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Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2007 / Detroit's oldest, youngest priests trade view

Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 26, 2007

Gregg McIntosh | The Michigan Catholic Fr. Anthony Camilleri, left, and Fr. James Hayes are the newest and longest-serving priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit, having been ordained earlier this year and in 1938, respectively.

Livonia — Fr. James Hayes and Fr. Anthony Camilleri are at opposite ends of the priesthood spectrum, when it comes to years of service — Fr. Hayes will celebrate 70 years in June, and Fr. Camilleri has only been a priest for five months.

Yet, both the newest and longest-serving priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit have found they view the priesthood in much the same way — ministering to people through liturgy, the sacraments and sick calls, and bringing people closer to God.

Although Fr. Hayes will turn 95 Nov. 1, the Feast of All Saints, and fumbled the words when he imparted his blessing on Fr. Camilleri, he is still quick with his sense of humor and is able to quote poetry and remember the names of his classmates — in alphabetical order, no less. Both spoke with Michigan Catholic reporter Kristin Lukowski.

How is being a priest different now than when you were ordained?

Fr. Hayes:
I don't think it's changed. It's still to say Mass, funerals, weddings. Whatever comes along. Sick calls, funerals, weddings. I taught in the seminary; they sent me to Rome for a while, I studied (canon law and theology) over there. … I enjoyed that stay in Rome.

Fr. Camilleri:
I tend to agree with Fr. Hayes. I don't think the priesthood has actually changed. There's baptism, first holy communions, funerals, anointing the sick, taking communion to the sick and things like that. … But other than just doing the things a priest normally does, I think because there are fewer priests, more administrative duties have come about for a priest.

When you were (a young priest), how many priests were in a parish?

Fr. Hayes:
It varied. I've been in so many different parishes.

Fr. Camilleri:
So, for example, probably when Fr. Hayes was ordained, there was three to four (priests) in a house. Now there's only two of us. There's, in a sense, more of the pie and less priests to cut the pie. I think the other thing, too, that's changed is there's more lay involvement, even with some administrative things, contact people — instead of contacting a priest, you might contact a person who works for the parish.

What's some advice you'd like to give Fr. Camilleri?

Fr. Hayes:
Say his prayers. Stay close to the Lord. Pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Is there anything you'd like to ask Fr. Hayes about?

Fr. Camilleri:
What did you enjoy the most?

Fr. Hayes:
Not only was I a priest, but I also had a great interest in sports. I coached basketball and baseball, bowled with the parish, and other things. So I enjoyed all that. Sports was a big part of my life.

Fr. Camilleri:
I'm new. Obviously, prayer, staying close to our Lord, and asking intercession from Our Lady is important; but are there any practical, everyday things that you can recommend?

Fr. Hayes:
I think the fundamentals remain much the same, no matter what age it is. I enjoyed all the different places I've been.

Gregg McIntosh | The Michigan Catholic Fr. James Hayes was ordained to the priesthood nearly 70 years ago.

When you were ordained, it was 22 years before you were a pastor. Now, that would never happen — priests are made pastors much earlier. Do you think that would have made a difference in your ministry had you been a pastor earlier?

Fr. Hayes:
I think we always had plenty to do, no matter how long we were ordained. I enjoyed working with the children in the school, and the religious classes for the public school children, too. I enjoyed it all.

What about you, Fr. Camilleri? You knew that you would probably be a pastor within a few years.

Fr. Camilleri:
That's up to the cardinal, the archbishop, first and foremost. I would say, for myself, it's an exciting thought, being pastor. Having 22 years under my belt as an associate at a couple different places would be nice, too, because you learn different things when you go to different parishes. Different styles of leading, and things like that. … Like with Fr. Hayes for example — a number of assignments, studied in Rome. To sit and to talk to someone who's been a priest for so long, it's a real blessing to someone who's only been a priest for five months. Other priests that we talk to — at the seminary, Msgr. (Edward) Baldwin and Fr. Paul Berg — bouncing ideas off them. Having them as spiritual directors and mentors has been a great help.

Fr. Hayes:
(Fr.) Paul Berg and I were assistants at Blessed Sacrament, with Bishop (Leonard) Blair at one time. So I knew (Fr.) Paul Berg very well.

Fr. Camilleri:
He was one of my spiritual directors when I was at the seminary.

Fr. Hayes:
I had that job, too.

Fr. Hayes, you said you enjoyed working with the children, and sports. Are there any other highlights of your career?

Fr. Hayes:
I guess you'd have to ask the people in the parish. (laughs) I tried hard to prepare the sermons that I gave, and enjoyed teaching in the school, and I enjoyed very much the sports.

Do you hear from many of your old parishioners? Do they write to you?

Fr. Hayes:
Oh, yeah.

Fr. Camilleri:
I think that's the one thing I've noticed, being a young priest, is support that you receive from parishioners. It's tremendous — the support that I've received, and the prayers. People walking up to me, (saying) "I'm praying for you, Father." I'm entering into my new assignment, and everything's new. You can do so much with the rites and the books, and learning how to do it, but until you're actually doing it, it's different. I can read about the rite of baptism so many times, but when a baby's standing there crying, and the mother's nervous because the baby's crying, it takes on a whole new dimension because you're dealing with human beings.

Fr. Hayes:
One of the most difficult assignments was succeeding Fr. (Charles) Coughlin (at Shrine of the Little Flower, Royal Oak), because I was unknown to him. But he was very good to me. He was very famous. He was a radio preacher and all that. I remember when he first came he told me, "I'm going to go away for about three or four months, so you can come in and get your feet wet." So I got in there and got acquainted. I'll never forget him, he was good to me.

Gregg McIntosh | The Michigan Catholic Although their ordinations were separated by nearly 70 years, Frs. Anthony Camilleri and James Hayes agree that serving the people and the Mass are still vital to the priesthood.

Did you have any goals when you were ordained?

Fr. Hayes:
Oh, sure. Save as many souls as I could. Help out people.

Fr. Camilleri:
It's funny, you're right. As much as things change, they really don't change. That's my goal, is to help save souls the best I can as a priest. The essence of what we do hasn't changed, since the day you were ordained and the day I was ordained. And I realize, I've only been ordained for five months, but it really hasn't changed.

Have you had any religious inspirations over the years — a saint that you had a devotion to, or a particular pope?

Fr. Hayes:
Oh yes, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints, the patron saints of the parish in which I served. All those were important to me.

Fr. Camilleri:
For myself, it's kind of interesting in my life — Mary has played a very important role. I was born in St. Mary's Hospital, I grew up in Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington, went to Orchard Lake St. Mary's Preparatory and high school, and the parish on campus up at Central (Michigan University) was St. Mary's. And then I entered Sacred Heart right after college, and my first assignment is St. Joseph. So I have a feeling God is asking me to transition, still loving Our Lady and being devoted to Our Lady, but at the same time, acting in that leadership role with the heart of Christ. The sense of being like St. Joseph, protector of the Church, people of God. … And I notice since I've been there, (I've had) that idea of caring for the people as St. Joseph cared for Mary and Jesus. When they hurt, you hurt. When they're happy, you're happy. Kind of like being with them — being in the trenches with them, being in life with them.

Fr. Hayes:
You're very much a part of the people's lives, the parish at which you're working in.

Fr. Camilleri:
Yeah, and that's one of things that astonishes me as being a young priest. You come into people's lives at the worst and at the best of times. … I remember one day I had a funeral before lunch, a baptism after lunch, marriage prep in the afternoon, confessions, and holy Mass. It ran practically the whole gamut, all in one day. And the emotions that go with that — the sadness of the family (at the funeral), to the joy of the family with the baptism, to hearing the confessions and what that is, to saying Mass, and the joy of just saying Mass.

Fr. Camilleri:
What was it like when you used to say Mass?

Fr. Hayes:
Well, I used to like to prepare sermons very carefully, to try to help the people I was working with, and I think I had a lot of success with that. Preaching was always very important to me.

Fr. Camilleri:
It's very interesting, because I feel the same way. You pray with the scripture, you sit with it, you let it soak into your heart, look at some commentaries, the news of the day, and try to weave it all together. You do a little bit of theological education, but a lot of it's practical analysis, at least from my preaching style. You help them to understand the theological concept, and then you practically give them a way to live it — a very concrete way.

Fr. James Hayes Fr. Hayes has served at: • Santa Maria Parish, Detroit (1938) • Sacred Heart Parish, Dearborn (1938-43) • St. Catherine Parish, Detroit (1943-48) • Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament (1950-52) • Sacred Heart Seminary, as spiritual director (1952-60) • St. Michael Parish, Pontiac (1960-66) • National Shrine of the Little Flower, Royal Oak (1966-74) • Guardian Angels Parish, Detroit (1974-80) • St. Valentine Parish, Redford Township (1980-82). He also served on the Catholic Schools board and the marriage tribunal. He's the recipient of the John Farrell award to study in Rome, and the Outstanding Former Faculty award from Sacred Heart, which he received in 1995. He reached senior priest status in 1982. Write Fr. Hayes at Marybrook Manor, 36975 W. Five Mile Road, Livonia 48154-1871

Fr. Hayes:
I still hear confessions occasionally here, for somebody that comes in… I go to Mass whenever we have Mass here. Every other day there's either a Mass or a communion service, so I never miss the spiritual exercise of that day.

Fr. Camilleri:
Wouldn't you say it's essential to being a priest?

Fr. Hayes:
Oh, sure. That's the heart of the priesthood.

Fr. Camilleri:
I agree.

What about building community in the parish? What are some of the things you did, and why is that important?

Fr. Hayes:
Well, I suppose you do it through weddings, funerals, sports — all those things were part of that, getting close to the people.

Fr. Camilleri:
I'll agree with Fr. Hayes on that. But the other thing, too, I noticed, is the idea of helping the different ages in the parish come together and get to know each other as well. You know, expecting mothers, the senior citizens, the teenagers, the children, and they all get to know each other and we help them to have that community and to come together in that way.

Fr. Hayes:
I came from a large family, too, so I got to know a lot of people of different ages through my brothers and sisters. I liked the people in every parish I was in.