About Us

Welcome to St. Mary Magdalen’s Parish in Kentwood, Michigan!

It is my joy and honor to invite you to visit and be a part of this wonderful, diverse faith community. I have been at this parish since 2017 and enjoyed seeing how this church has grown and celebrated its faith life at Mass, Prayer Events, Parish Retreats, Faith-Formation Classes, and various Social Activities. Some parishes have bragged about their multi-cultural makeup, but this parish is truly an international community as I see African Americans; Asians such as Filipino, Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese; Africans such as Congolese, Kenyan, Rwandan, Burundi, and Senegalese; and South Americans such as Mexican, Columbian, Brazilian, and Cuban besides Caucasian come together for prayers and socializing.

In addition to its diversity, this parish has grown tremendously & filled up with children and young families. When I first came to the parish, I averaged one funeral a week; sometimes even three or four. Now, we still do funerals regularly; but we have multiple baptisms and weddings every month. Our Children’s Liturgy of the Word at 9 am and 11 am Mass is flooded with children of all ages. Certainly, we cannot wait to see our Children’s Choir sing once a month as they hit all the notes and bring joy and enthusiasm to the whole congregation. Their infectious love for Jesus and the Mass radiates to all the church attendants and helps us get a lot out of the Mass. We also have a talented and dedicated Music Department to help us maintain four Masses every weekend besides a flexible schedule for the Holy Days to accommodate the working schedule of our parishioners and visitors. We have a daily Mass Monday to Friday except Tuesday because it is my day off. Our Pastoral Staff also visit the homebound, the sick, and the dying to pray with them and bring them Holy Communion. Of course, we respond to calls for the Last Rite whether the person is a parishioner or not.

Besides all the Sacraments and Services provided for parishioners and visitors, what I admire the most about this parish is that it knows how to apply its Catholic faith to real life. It sees the importance of having fun and celebrating Social Events such as our annual Parish Festival and Lunar New Year. Those events have drawn hundreds of participants every year and continued to grow. The parish also collaborates with Feeding America West Michigan program to provide food for the poor and needy in the community once a month besides sponsoring a parish in Haiti and helping out the misfortunate who might show up at the Church door. We also grow a Community Garden to supply the local Food Pantry and raise a Chicken Coop to bring a big smile to our Children (and adults also) whenever they visit it.

Surely there are a lot more wonderful things about this faith community that I might not have listed here. However, I invite you to stop by our church to discover those hidden spiritual treasures for yourself and help us develop them to our best potentials. Indeed, we believe in the mission of our Lord Jesus; but we need more hands and resources to carry it out. As John E. Large once said, “The Church sometimes forgets that at least part of her divine commission is ‘to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.’” I thank God for my Parish Staff, Volunteers, and Benefactors for their donation of Time, Talents, and Treasures and pray that more people will join us on our current mission and joyful journey to Heaven. Will you be a part of this faith community and help us with that mission and journey to Heaven?

In Christ’s love and prayers,

Fr. Peter G. Vu, pastor