Detroit pastor is 87 and not counting

Birthdays are always a big deal at St. Philomena church.

Toward the end of weekend masses, the pastor asks parishioners who are turning a year older to stand. Performing like a grandfatherly toastmaster, he banters with them and then leads the congregation in singing "Happy Birthday."

The Rev. Peter Lentine turned 87 last Saturday, and at Sunday's mass children presented him with a birthday cake. Johnnie Mowen, 4, helps the pastor blow out the candle. Lentine has been St. Philomena's pastor for 39 years but has no plans to retire anytime soon.

Last weekend was the parishioners' turn. They serenaded the Rev. Peter Lentine, one of the oldest Catholic pastors in the nation. Lentine looked at the "8-7" on his cake and said: "They have the numbers wrong. It should be '7-8.' "

People laughed, but with an undercurrent of anxiety. Lentine's age -- he was born April 1, 1919 -- is cause for both celebration and concern at the parish, which sits on the city side of the Detroit-Grosse Pointe border.

Parishioners speak adoringly of "Father Pete" but they know he cannot serve forever. And given the growing shortage of priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit, they know there will be no one to take his place, meaning St. Philomena likely will have to merge with another parish.

"The whole reason I'm here, the reason everybody is here, is Father Pete," said Paul Louisell, 57, of Grosse Pointe. "He has a magnetic personality. But when he's gone, we won't get another priest. We just hope he keeps his health."

Beyond his age, Lentine (Len-TEEN-ee) also stands out for his longevity: His 39 years as St. Philomena's pastor is one of the longest such tenures in archdiocesan history. Parishioners and outsiders say the church has survived rounds of closings because he has kept it vibrant and financially solvent.

"It's because of him I'm here," said Pam DeLaura, 50, of Grosse Pointe. "He has created such an intimate community. When I moved here I went shopping for churches. I was with my son, who was 7 then. When he did that thing with the birthdays at the end of mass, my son turned to me and said, 'This is the church.' "

Some Philomena highlights: In the past 13 months, the parish of fewer than 400 families has raised $40,000 for Asia tsunami victims and $21,000 for five families it helped move from New Orleans to homes across metro Detroit after Hurricane Katrina.

For the past 12 years, St. Philomena has given away half of the cash it has collected on Christmas. One year it donated the entire amount, about $12,000. Its grade school closed in 1975, but 200 public school students still take weekly religious instruction at the parish.

Lentine praises the people who sit on the committees, teach the students and staff the parish office. The Capuchin priests and his longtime friend, the Rev. Don Worthy, a retired priest, help in saying masses.

"You see how easy my life is?" Lentine asked. "Very honestly, I've never had it so good."

The son of Sicilian immigrants, Lentine grew up with nine brothers and sisters in a house on Van Dyke in Detroit. He was an athlete at St. Catherine High and, after graduation, he worked for two years as a fruit peddler -- like his father.

Lentine said he has not retired because he loves being a parish priest. He said he takes medicine, sees doctors and recently got a pacemaker. "Some people tell me that will give me another 10 years," he said.

Will he ever call it quits?

"Only God knows," he said. "He's the deciding factor."

 

This article was reprinted with permission from the Detroit Free Press.