NOVI, Mich. – Catholic Central is proud to announce a new book on the school's history. Detroit Catholic Central High School, from Arcadia Publishing, comes out November 24, 2026. It was written by two alumni, James M. Gibbons Jr. '68 and Michael J. Butler, Esq. '71, and it arrives as the school gets ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2028.

The book follows Catholic Central from its founding in the fall of 1928. That year the Basilian Fathers of Toronto opened the school to 260 students, led by Fr. Daniel Dillon, CSB. Gibbons and Butler tell how CC kept growing after it lost its first building on Harper Street in 1934. Over the same years it also dealt with rising enrollment, too few classrooms, the Great Depression and World War II. The book also honors the people who built CC's lasting traditions and school culture, starting when the school stood just off Woodward Avenue in central Detroit.

The authors drew images and articles from the Basilian Fathers archives, the Catholic Central archives and alumni family scrapbooks. Together they show the key events and people that turned a modest start into a leading school. Gibbons is a retired educator and Butler is a retired trial attorney. The foreword is by Fr. Dennis P. Noelke, CSB '71, a former Catholic Central principal.

The book also shows how CC's founding mission of "Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge" still guides the school almost a century later.

Book Details

• Title: Detroit Catholic Central High School
• Authors: James M. Gibbons Jr. '68 and Michael J. Butler, Esq. '71
• Foreword: Fr. Dennis P. Noelke, CSB '71
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: November 24, 2026
• Price: $24.99
• ISBN: 978-1-4671-6307-1

The book will be available through Arcadia Publishing at arcadiapublishing.com and wherever books are sold.

Amazon Link to Preorder 

(L-R): Mr. Michael J. Butler, Esq. '71, Fr. Dennis P. Noelke, CSB '71, and Mr. James M. Gibbons Jr. '68