The Book of Bishops (The Bishop of . . . )

 It is time to produce the final segment of this Book and to introduce the final Bishop being remembered here. It is time to share some interesting interactions between myself and this "Mystery Bishop" whom I saved to the last.

It is time and long overdue but that is because in the interval I have been dealing with some personal health matters. But that is another story and one about which I simply request that you continue to remember me in your prayers. I am doing well, still kicking (so to speak) and trying my best to provide ministry.

That said, on to the final Bishop.

Who is not and never actually was a Bishop of Detroit. 

At least not technically. I say that because in a sense he just might be considered the Bishop of Detroit and of every other diocese and archdiocese in the world.

I am speaking of The Bishop - That would be the Bishop of Rome.

Specifically, John Paul II.

And, yes, we have had some interesting interactions, some direct and some indirect.

So, let me share with you some special memories.

The first dates back to the first visit of John Paul to the United States and is would be classified as a remote contact memory.

During his first visit, a special gathering was scheduled in Philadelphia for the clergy of the USA. Those who could, were welcome to take part.

I went.

It was a morning gathering in one of the Philadelphia's churches. The exact name and location excape me. I just know that, along with numerous other priests from across our land, I was there and I was seated very near the center aisle.

John Paul would enter and exit via that center aisle and I had my camera on the ready. I would get a good close-up of the Holy Father.

Or so I thought.

His entrance was not photogenic as he was, as I recall, turned in the other direction, looking at and greeting those across the aisle from me. I could get a photo of his back but that was far from my plan. I would wait for the exit.

And so it came.

And he was looking squarely in my direction as he came down the aisle.

Ahead of him and on either side of him were Seccret Service agents, assigned for his protection.

I leaned out into the aisle, camera in hand, ready to get the photo of lasting memory.

And then I got it!

Not the photo of my dreams but a swift, sharp blow to my ribs from an accompanying Secret Service agent!

I was, in the moment, perceived as a potential threat.

My first memory of John Paul, my first contact, so to speak, was not the photo but sore ribs!

The day would come when I would get that photo but this, clearly, was not the day.

More memories ahead!

Book Break - Update

 Just a quick note to inform you that the final chapters of The Book of Bishops are yet to come.

However, at present I am taking a bit of a break to deal with some other items and issues.

Tomorrow, August 1, I am scheduled for a biopsy.

I have already had a PET Scan and so am now will be awaiting the results.

While this happens, I am just going to refrain from any writing pressures.

Meantime, I do ask your understanding and most importantly, your prayerful support.

I hope to return to the final episodes of The Book of Bishops soon.

Thought I should provide you with an update on today's proceedings. So here goes:

Finally home again. This is what I know at present.

I am tired and plan on resting. At this point I have put a possible cancel for Sunday just in case.

Right now the throat is sore and needs to be rested. They said it should be better in about 24 hours but that is already getting close to Sunday. At present not speaking is best and that is what I will try to do. They went in with a scope down the throat into the lungs.

The results will not be available for a week at least so we do need to wait on those.

Meantime, my sister did say that the doctor told her they found two densities which were biopsied and also a couple of lymph nodes with nodules which were also biopsied.

That is about all I know for now.

The Balanced Life staff here (medical/special care on site here) have been briefed and will be checking in on me as well and my sister offered to come back tomorrow if needed.

But for right now, I am just tired and planning on getting to sleep rather soon

Thanks to all for your prayerful support and kind words.

The Book of Bishops (The Vigneron Era - Payback Time?)

 Pope Francis - if you are perhaps reading this (in your dreams, Ronald!) than I would like you to consider a very special request.

Our Archbishop turned 75 last October and in accord with requirements for bishops, he has submitted his retirement offer. Presently we are awaiting the naming of his successor and that would enable him to enter into and begin enjoying retirement.

And that is where my request enters the picture.

When all of this actually happens, could you possibly find him "part time" job, perhaps even at the Vatican. It could just be something where he would be attending some meetings, perhaps monthly,

I would appreciate that and also believe that it might be fair.

You see, I enter that retirement, senior clergy status on July 1, 2008. A few months later Allen Vigneron was named to succeed Adam Maida as Archbishop of Detroit. He would be moving back here to his home turf after some time as Oakland, California's bishop.

We welcomed him quite properly in January, 2009, even freeing him with a major snowstorm and bitter cold just to remind him that this, indeed, Michigan.

Some time, shortly after  his return, he began naming members to the Presbyterial Council, an advisory board to the Archbishop.

And I was named,  retired or not, I was named and, of course, that meant a monthly meeting every month from September to May.

And I still wonder. Was this some sort of acknowledgement of my skills and service or was this some sort of payback for the time he had to spend in training under my supervision during his deacon year in Romeo, Michigan!

Anyhow, now in addition to the assistance I was providing parishes on weekends and in addition to the ministry I was offering to the Dominican Sisters in Oxford, Michigan and in addition to the adjunct teaching I was doing at the Seminary in Orchard Lake, I had the joy of attending monthly meetings.

I thought that was one thing I had "escaped" in retirement.

But not so!

And add to that in May, while I was relaxing and enjoying some time away in Florida, there came a phone call from those Downtown Offices.

Now I was also named (asked to take a position = the more tender terminology) on the Archdiocesan Worship commission.

And more monthly meetings!

Well obviously I accepted as I had the Presbyterial Council role and off I was going, regularly, to those meeting things that I thought I had escaped!

For whatever reason I was named, I did accept and I tried as best as I could to serve.

And now, Pope Francis, I am humbly requesting that you provide Allen Vigneron with the same opportunities and honor when that day comes and he enters official "retirement."

Give him the joy of some additional meetings.

Oh and by the way, when I finally ended my terms with those meetings, the very same Allen Vigneron expensed gratitude to me by gifting me with a book.

It is titled - Death by Meetings!

A bit more to come - some comments about a "surprise" bishop!

The Book of Bishops (Vigneron - Still More)

 Just like this coming year (2025) 1975 was a Holy Year. 

That means that pilgrims from around the world, people of faith, make a special journey to Rome and the four major basilicas (St. Peter's, St. Paul outside the Walls, St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran) become important stopping points in the journey. Each of these sites has a Holy Door which is ceremonially opened at the start of the Holy Year and those making the pilgrimage enter these places through the Holy Doors.

For some time I had been talking about and hoping for an opportunity to make a trip to Europe. Friends also spoke of the possibility but, sounding like true Detroit's supporting major sports teams from this city, the response was predictably "But wait until next year."

We talked; we dreamed; we waited.

It seemed always to be next year.

Well, in 1975 I decided that I was not going to just sit back and wait until next year. Without asking anyone else, informing anyone else, I struck out on my own. The Archdiocese of Detroit was sponsoring a pilgrimage that year and I just went ahead and signed up for it. I figured that this  would finally get me across the Pond and onto European soil. I had no idea of who else might be going on this trip but I also figured that they would be locals, we could get to know each other and perhaps some of us just might already know some of the others.

What did I have to loose?

As an added bonus that was also within the timeframe in which Allen Vigneron, then a deacon, was fresh back from Rome and doing his final year with me at St. Clement of Rome in Romeo.

He could give me a few tips in terms of traveling Rome and Italy.

And I was not wrong. Not by any stretch.

He provided me with instructions for getting around, for how to enjoy various dining experiences in the Eternal City, for sights to see and how to see them efficiently.

He introduced me to the wonders of another St. Clement of Rome - the Basilica a short distance from the Collosium. This gem is an all too often ignored or forgotten treasure  for exploring so much of Rome's history. In this treasure I have presided at Mass in the upper basilica (medieval) and the lower basilica (5th century?) and walked ancient Roman streets.

He also introduced me to a now long-gone family operated Italian restaurant in  Detroit, no real signage and based in a neighborhood house but one with the finest, freshest home-made pastas and sauces. Oh, and the place did not even have a liquor license. However, they did somehow manage to serve "light" and "dark" coffee in pots, poured into coffee cups and flavored anything but coffee-like!

By the time I was finally headed to Rome, I was well prepared, perhaps better than most and that was thanks to the now Archbishop of Detroit, Allen Vigneron.

There is still more to come . . . soon . . .

The Book of Bishops (Vigneron)

 Yes!

It has been a long time but that time was filled with some other things - like Lent and Ester and an outside engagement and even a bit of cardiac surgery. But now it is time to resume and bring this Book Of Bishops to a close.

And to do that we need give some mention to the current (and outgoing) present Archbishop of Detroit, Allen Vigneron. I list him as "outgoing" not so much for his public persona but rather for the fact that he has now turned Seventy-Five years of age and has been required to submit his letter of intent to retire to the Holy Father. No word has come yet as to when that will actually happen or who will step into the position after him. So currently he is a lame-duck holding down the fort until someone higher up makes a move.

And when I titled this chapter, you will take note, I merely used his last name rather than the full name ad title.

That is because there is very little to tell about tales and experiences with him while he has been Detroit's Archbishop. I retired on July 1, 2008 and he assumed his position early in 2009. During his years, since I was now retired, I tried as much as possible to stay out of his hair.

I had another reason to take a set back.

I knew him long before he began to wear that pointy hat.

Actually, I knew him before an ordained presbyter!

We go backto a time when I was a fresh, still wet behind the ears pastor and he was a student, recently ordained a deacon and now back home in the United Sates after his theology studies in Rome. He was assigned to me for in service training in the year prior to his priestly ordination.

I had, some months earlier, completed my graduate studies in Liturgical Theology at the University of Notre Dame and had been assigned as pastor of St. Clement of Rome Paarish in Romeo, Michigan. I was also serving as advisor/consultant to the Archdiocesan Worship Office, providing workshops and training sessions in the newly released liturgical books. Add to all of that I was serving as adjunct faculty in Liturgical Theology at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary grad school in Orchard Lake.

And now I had placed under my wing this brilliant academic, newly minted in Rome, no less. And I had oversight of his final step in the journey to the priesthood.

Long before he was anybody's bishop, Allen Vigneron was deacon with me at Mass at the altar of St. Clement of Rome. Long before he was the chief teacher of the faith in any diocese, he was proclaiming his earliest homilies from the pulpit at St. Clement of Rome.

In all honesty, I hardly knew what pastoring really meant back then. I was still truly learning.

But I was also entrusted with teaching.

And my prime pupil was a young man named Allen Vigneron.

Who knew what lie ahead!

If only . . .

But he went on to get ordained and that actually happened right there in the church building of 

St. Clement of Rome.

And he did spend a bit more time in ministry in parishes.

And he added more years and courses  to his repertoire even returning for more studies in Rome.

Eventually he was added to the faculty of Sacred Heart Seminary where he became Vice-Rector and then Rector, himself now in charge  of the formation of many future priests, deacons and lay ministers.

And from that on to bishop, associate in the Detroit Archdiocese.

But after a brief while he was moving across the country to assume responsibility for his own Diocese in Oakland, California.

And at last, maybe when it was deemed safe since I was now retired, he was brought back to Detroit to serve, as he has and continues for the time, as the Archbishop of Detroit.

I recall a time when I remarked to him, "Do you know how strange it is for me to mention your name when I pray the Eucharistic Prayer?"

To which he replied, "Strange for you? Do you know how strange it is for me to hear my name in the Eucharistic Prayer!"

There are a couple of tales to share . . . soon . . .

The Book of Bishops - The Maida Era (Retirement)

 Retirement!

That time of life was drawing ever closer. Social Security checks were already a monthly regularity. The parish which I was serving at the time was now fiscally solvent and spiritually and socially vigorous. It was easy now to consider that the time was coming to take that big step back.

As if to provide some frosting for that cake, we were engaged in something called "Together in Faith" or some such. A general meeting of a number of regional parishes with several archdiocesan officials made it very clear that the times, they were changing. The priest shortage was now become very real and increasing. A number of parishes were running into increasing fiscal difficulties. The overall impact on the archdiocese was beginning to show, big time.

And so I made a phone call.

To downtown.

With a question - can one retiree when one is turning seven or must one wait until actually turning seven.

The answer was a joyful relief.

Even if only still a youthful sixty-nine, if that would be the year of turning seventy, you can submit for retirement.

Nice to have a birthday in November.

And so the process began. 

One critical step, an early step in the process involved a one on one meeting with the Archbishop to formally submit the retirement request and to discuss retirement plans and possibilities.

Proving truw to form (mine) I asked where this meeting would take place.

Downtown in the Office of he Archbishop, I was informed.

To which I responded - "Nope!"

Can't be there!

Over all so many years I had so very many one on one meetings with the various Archbishops of Detroit in their private study in their residences. I wanted to go out with one more meeting in that familiar territory.

And my request was granted.

I would meet to submit my retirement request to Adam Cardinal Maida at his home and in his study. At that time he had also reached retirement age for bishops and had submitted his intent to the Holy Father in Rome. He was now awaiting a response to his retirement request.

We met. We discussed many of the usual and predictable matters. He asked about my plans, living arrangements, intentions for keeping busy and active as possible. We talked about the years gone by. We made the promises of praying for each other and remembering each other. Words of gratitude were also spoken.

And the time came to say, "Goodbye."

We stood together at the door.

And then Adam Cardinal Maida looked right at me and declared, "I think I should suggest to Rome that you now be named to take my place as Detroit's Archbishop. Then I could retire and you could stay busy for a few more years!"

Nice thought!

But not my thought, certainly and definitely not in my playbook.

And so it was that I said my Goodbye.

And began the countdown to July 1, 2008.

And there is still the Vigneron Era!

The Book of Bishops - The Maida Era (Don't Cry for Me . . . and bells!)

 Remember that Broadway musical, later a movie - Evita?

Many great songs within the telling of a great story but presently one of those songs stands out in my mind.

Don't Cry for Me, Argentina.

Evita sings that, reflecting on the many life sacrifices" she has made for love of her country.

Anyhow, the melody and especially the words, "Don't Cry for Me" are ringing in my mind as I begin this writing. My last blog installment relayed my producing a researched paper regarding the Sacrament of Confirmation at a time when the hierarchy was debating and discussing the proper age for the Sacrament. End result was that the paper was never acknowledged.

That prompted some messages to me expressing support and sympathy for hard work ignored. While I appreciate all those kind words, I have survived and now, in retrospect, can declare, "No regrets."

That research and resulting paper were never solicited by any authorities. I choose to do it feely on my own. Call it a work of love for the Church. Nothing was due me for it. And for those who asked if a copy might still be available, unfortunately this goes back to a time before storage disks and such. So, lost in time. But if anyone really wanted to do a study of Confirmation and its disintegration in the Western Church, other, even more thorough and technical studies have been done and can be found. (Not, I would suspect, in most bishops' libraries!)

But let's get back to those tales about Detroit's bishops and some of my dealings with them.

Like this little episode.

This one takes place in my days as pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in St. Clair Shores.

Let  me suggest that this parish was something of a scavenger!

We had stained glass windows in certain areas, retrieved from a closed parish and restored. We had bells from Immaculate Conception Church in Poletown, retrieved when GM managed to gain land rights.

And in my time we retrieved the majestic pipe organ from the recently closed St. David's Parish in Detroit. Having rescued this beauty, we hired professionals to completely rebuild it and modernize it into a state of the art instrument. The project lasted a number of years and at various times needed review by the Archdiocesan Board of Consulters, headed, of course, by our very own Archbishop, Adam Maida.

He was in on the project from almost day one and so,  when finally the instrument was installed and deemed ready to go, it was only proper to invite the Archbishop to preside at Mass and do the actual blessing of the restored, refurbished instrument.

The invitation was accepted and date and time were set for the blessing of the organ. Excitement was high because so much time, effort, and yes, even cash had gone into this work.

Pipes, gleaming like new now graced the wall above the choir as well as the wall behind the loge. The old electronic instrument was out and seriously outclassed.

Ministers were vested and ready in line to process in beginning this grand event.

At the end of the procession was the Archbishop with me, as pastor, at his side.

All was set to begin when the Archbishop leaned over to me as, just to be certain he was on the right page, asked me, "I will be blessing the bells, right? I'm here to bless your new bells!"

Several folk nearby must have heard that because there were several very audible gasps.

I believe that I found myself straining to hold back some serious laughter.

Remembering, I thing that laughter is still eager to burst loose!

Infallible - maybe not this time!

Maybe a bit more from The Maida Era