Special vespers at cathedral honors Msgrs. McEnhill, Osebold and Tindall, who were given new title in June

DETROIT — Monsignors Gerald McEnhill, Richard Osebold and William Tindall are Pope Francis’ newest chaplains.

Granted, they’ve never formally met the Holy Father, but that’s beside the point.

For the three Detroit priests, the title of “monsignor” carries the rank of “chaplain to His Holiness,” an ecclesiastical honor that's existed in the Church since the time of Pope Urban VIII in the 17th century.

After being given the title in June, the three priests joined Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron on Oct. 30 for an evening vespers service to honor the occasion at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. 

Families, friends and parishioners of the three priests joined in praise and prayer for the trio during the service. 

“This honor to Msgrs. Osebold, McEnhill and Tindall comes not from me, but from the Holy Father himself,” Archbishop Vigneron said during his homily. “To be chaplains to the Holy Father is a recognition of the service and holiness of these men. These three priests have shown great leadership through fidelity in their priesthood.”

While it's an honor for the priests, it's also special for the men and women whose souls are entrusted to their care, the archbishop said.

“Many of you have these men as spiritual fathers, and this is an opportunity to express your gratitude,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “This is also an occasion for the fraternity of priests to show gratitude for their service. By receiving this recognition, the whole presbyterate is recognized, and on behalf of the priests of the archdiocese, I want to say thank you.”

Archbishop Vigneron emphasized that the honor is for everyone in the parish and whose lives the new monsignors touch. 

“Think of how appropriate it is when you hold up the Holy Sacrifice, saying, ‘Through Him, with Him, in Him,’” Archbishop Vigneron told the men. “It’s the joy of every priest, knowing you’re not just raising the Eucharist, but you are raising up the members of the parish.”

Following vespers, the three monsignors hosted a reception to greet well-wishers and reflect upon the blessings bestowed on them as priests.

Msgr. McEnhill, 74, the pastor of Our Lady of Refuge Parish in Orchard Lake, was ordained a priest by Cardinal John F. Dearden on June 3, 1972. He served as associate pastor of St. Blase Parish in Sterling Heights (1972-76), St. Matthew in Detroit (1976-79) and St. Regis in Bloomfield Hills (1979-86), and later as pastor of St. Gerald in Farmington (1986 to 2004) before his current assignment.

“The biggest honor in being a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit for 47 years is seeing all the special people, the experiences, the many blessings in my ministry in the parishes where I served,” Msgr. McEnhill said. “They greatest joy I’ve had is being the pastor of a parish. I've done a lot of different work in the archdiocese, but I’ve always enjoyed being the pastor of a parish.”

Msgr. Osebold, 85, was ordained a priest by Cardinal Dearden on June 4, 1960, serving as an associate pastor of St. Mary of Redford Parish in Detroit from 1960-62 before embarking on a teaching career at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, where he served on the faculty from 1968-75 and as rector from 1975-76.

Msgr. Osebold was named pastor at St. John Bosco Parish in Redford from 1984 to 2018, when he was granted senior priest status.

Msgr. Osebold said he was grateful to God for the “health to be in active ministry for 58 years.”

“That has been my greatest blessing,” Msgr. Osebold said. “The gift of ministry is being with the people who were great to me, and who I came to love, and they loved me. It was very rewarding, but the greatest day was the day I was ordained to be a priest in the Archdiocese of Detroit and to minister in the Church.”

Archbishop Vigneron ribbed Msgr. Tindall, 68, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Livonia, as being “a little young” to receive the rank of monsignor. 

Msgr. Tindall was ordained by Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka on March 11, 1989, before serving as associate pastor at St. Rene Goupil in Sterling Heights (1989-92), St. Robert Bellarmine in Redford Township (1992-92) and Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington (1993-95). He was pastor of St. Charles Borromeo in Newport (1995-2003) and has served as pastor of St. Michael since 2003.

“It was in June, at the Archbishop’s Gala, when (Archbishop Vigneron) pulled me aside and told me what was going to happen,” Msgr. Tindall said. “I’ve been very fortunate in my priesthood with the assignments I’ve had. I've benefited from working with other great priests, knowing them and learning from their experiences. This is an honor, I feel, we all share in common: the fact the Lord called us to serve in the Church as priests. So we’re all honored to the same level.”

In 2014, Pope Francis changed the rules governing the conferral of the title of “monsignor.” Since then, the title is only conferred upon priests age 65 or older. Historically, there are three ranks of monsignor: apostolic protonotary, honorary prelate of His Holiness, and chaplain of His Holiness. The pope's decree limited the use of the first two ranks, with only “chaplain of His Holiness” being normally conferred.