St. Ronald, who our parish is named after, was born in Agdir Norway around the year 1118. He was a talented and venturesome son of wealthy parents. As a young boy, his parents sent him to visit the Orkney Island in Northern Scotland. St. Ronald had many close calls to losing his life including a pilgrimage to the holy Land during the Crusades. In gratitude for his life being spared, he built the Cathedral of St. Magnus at Kirwall. He was martyred in the 1158 A.D. and was buried at the Cathedral he had built. In 1192, Pope Celestine moved St. Ronald’s remains to Rome after St. Ronald’s canonization. His feast day is August 20th.

St. Ronald Parish was established by Cardinal John Dearden on July 12, 1971. Because of over crowding in the neighboring parishes of St. Thecla and Our Lady Queen of All Saints, it was necessary to institue a new Catholic Community. Before the construction of the church building, masses were held at Richards Junior High School in Fraser. The first Liturgy was celebrated in August 1971 with 72 families present. Because of rapid growth, the parish was required to move to Fraser Senior High School Auditorium. It was time for a permanent church building to be built. On November 12, 1972, parishioners of St. Ronald broke ground for their new building. A year later, Cardinal Dearden presided over the dedication of the Parish Center. By 1976, over 1200 families were registered to St. Ronald and the parish’s growth continued to increase.

In June of 1977, Cardinal Dearden designated five acres of St. Ronald property to be a site for Madonna Villa. Madonna Villa is a campus style home for senior citizens and was funded by the Ryan Endowment Fund. Currently, St. Ronald no longer owns Madonna Villa. However, the parish does provide mass once a month and takes communion to the homebound.

By the fall of 1981, the parish building was in need of expansion. To meet the parish expectations and growth, the parish began plans for renovation and expansion. In May 1983, groundbreaking took place for the Activities Center which currently houses the parish and religious education offices, hall and kitchen area.

In 2004, St. Louis (Clinton Twp.), St. Michael (Sterling Heights) and St. Ronald entered into a consortium agreement that they would use their parish resources to build up the Body of Christ in Clinton Township and Sterling Heights. The parishes have many differents events that members from these parishes are welcome to attend. These events are called Tri-Parish Events. For more information, please click on the following links: http://www.stlouischurch.com or www.stmichaelcc.org.

Due to more growth, St. Ronald Parish created a building committee in 2003. This committee was put together to evaluate and determine the growing needs of the parish. Parishioners were asked how our parish building could be improved and what is needed. The committee reviewed those needs and wishes and have worked diligently to incorporate them into the ultimate plan for the parish building addition and renovation. The ultimate project would include a large and spacious gathering area, a permanent baptismal font, additional classrooms/meeting rooms, a place to lay a body in-state, additional restrooms, a larger hospitality room, a new receptionist area, storage space, and much more. The new addition was dedicated in February or March of 2010 by Bishop Allen Vigneron.

Over the years, St. Ronald Parish has had five pastors assigned to them. The founding pastor was Rev. Herman Kucyk, who remained our pastor for only one year. It was Fr. Kucyk who set up the first rectory in a rented house on Garfield just north of Fifteen Mile Road. This house served as the core for all parish business and planning.

In October, 1972, Rev. Richard Cyr became our 2nd pastor. He handled the difficult task of planning and overseeing the construction of our first church center. The center was completed in December 1973.

In June of 1989, Rev. Richard Cyr was replaced by Rev. Lawrence Fares. Fr. Fares presided at St. Ronald until 1997. In 1997, Rev. Ralph Quane became our fourth pastor of St. Ronald. In 2000, Rev. James R. Andres,OFM,Cap became the fifth pastor and presided until he retired in June 2010. Monsignor George Miller was appointed in June 2010 and remains as St. Ronald's current pastor.