In second grade, Catherine Gilmet came home full of questions after classmates spoke about eating the body of Christ and drinking his blood.
“I wasn’t Catholic and didn’t understand what they meant,” she recalls. “But I knew it was something special.”
Her mother prayed with her and her brother each night, but they didn’t attend church. Catherine’s curiosity stirred something in her mother’s heart, and she reached out to the local priest to learn more. The priest came to their home and spoke with compassion, but when Catherine’s father found out, he forbade any further contact.
“My mother later told me that turning away from the light of Christ that day allowed darkness to enter our home,” Catherine reflects.
Two years later, Catherine’s father left. Yet God’s mercy was already at work. Her mother met a devout Catholic man who would become her stepfather. Through him, their blended family of five children entered the Catholic Church through RCIA.
“The light of Christ came back into our lives,” Catherine offers. “God had a plan for our family all along.”
Faith as a Foundation
Years later, Catherine and her husband, Doug, built their marriage on shared Catholic values. After serving in the Air Force, they returned to Michigan and settled in Rogers City, drawn to St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic School and Parish. With three growing daughters and a heart open to God’s call, Catherine pursued her teaching degree.
“I told God if he opened a door, I would walk through it,” she says. That door led her to St. Ignatius, where she began teaching middle school students.
Teaching with Grace
For 18 years, Catherine taught grades 5-8, weaving joy and faith into every subject.
“Learning is a gift from God,” she told her students. “Every lesson, every prayer, every act of kindness is a way to grow closer to him.”
She loved helping her students, and her own children, discover how faith connects to every subject and every moment of their lives.
When St. Ignatius launched a kindergarten program, Catherine embraced a new calling. For the past seven years, she has nurtured the youngest learners—and even her grandchildren—helping them discover the joy of faith.
“Their hearts are so open to Jesus,” she smiles.
Each morning, Catherine pauses before photos of every class she has taught—25 in all. Some former students now bring their own children to St. Ignatius, creating generations of faith-filled learners.
Through every prayer and lesson, Catherine shares one enduring truth: “Christ is our light. If we follow him, we’ll never walk in darkness.”
