Visit Us
The Catholic Information Center offers classes, programs and events to help adults discover, and sometimes rediscover, the richness of the Catholic faith.
In addition, the CIC features the Irene Strom Café area with complimentary wifi, where some stop by throughout the day to study, work, meet with friends over coffee and conversation or check out our John August Swanson artwork.
Please feel free to stop by the CIC, grab a cup of coffee and check out our café!
Location
360 Division Ave. S. Suite 2A
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Hours
Monday – Thursday: 9 AM – 4:30 PM
Tuesday – Thursday: 6 – 9 PM
Friday: 9 AM – 1 PM
Contact Info
Phone: 616-459-7267
cicoffice@catholicinformationcenter.org
Directions & Parking
When you enter Cathedral Square, inform the desk that you are looking for the Catholic Information Center, and you will be directed up the stairs to the second level.
Parking: Free, secure parking is always available for CIC visitors. Please park in the lower level of the Cathedral Square Parking Ramp, entering from Wealthy Street, just east of Division Avenue. (Barrier free accessible parking for handicapped individuals is available in the ramp and also in the front parking lot facing Division Ave.)
Meeting Spaces
The Catholic Information Center has five state-of-the-art learning spaces with multi-media technology.
We offer half or full-day room reservations to select groups. Contact us at (616) 459-7267 or
cicoffice@catholicinformationcenter.org find out more.
The Gallagher Room
The Gallagher room is equipped for live-streaming programs. It is our largest room with a seating capacity of 36 with tables or 45 without tables.
About Fr. Gallagher
Fr. Joseph Gallagher, CSP (1923-2007) was born and raised in New York. He received his bachelors degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1942 and served as a Navy commander during World War II. He earned a law degree from Fordham University and practiced maritime law until he joined the Paulist Fathers. He was ordained in 1961.
He served at the Catholic Information Center in Boston; directed the Paulist Institute for Religious Research in New York; pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Parishes in New York and in Los Angeles; Director of the Catholic Information Center, Grand Rapids (1978-82); served as vice-president, then president of the Paulist Fathers and returned to serve at the Catholic Information Center in Grand Rapids until his death (1994-2007).
As President of the Paulist Fathers, Father Joe guided the Paulists to adopt a new mission direction statement that determined the Paulist mission around three major priorities: evangelization, ecumenism and reconciliation. He fostered a resurgence of interest in the spirituality of the Paulist Founder, Father Isaac Thomas Hecker. Fr. Joe was a strong advocate of the influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and worked tirelessly in advocating a deepening role for the laity in ministry. He believed in and supported ministries that reached beyond local churches into the marketplace at the nexus of culture and faith.
The Kenny Room
The Kenny room is our second-largest meeting room with a seating capacity of 30 with tables or 40 without tables. The furniture is easily reconfigurable for a variety of settings.
About Fr. Kenny
Fr. John Kenny, CSP (1932 – 2017 ) was a native of Chicago. He earned an M.A. in Religion at the Paulist seminary in Washington, D.C. and an M.A. in French at the University of Maryland. He was ordained in 1958.
He served as Professor of French at the Paulist junior college in Baltimore; Catholic Chaplain and professor at Boston University; Pastor of St. John’s University Parish (West Virginia University); Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish (University of Colorado); and parish and university pastor Clemson, South Carolina. He was director of the Catholic Information Center in Grand Rapids (1970 to 1978).
Fr. John completed sabbaticals at the Institut Catholique de Paris, the Catholic University of America in Washington, the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, and the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He returned to Grand Rapids in 2000 to rejoin the staff of the Catholic Information Center. He passed away in 2017 in Vero Beach, Florida.
The Avila Room
Named for the Paulist Fathers patron saint, Teresa of Avila, the Avila Room is a more intimate living room style setting, ideal for support groups and small group discussions. It can seat 10 to 12 people comfortably. The room has soft lighting and cozy seating. A wall mounted flat screen display can be used for showing videos. It also showcases one of the beautiful stained glass windows from the Catholic Information Center’s Chapel of St. Paul at the CIC’s former location on Ionia St.
About St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) was born in Spain and she entered the Carmelite Order at the age of eighteen. She was appalled by the posh, worldly life style of convents during that era. St. Teresa was called deeply to prayer and she frequently experienced ecstasies and visions. She suffered from poor health throughout her life. St. Teresa was a reformer of the Carmelite order and established many convents devoted to prayer and simplicity. She was canonized in 1622 and proclaimed a doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970. Teresa of Avila is one of the patron saints of the Paulist Fathers.
The Seton Conference Room
The beautiful Seton conference room showcases a piece of the stained glass from the former Chapel of St. Paul. This room is named after the Paulist Fathers patron saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton. It can seat up to 10 people around the main table.
About St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774 -1821) was the first United States American born saint (canonized, September 14, 1975). A wife and mother of five children, she was widowed when the children were still very young. She was a convert to Roman Catholicism and founded the American Sisters of Charity, the first sisterhood native to the United States. Elizabeth Seton opened the first free Catholic school for girls in the country, this school is known as the ‘cradle’ of Catholic schools in the USA. She is one of the patron saints of the Paulist Fathers.
Artwork
We are blessed to have several pieces of original artwork throughout our facility, and we often feature temporary exhibits and seasonal displays as well. Come early to your next class or make a special trip to our Café to enjoy the artwork!
Serigraphs by John August Swanson
The CIC also has several John August Swanson serigraphs that were generously donated by Robert and Mary Hoolsema, Mary and Larry Gerbens, Greg Carnavale and Diane Mohan.
Madonna and Child Sculpture
The Madonna and Child sculpture was created in 1987 for the CIC’s Chapel of St. Paul at its former location on Ionia Avenue, NW, in downtown Grand Rapids. The artist, David Wanner, of Wanner Studios in Wisconsin, cast, molded and framed this piece.
Stained Glass from the CIC Chapel of St. Paul
We have four works of stained glass by Mark Talaba, of Talaba Studios in Pennsylvania. These works graced the windows of the former CIC Chapel of St. Paul. Their theme is “the flow of continual peace,” and we are pleased with the beauty that they bring to our current space.