'He's somebody who really lets you see what God is like'
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 15, 2006
Ferndale — Fr. Edward Prus has touched hundreds of lives in the 45 years since his ordination, through weddings, funerals, spiritual direction – and through blueberry pie.
Even in retirement, Fr. Prus, 77, keeps himself busy ministering to people; saying daily Mass at his residence, St. James Parish in Ferndale; continuing to preside at funerals and the occasional wedding; and helping at other parishes on Sundays and holy days. On any given day, he might visit a sick person, or anoint someone in hospice care, or attend a holy hour.
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Photo by Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Fr. Edward Prus, in the rectory of St. James, Ferndale, where he lives, stays busy ministering to others even in retirement. | He attends meetings as chaplain for the Detroit-Oakland Serra Club, which promotes vocations. He tries to get out most days and walk for a few miles around the neighborhoods of Ferndale to stay in shape. Most Wednesdays, he'll head out to visit priest friends over brunch, and chat about everything from their own homilies to what's happening in the world today.
"Those are opportunities I'd never had before," he said of his various activities in retirement.
What he's not too busy to do is to take a few minutes to pray with a visitor, clasping hands, bowing heads and asking for God's blessing. Interacting with people and staying busy helps to strengthen his faith life and his belief in God, he said.
"He's really at work in all these areas," he said. "They (the priests) all do a great job."
Fr. Prus says he is thankful for all the experiences his career as a parish priest has given him. But he's also thankful for the new opportunities he has had since he retired seven years ago.
Fr. Prus was born and raised in River Rouge, and attended Our Lady of Lourdes parish and school. He still tries to make it back to Our Lady of Lourdes once or twice a year, to get back to his roots, he said.
He did odd jobs before serving in the Army for two years in France, which he said he enjoyed. He wanted to enter the seminary, and although he was intimidated by Latin, he signed up anyway. He was ordained in 1961.
Over the years, he's spent time at St. Philip Neri in Columbus, at Sacred Heart Seminary's high school as a spiritual director and teacher, and spent 18 years at National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak. "It was a wonderful assignment," he said. "I really enjoyed it."
He also spent three and a half years at the archdiocesan mission in Recife, Brazil, although he was intimidated again by the language barrier — this time, Portuguese. Dealing with people in a different culture allowed him to see how gracious they are, and how strong their faith life is, even with few priests to shepherd them.
By the time Fr. Prus left due to health reasons, he could speak Portuguese, which he felt was God telling him that he could do anything with His help. He remembers going to the beach most Mondays, with the people back home thinking that he's suffering, and "here I am, being blessed by God."
He came back and was assigned as pastor to St. Raphael in Garden City, where he stayed until his retirement eight years later, after he turned 70. Deacon Bob Ovies, who'd known Fr. Prus as a friend from his Shrine days, worked as a deacon at St. Raphael with him.
He said Fr. Prus is in love with God and in love with people, loves being a priest, and loves being Christ to people.
"He is really a holy man," he said. "He's somebody who really lets you see what God is like, putting on flesh.
"You could line up a thousand people and they'd all tell you he's the best priest they've ever seen," he said.
Deacon Ovies remembers that one man at Shrine had always wanted a blueberry pie on his birthday, but one year his wife had gone to the eye doctor that day and couldn't see well enough to make a pie. She was upset that her husband couldn't have his birthday pie. Then the doorbell rang.
It was Fr. Prus, coming over to wish his friend a happy birthday. Fr. Prus is known for bringing people loaves of bread, but by that time in the day, the bakery had been out of bread. He'd then asked for an apple pie, but they were out of that – so he'd brought over a blueberry pie.
Deacon Ovies said that in itself says a lot about who Fr. Prus was. "He's really wide open to what God is doing," he said, even if he might not realize that God is using him.
After Fr. Prus retired, he lived with a friend for a year in Hazel Park before St. James' former pastor Fr. Robert Wurm invited Fr. Prus to stay at St. James while Fr. Prus recovered from his hip replacement. He's been there ever since.
He can't say enough good things about the people at the house, and he likes being around other people and activity. "It's a nice place to live for me," he said.
Retirement gives Fr. Prus the chance to get out of the country about once a year, and so far he's visited the Holy Land; Oberammergau, Germany for the once-a-decade Passion Play; a cruise to Australia and New Zealand; Sweden; Sicily; and gone back to Brazil. After his 75th birthday, which he decided he wanted to make special, he spent three weeks in Lourdes, France hearing confessions.
"Every penitent can be like a spiritual director for me," he'd said.
There are things he misses about being a parish pastor, among them getting to know all of his parishioners. "When you look out at the community, you know them," he said.
He also misses having children around – "Children give you so much life – and challenge you," he said – and even things such as going to high school football games. He doesn't miss the day-to-day challenges of running a parish, he said.
"It always seemed there was a roof you had to get money for," he said.
In his opinion, it's important to support retired priests because they've given their own lives to serving people. Because his parents died before he was ordained, he doesn't have family members to care for, but other priests do.
He also pointed out that religious orders need help, too, especially those who gave up their own riches to take care of others. The Felician sisters took in his mother before she died, which prevented him from having to leave the seminary to take care of her.
Deacon Ovies said Fr. Prus stays active in retirement because he never really thought of being a priest as his job. "He was able to be fed as he was feeding," he said.
Fr. Prus keeps in touch with many of his former parishioners, people whose children he's baptized, people whose children he's married. He lets himself be inspired by people, he said, and said those who put their trust in his prayers are a special gift.
"People are where you really find God's spirit," he said. "I really think they are so special. They are a blessing to all of us."
Deacon Ovies said Fr. Prus trusts God greatly, and doesn't try to impress anyone with the fact that he's a priest. "He sees everybody as the Body of Christ," he said.
Fr. Prus has no plans to slow down in retirement, instead keeping busy for as long as he's physically able to stay active.
"I can't thank God enough," he said. "God can do anything. That's what I learned in my life."
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