Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published June 1, 2007

Greg Shamus | The Michigan Catholic Fr. Anthony Camilleri (fourth from left), who was ordained last Saturday at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, stands with Cardinal Adam Maida (third from right) and Auxiliary Bishops (from left) Earl Boyea, Daniel Flores, Moses Anderson, SSE, Francis Reiss and John Quinn after the ordination Mass.

Detroit — As Deacon Anthony Camilleri lay prostrate before the marble altar of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, a sanctuary filled with priests and a cathedral nave filled with the faithful sang out the litany of the saints.

"The whole Church is praying for me," he would later say. "In heaven and on Earth. The whole Church. For me — a simple man, who wants to do God's will in priestly ministry. That's what I was thinking."

By the end of the presbyteral ordination Mass on May 26, Deacon Camilleri had become Fr. Camilleri, and was launched on that priestly ministry. Those who know him say he brings joy, energy and prayerfulness to the priesthood. Fr. Camilleri was the only priest ordained for the Archdiocese of Detroit this year, and the joy of the celebration — as Cardinal Adam Maida noted in his homily — resonated throughout the whole Church.

"As St. Paul teaches us, whatever happens to one member of the body affects the rest of us," the cardinal said. "We are truly blessed to have the gift of this ordination."

Cardinal Maida spoke of Fr. Camilleri's new ministry as one of healing and hope that will help the faithful recognize the connection between the eucharistic celebration and the people of God.

Just last month, the cardinal celebrated the funeral Mass for Fr. Camilleri's mother, Katherine, who died of an illness at the age of 58. As then-Deacon Camilleri gave the homily at the funeral Mass, Cardinal Maida said he saw the gifts the new priest would share with the Church.

"The Lord has blessed you with a beautiful and radiant humility and generosity of heart," Cardinal Maida said to him during the homily. "These gifts from God, coupled with your own contemplative prayer and openness to the Holy Spirit, will help you respond each day to the needs of God's people."

'Unbelievable'

After Mass, newly-ordained Fr. Camilleri stands at the altar with Cardinal Maida.

Following the ceremony, Fr. Camilleri spent hours under a tent outside the cathedral, greeting and blessing the hundreds who had come to celebrate his ordination with him. Even after that, the excitement was palpable in his voice.

"It's absolute joy," he said. "And not in an egotistical way. This is what God meant me to do and to be. And to be ordained by the cardinal — that is just unbelievable.

"What I'm feeling inside is indescribable. I think you can only feel it in prayer."

Indeed many with whom he already had ministered were on hand to pray and celebrate with Fr. Camilleri. There was a bus from Port Huron, where he most recently served as transitional deacon at St. Stephen and St. Joseph parishes and Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission. There was a bus, too, from North Branch, where he had served as deacon at SS. Peter & Paul Parish, and at nearby St. Mary Burnside Parish and St. Patrick Mission in Clifford.

"He's a very nice person," said Hazel Kelch, a parishioner at SS. Peter & Paul. "I hope he gets along good with everybody — he seems like he did (in North Branch). I just hope for the best for him."

Fr. Richard Treml, pastor of the North Branch cluster who mentored Fr. Camilleri in his transitional diaconate, said he felt "like a proud papa."

"He's going to make a terrific priest, because he's with the people," Fr. Treml said. "He has a big heart, and a giving heart. The people are just going to fall in love with him."

Fr. Treml told a story of how then-Deacon Camilleri made an impression on a local farmer in the North Branch area by riding with him on his combine.

Fr. Brian Cokonougher, pastor of the Port Huron cluster, said the ordination was a positive experience, both for him and for his parishioners to witness. Plus, he added, Fr. Camilleri's enthusiasm will be an asset to the archdiocese.

"He brings a lot of joy," he said. "He's been excited from the minute I met him about being ordained, and I know that will serve him for many years."

Deacon Luther Aman, who serves at SS. Peter & Paul Parish on Detroit's west side, took seminary classes with Fr. Camilleri. What stood out to the deacon was his friend's friendliness.

"He's able to work with and talk with just about everyone," he said. "It was fun watching him in class. He liked to talk a lot… he was very good that way."

A childhood friend of Fr.Camilleri's, Gina Benner, even flew up from Texas to witness the ordination.

"I always knew that he would be a wonderful priest," said Benner, who knew Fr. Camilleri from youth and throughout their college years. "He's looked forward to it for so long and we've been praying for it for so long. I just know that he's going to be outstanding."

Proud family

Following his rite of ordination, Fr. Camilleri gives Communion to his father, Anthony J. Camilleri.

The Camilleri family also shared in the joy — though with wounded hearts for the recent loss of Katherine.

"It's a great feeling to see the ordination," said Anthony Camilleri. "But I have a hole in my heart because my wife died. It's hard."

Camilleri described a simple and straightforward upbringing he and Katherine gave to their son.

"We always believed in telling our kids to be good kids," he said. "Tell the truth. Don't lie. Do the right thing. And good things will happen to you."

When Fr. Camilleri approached him and his wife about becoming a priest, he said, they were overjoyed.

"(Katherine) was elated," he said. "She always loved her son… there was a mother-son relationship there that was hard to separate. His mother just loved him and took care of him."

Fr. Camilleri said that his mother still was taking care of him during his ordination Mass. During the promise of the elect, the part of the ordination Mass where the man to be ordained pledges to serve the Church faithfully, he said he could hear her voice.

"At one point, you have to say, 'With the help of God.' And she helped me out there," Fr. Camilleri said after the Mass. "That's when I felt her presence."

He also said he felt her at his shoulder as he was giving Cardinal Maida a blessing during Mass, with the cardinal kneeling before the altar.

The rest of Fr. Camilleri's family also made their prayers known.

"Oh! It was exciting!" said Stella Camilleri, Fr. Camilleri's grandmother, who had spent years praying for her grandson — often in the Maltese language, she added.

"He's a very good man," she said. "He has a nice personality, and everybody likes him every place he goes."

Fr. Camilleri's sister, Terri Larkin, said that, even in childhood, her brother had a knack for being approachable and understanding.

"People always have, ever since he was younger, liked to talk with him," Larkin said. "He's going to help a lot of people."

Closure for the class

Fr. Camilleri gives his first priestly blessing to his archbishop, Cardinal Adam Maida, while the cardinal kneels in front of the altar.

Every ordination also has a special meaning to the seminary. Fr. Camilleri expressed special gratitude to the priests who vested him, Fr. Robert Spezia and Fr. Paul Berg, both of whom minister at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

Though Fr. Camilleri was the only one to be ordained for the archdiocese this year, he spent most of his time in seminary with the ordination class of 2006. The three priests ordained last year said it was especially meaningful to have their former classmate join the priesthood.

"It's very powerful to see everything that we've done come to fruition," said Fr. Charles Fox, one of Fr. Camilleri's former classmates who now serves as associate pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington. "It's kind of like a moment of closure for our class."

Fr. Fox and Fr. Camilleri's other two classmates, Fr. Don LaCuesta and Fr. Hoang Lam, went to dinner the night before the ordination.

"He asked for pointers," said Fr. LaCuesta, who is associate pastor at St. Lawrence Parish in Utica. "Watching him being ordained was pretty moving. It reminded us of last year at our ordination."

Fr. Lam said it was exciting to see his friend realize his vocation to the priesthood. And Fr. Camilleri's sincerity will serve him well as a priest, he added.

"Passion, understanding, and listening especially — those are the good qualities of Anthony," Fr. Lam said. "People will respect him and listen to him because he loves them."

Fr. Camilleri's first assignment will be as associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Orion Township. Asked what he hopes for at the beginning of his priestly ministry, Fr. Camilleri said he just hopes to serve the Lord well.

"To be a servant of God and God's people," he said. "To do the will of my bishop — because that's the way God speaks to us, through our bishops — so just to do the best I can with the help of God."

• Deacon Camilleri to be ordained Saturday
•  Ordination News Release, Archdiocese of Detroit
• Diocesan Priesthood Vocations