Orchard Lake — A cardinal, an archbishop, bishops, monsignors, priests, family, friends and colleagues gathered at the Shrine Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake on Aug. 11 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the episcopal ordinations of Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Francis Reiss, Bishop John Quinn and Bishop Walter Hurley.
Bishops Reiss, Quinn and Hurley were consecrated by Cardinal Adam J. Maida, Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka and the late Bishop Joseph Schoenherr at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament on Aug. 12, 2003. Bishop Quinn became bishop of Winona, Minn., in 2009, and Bishop Hurley took over as shepherd of Grand Rapids in 2005 before retiring this past June 18.
“Today’s celebration is important because we as bishops need your prayers,” said Bishop Reiss, the principal concelebrant and homilist for the liturgy. “We have to become more believable.”
He asked those in attendance to “help us. Remind us of our closeness to Jesus.”
While his episcopal classmates were sent to lead other dioceses, Bishop Reiss stayed in the Archdiocese of Detroit, assisting first Cardinal Maida and now Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron. He has witnessed much since Cardinal Maida summoned the then pastor of St. Francis Cabrini Parish, Allen Park, for an urgent meeting a decade ago.
“I showed up at 9 p.m. and the cardinal came into the room and said, ‘Father, this morning the Holy Father appointed you auxiliary bishop of Detroit; do you accept?’ I must have said ‘yes!’” Bishop Reiss recalled. “It is very difficult to describe the feeling at that moment. Ten years later, it is still difficult to believe.”
While he enjoys many aspects of life as a bishop — including helping students prepare for the sacraments, vicariate activities with students and priests, ordaining deacons and religious priests — Bishop Reiss has endured what he calls the Church’s “suffering.”
“A great deal has transpired in these 10 years,” he said. “The Church has suffered much both from within and without. The scandals have been just that, grave scandals to which we had to respond with honesty and transparency.”
He notes the severe shortage of ordained priests and consecrated religious and its serious affect on “the life and witness of the fabric of the Church forcing the closure, clustering and merging of many parishes and a less visible presence of religious in pastoral ministry.”
Bishop Reiss feels Catholics can do more to make sure the Lord’s call to vocations is heard. “The call to religious life and ordained ministry seems to be less heard in today’s culture,” he said. “While I believe with all my heart that the call is given, I feel that individually, as families and as a Church we need to revive a culture that is supportive of this gift of self to Christ.”
Although the bishop rues the shrinking ranks of clergy, he relishes the increase in lay leadership. “As a former professor, pastor and now bishop, I have seen the great flowering of lay leadership in the Church,” he said. “This has helped immensely in responding to the needs of our times and the establishment of pastoral priorities to lead the archdiocese forward.
“The economic downturn and slow recovery have placed added burdens on parishes,” Bishop Reiss said. “Yet the faithful have responded with great sacrifice and courage as we go forward. Changing Lives Together has proven that.”
Moving forward, the archdiocese faces many challenges, Bishop Reiss said, including but not limited to the attacks on the sacredness of life, marriage and freedom of conscience.
“The Church’s response must be strong and Gospel-centered,” he stressed. “In this we have been especially blessed with great magisterial leadership from our Holy Fathers John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis.”
Asked about his personal accomplishments over the last decade, the prelate said, “The bishop is never alone. He is always joined by the priests, religious and faithful in ministry. I have been blessed to work within the South Region and have witnessed a great deal of collaboration as we move forward. I have also been blessed to work with the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, the Together in Faith tracking committee and the Orchard Lake Schools, in particular SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary. In all of this the dedication, collaboration and sacrifice exhibited by all involved has been a great blessing for me.”
Bishop Reiss, 72, was asked about the next 10 years. “My plans for the future are simple: take each day as it comes,” he said. “You cannot retire from either the priesthood or the episcopacy. There is an indelible ‘mark.’ But what I do each day will depend on what I am asked to do and what I am able to do.”
As he celebrates his 10th anniversary as a bishop, Bishop Reiss gives special thanks to God for his family and all those who have supported him “in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. They are in my prayers.”
Tim Keenan is a freelance writer based in Farmington Hills.
