Msgr. Milewski is named to the highest rank of monsignor
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published July 27, 2007
Detroit — Msgr. Stanley Milewski, chancellor emeritus of the Orchard Lake Schools, has been named a protonotary apostolic – the highest and rarest rank of monsignor – by Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Adam Maida will be principal celebrant at a 7 p.m. Mass on Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Shrine Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake, at which he will present Msgr. Milewski with his document of appointment.
The ceremony will include Msgr. Milewski making a profession of faith, and signing the written version to be sent to the Holy Father. A reception will follow the Mass.
Msgr. Milewski, 77, joins Msgr. James Moloney, pastor of St. Anselm Parish in Dearborn Heights and archdiocesan director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, as the only prelates in the Archdiocese of Detroit to hold the title.
The Holy Father awarded the honor April 11, but because of a delay in the delivery of the paperwork to Detroit, Msgr. Milewski did not learn of the promotion being granted until mid-June. "I had no idea anyone was seeking an honor for me. The only honor I seek is to be admitted into the heavenly kingdom," he said Tuesday.
Msgr. Milewski grew up in Detroit, attending Assumption and St. Andrew grade schools, then going on to St. Mary's Preparatory in Orchard Lake. He stayed on the Orchard Lake campus to earn a bachelor's degree from St. Mary's College, then went on to study for the priesthood at St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth Township and at SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, earning a Master of Divinity degree.
Besides his earned degrees, he has received honorary doctorates from Alliance College in Cambridge Springs, Penn., and Madonna University in Livonia.
He was ordained to the priesthood June 4, 1955, by Cardinal Edward Mooney.
Msgr. Milewski taught and held a variety of administrative posts at the Orchard Lake Schools – the parent of St. Mary's Preparatory, SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary, and the former St. Mary's College.
He has also served a number of Polish and Polish-American organizations, including the Polish American Congress and the Polish National Alliance, among others.
The many honors he has received include the Officer's Cross from the government of Poland, being made an honorary canon by the dioceses of Plock and Lomza, and his original monsingorial appointment — as a prelate of honor to His Holiness — given by Pope John Paul II on March 20, 1990.
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