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Detroit bishops make pilgrimage, update pope on archdiocese
By Joe Kohn
Of The Michigan Catholic
Published May 7, 2004
DETROIT – They gathered in a crypt underneath the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome – a handful of men from Michigan and Ohio.
There, near the tomb of the first vicar of Christ, they broke bread during Mass, and remembered in a special way that they themselves are today's apostles.
"We realize what we are really a part of as bishops," said Bishop John Quinn, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit. "We're part of a great tradition going back from the apostles and their successors. And, as bishops, we're asked to live that tradition and to be a source of unity and a source of faith in our community."
A pilgrimage to the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul is a part of what every bishop in the Church experiences in an ad limina visit to the Vatican.
Ad limina visits – a Church tradition since Pope Sixtus V wrote them into a Church constitution in 1585 – give bishops the opportunity to take part in the pilgrimage and to update the pope on Church activities in their various regions.
Bishops from Michigan and Ohio are in Rome this week on such a visit, which typically is made every five years.
 - Catholic Press Photo
Cardinal Adam Maida, center of first table, auxiliary bishops of Detroit, and Michigan and Ohio bishops hold a meeting at the North American College in Rome Sunday prior to Monday's rounds at the Vatican.
Auxiliary Bishops Quinn, Earl Boyea, Walter Hurley, Francis Reiss and retired Auxiliary Bishop Moses Anderson, SSE, are with Cardinal Adam Maida to make the pilgrimage, and to hand Pope John Paul II a report on what the Church of Detroit has been up to for the past six years.
For Auxiliary Bishops Quinn, Boyea, Hurley and Reiss, this is the first ad limina visit, and an important opportunity to reflect on their mission.
"It's a chance to go back to the tombs of the apostles, and that reminds me of being in apostolic ministry," said Bishop Boyea, speaking before he left Detroit. "It's also a challenge to me to live the same kind of life as the apostles lived, and to be ready, if I had to, to die for the faith."
The cardinal and bishops will have an audience with Pope John Paul II, and will hand the Holy Father their quinquennial report – a document giving an overview of what's happened in the archdiocese over the past five years, and goals for the future.
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-Catholic Press Photo
Cardinal Adam Maida meets with U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Jim Nicholson, on Monday. |
This year, because of how the bishops from Detroit and Ohio were scheduled for the visit, the quinquennial report actually includes six years worth of history, dating back to 1998.
"There's a bit of business in it," said Bishop Kevin Britt of Grand Rapids, who made an ad limina visit when he was an Archdiocese of Detroit auxiliary bishop in 1998. "There's the pilgrimage to the tomb, and there's the meeting with the Holy Father – and those are special moments, too, to sit one-on-one with the Holy Father and talk about the hopes and goals for our diocese."
For the Archdiocese of Detroit, there will be much to talk about, too.
"We have to express to the Holy Father himself everything that's happening in the diocese," said Fr. Robert McClory, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Detroit, who helped compile the quinquennial report. "The quinquennial report, in our instance, is a fairly thorough assessment of all the initiatives in the archdiocese."
The 150-page report, Fr. McClory said, covers a wide range of topics, including lay orders, social justice, health care, clergy issues, financial issues and even liturgical art. Also, the report has more than 50 attachments, such as books, pamphlets and policies.
"The process of gathering this information also is an opportunity to reflect on what has happened over the past five or six years," Fr. McClory said.
Putting the report together took more than a year. The project initially belonged to former chancellor Sr. Barbara Celeskey, SJ, who retired last year.
"I wanted to include not only the strength of the diocese, but areas where we could stand improvement, because everything can be improved," said Sr. Celeskey, who as chancellor for 14 years assembled three quinquennial reports.
This week, Cardinal Maida and Detroit's bishops will describe to the pope the Archdiocese of Detroit's Jubilee 2000 celebration, the mission of priests in the archdiocese, efforts to prevent clergy sex abuse, the Try It On vocations campaign conducted by the Office for Vocations in 2001 and 2002 and how the archdiocese observed the Year of the Rosary in 2003. They also will detail hopes for the future in the Detroit area, including new evangelization efforts and spiritual renewal programs for fallen-away Catholics, vicariate pastoral planning, and continued strong support for the dignity of human life, both in society and government.
The pope will respond to the visit by giving remarks to the Archdiocese of Detroit and the other nearby dioceses.
For at least one of today's successors to the apostles, reporting to the pope on the state of the Church of Detroit will be a joyful experience.
"It's very humbling to do that, to be part of the archbishop and auxiliary bishops and report on the status of the Church," said Bishop Quinn. "And I realize all the great work that's been done in the Archdiocese of Detroit. I am very proud to represent the Archdiocese of Detroit and to be able to speak to the great accomplishments of the cardinal and the leadership role of the priests and the laity of this diocese.
"Our Church is alive and vibrant and we have much to be proud of."
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