakow and Orchard Lake)
Providing Polish Priests
to evangelize America

14. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Preparatory
Leading Catholic
Preparatory School

15. 10% of our student body – half our international boarding students – from China
Premier International
Boarding School
Students from USA, China,
Poland, Spain, Canada,
Mexico, Europe, Asia, Africa
and South America.

17. Orchard Lake Polish Mission
Heart of Polonia: Art, culture
(Culture means what we value) P

20. Orchard Lake Schools - the Spark from Poland
Orchard Lake
produces
• Priests, deacons and lay ministers (as well as
bishops, one cardinal and at least two future
saints) who inspire millions of souls around the
world.
• State Champs in major sports and All Academic
champs in all sports.
• Hundreds of CEOs, executives and leaders on
every continent.
• Events and collections that inspire and
reenergize thousands of visitors and pilgrims.

21. Old Gym

22. Castle

24. Arturo Mari, Photographer to 6 Popes
“Orchard Lake is so large –
students listen, traditions are kept
alive,” – Arturo Mari
April 5, 2016 visit

27. – St. John Paul II, dubbed “The Father of Orchard Lake’’ and an honorary alumnus
after his first stay on our campus.
“In this setting, my dear members of the Orchard
Lake family, you can think about your vocation...”

35. Our New Struggle
Vocations in Poland
and USA have tumbled
Seminary enrollment has dropped from 67
seminarians and lay students six years ago to 26
this fall.
Tuition Revenue has tumbled from 71% to 36% of
our budget.
After earning a $903,863 surplus in 2010-11, our
seminary has lost $4.27 million since then
(subsidized by reserves and the other members of
our family).

36. How we come back
❖ Reenergize, renew and expand our relationships, particularly with North
American Polonia. From 1885-1977, most of our seminarians were Polish
Americans. During the JPII era, nearly all of our seminarians came from Poland.
Ideally, we need Poles, Polish Americans and all others who are called, helping
each other, spreading the spark from Poland around the globe.
❖ Evangelize and engage with the 2.5 million World Youth Day pilgrims who
gathered in Poland this year. At a post WYD meeting between the Pope and 10,000
participants, 2,000 men and 3,000 women stood when asked if they were
considering a vocation.
❖ Draw the faithful inspired by our patron St. John Paul II and The Divine Mercy.
In this Year of Mercy, the shrine in our Shrine Chapel was named for JPII during a
national celebration of Polish Christianity this year. We celebrate JPII on his feast
day and throughout the year. Our new Karol Wojtyla Society encourages planned
giving from monthly donors to estate planning.
❖ Cut waste, leverage our underutilized assets and resources, expand
development efforts and partner with like-minded people and organizations.

37. St. John Paul II gave Polonia a mission:
"Fill Orchard Lake, fill it to
capacity," - St. John Paul II
"If the Orchard Lake Schools
did not exist, it would be
necessary to create them,"
- St. John Paul II.

38. Fr. Walter Ciszek Fr. Joe Walijewski Fr. Zdislaw Peszkowski
Alumni: 2 future saints
and a Nobel nominee
Who will follow in
their foot steps?

39. How can you help?
1. Prayers and support.
2. Please refer just
1 student.