Detroit — Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka, one of the most influential Church leaders from the United States in modern times, died of natural causes on Aug. 20, 2014, at the age of 86.

Cardinal Szoka, who had been living in Northville, had been the founding bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord, archbishop of Detroit from 1981-1990, and governor of the Vatican City State for many years.

Edmund Casimir Szoka was born on Sept. 14, 1927, in Grand Rapids to Casimir and Mary Szoka; their second child and only son. His older sister, Irene, survives him today.



Casimir and Mary Szoka were both immigrants, with Casimir coming from what is now Belarus, and Mary from Poland. In the 1930s the Szokas moved to Muskegon where Casimir sought sufficient work to support his young family. They soon settled into St. Michael Parish, Muskegon, and as soon as he was old enough, little Eddie Szoka became an altar boy.

Eddie and Irene both attended St. Michael’s grade school and were instructed by the Sisters of Mercy. Eddie went on to attend St. Joseph Seminary High School in Grand Rapids, working odd jobs to pay the $250/year tuition.

Having pretended at playing Mass in his family’s backyard as a small child, young Edmund acknowledged his call to the priesthood and studied at St. Joseph Seminary College in Grand Rapids for his freshman and sophomore years, transferring to Sacred Heart Seminary College in Detroit for the remaining two years.

Edmund Szoka went to study theology at St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth. Bishop Thomas Noa of the Diocese of Marquette, who had been rector of St. Joseph Seminary, became Edmund’s mentor and ordained him to the priesthood on June 5, 1954, to serve the Diocese of Marquette.

His first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Francis Parish in the Upper Peninsula town of Manistique. Shortly thereafter, he became Bishop Noa’s priest-secretary and a chaplain to St. Mary Hospital. Fr. Szoka was later named chaplain to K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in addition.

In 1957 Fr. Szoka was sent to the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome to study canon law; he returned to Marquette in 1959 to resume his chancery duties and assistance to Bishop Noa. He became Bishop Noa’s full-time secretary in 1961, and in 1962 accompanied Bishop Noa to Rome for the first session of the Second Vatican Council.

A year later, he was ordained and installed as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Gaylord. Beginning without even an office to call his own, Bishop Szoka helped create a campaign to raise the $1.2 million needed to build now-St. Mary Cathedral, its rectory and parish hall.



Norah Duncan IV, who served as director of music for the Archdiocese of Detroit and musician and choir director at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament during Archbishop Szoka’s tenure in Detroit, recently spoke on the quality of Gaylord’s St. Mary Cathedral.

“Cardinal Szoka understood the importance of music in the liturgy,” said Duncan. “Those of us who have seen St. Mary’s Cathedral in Gaylord, Michigan know that it is a testament to the cardinal’s understanding of the role and impact of this most esteemed art form in the service of the Church.”

Duncan highlighted the “fine pipe organ, piano, adequate space for choir and instrumentalists, (and) hard reverberant surfaces which inspire congregational participation through music” at St. Mary’s, which was only the beginning of Bishop Szoka’s contributions to the Church and society.

Bishop Szoka launched the Catholic Services Appeal, the forerunner of the Archdiocese of Detroit’s own CSA, to help Gaylord’s continuing diocesan developments. On May 17, 1981, Bishop Szoka was installed as the fourth archbishop of Detroit, making his motto “To Live in Faith.”

Msgr. Anthony Tocco, pastor of St. Hugo of the Hills Parish in Bloomfield Hills, said that he remembers Bishop Szoka’s kindness when he first met him, after becoming bishop of Gaylord. He was encouraged that Bishop Szoka would be coming to Detroit.



Msgr. Tocco said that stewardship “was a big theme for him” especially in terms of Detroit’s Catholic Services Appeal, “but it was more than raising money… He wanted them really involved, and he taught stewardship in so many subtle ways, by encouraging people to be more active in their church, to be more faithful to the Gospel, to Jesus Christ.”

Archbishop Szoka tackled issues of racism and poverty that were prevalent in the City of Detroit, with the support of a strong prayer life.

“He had a deep devotion to Mary and prayed his rosary every day,” recalls Msgr. Todd Lajiness, current rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, and former priest-secretary to Cardinal Szoka during some of his time in the Vatican.

Msgr. Lajiness said that Cardinal Szoka’s devotion to the Blessed Mother was geared particularly toward Our Lady of Czestochowa, patroness of the Polish people.

Bishop Walter Hurley, bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, served as moderator of the curia and judicial vicar under Archbishop Szoka.

“He was just a very faithful priest and a very faithful bishop,” said Bishop Hurley, who grew to know and respect Cardinal Szoka while serving as his canonical advisor. “He had a passion about priestly ministry, and a deep love for the priests of the diocese. I have come to regard him as a very good friend.”

Bishop Hurley said that then-Archbishop Szoka “saw things very clearly,” and addressed what need to be done.



“He certainly wasn’t interested in finances just as finances. It was to further the mission of the Church — how do the resources that we have assist the Church in carrying out its mission in a very effective way?” remembers Bishop Hurley.

Cardinal Szoka also made strong connections with lay men and women in the Archdiocese of Detroit, and helped to support many their efforts that have strengthened the local Church.

Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan said he first met Cardinal Szoka while both were walking in the 1984 St. Patrick’s Day parade in Detroit, “and we’ve been friends ever since.”

“We both went to the same seminary in Grand Rapids, not at the same time, so we talked some about our memories of St. Joe’s, and I told him how I was brought up by Polish nuns in the orphanage,” said Monaghan, who was owner of the Detroit Tigers at the time of that first meeting.

He said the late cardinal got him involved in the 1987 papal visit, and was in turn supportive of Monaghan’s projects, such as Legatus, the organization for Catholic CEOs that now numbers 80-some chapters and upwards of 2,400 members nationwide.

On a more personal note, Monaghan continued, “He had a great sense of humor, but a friendly kind of grumpiness. I’d tell him something, and he’d say, ‘Who told you that?’ or “Where’d you hear that?’ He’d make a challenge out of everything, in a good-humored sort of way.”

Barbara Middleton, founder and director of Holy Trinity Apostolate, had a fond memory of a favor Cardinal Szoka had done for her.

“When I was in Rome for the funeral of John Paul II,” she said, “I called all these cardinals I knew, trying to get a ticket to the Mass, but none of them could help me. I called Cardinal Szoka, and he said, ‘Barbara, no tickets for the Mass, but come to the side door, and I’ll let you in.’”

Lay ministers at Detroit’s parishes also could offer fond memories of the late cardinal.

Patrick Paddock, minister of worship and music at St. Cyprian Parish in Riverview, told how during his student days at Madonna University, he had the chance to provide the music once when Cardinal Szoka came to celebrate Mass in the chapel.

“It was great,” Paddock recalled. “His homily was excellent, and he was very down-to-earth. He may have had a red hat, but he was a human being first – very personable and genuine.”

Also notable in Cardinal Szoka’s Detroit tenure was his removal of the fee charged for tribunal services and his streamlining of the process.

“He didn’t so much change the rules as (he) used his genius for making things work right, to create a tribunal process that was more efficient; the way we Catholics deal with marriage cases,” said Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, current archbishop of Detroit, in an Aug. 21 news conference following the cardinal’s death.

Archbishop Vigneron explained that Cardinal Szoka made the revisions “really as an act of compassion; he saw that when one of our rights as Catholics is to have these cases heard by a Church tribunal, and he felt that the delays were getting in the way of people receiving what they should from the Church.”



Cardinal Szoka also made the difficult decision, after several years of consultations, to close several dozen parishes in Detroit that had experienced declining membership.

Kevin Kennedy, a parishioner of Divine Child Parish in Dearborn, said that though then-Archbishop Szoka may have become known largely for his decision to close the parishes, “that’s not all he should be remembered for.”

“The fact he convinced Pope John Paul II to come to the Detroit area in 1987 was a momentous event, and then when he later went to work at the Vatican, he clearly remained an advocate for the Church in Detroit,” said Kennedy. “The fact he came back here to live out his retirement years says a lot about his devotion to the people here in Detroit and Michigan.”

Indeed, the monumental visit of future St. John Paul II to Detroit was largely due to the constant persistence of Archbishop Szoka, who had become close friends with the pope, remaining so throughout his life.

Susana Woloson, a parishioner of Christ our Light Parish in Troy, said Cardinal Szoka was a positive influence in the Metro Detroit community, “especially with his affiliation with Pope John Paul II.”

“We were humbled and blessed to be a part of the festivities honoring His Holiness’ first visit to Hamtramck in 1987,” said Woloson. “It was my father, Steve Woloson’s, greatest moment to meet His Holiness on that occasion.”

Other major impacts to the archdiocese included Archbishop Szoka’s launch of the Catholic Television Network of Detroit, (CTND), and enhanced Sacred Heart Seminary into Sacred Heart Major Seminary with additional programs.

Archbishop Szoka was elevated to cardinal on June 28, 1988, and went on to serve as prefecture for the economic affairs of the Holy See. He became president of the governatorate of the Vatican City State in 1997, and was made president of the Vatican City State itself in 2001.

Msgr. Michael LeFevre, current rector of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament who had served as Cardinal Szoka’s priest-secretary from 1988-1990, recalled a few times accompanying the cardinal back to Cardinal Szoka’s hometown. He said that the cardinal remained “that down-home boy” whenever he returned to Muskegon or Marquette.

“His pastor was still alive when he was made a cardinal, and even accompanied him to Rome for the consistory,” said Msgr. LeFevre. “Everybody was on first name basis.”

Cardinal Szoka submitted his resignation in 2006; he was 79 at the time. Returning to live in Northville in his retirement, he said in a June 30, 2006, interview “I miss Detroit. I missed very much living there, and I still miss it.”



Despite his retirement status, Cardinal Szoka remained a member of five Vatican congregations — the Congregation for Bishops, for the Causes of Saints, for the Evangelization of Peoples, for Clergy and Religious — as well as belonging to the second section of the Vatican Secretariat of the State, until 2008.

On Aug. 20, 2014, the cardinal died of natural causes at Providence Park Hospital in Novi.

Cardinal Szoka was predeceased by his parents, Casimir and Mary Szoka. He is survived by his sister, Irene, and many cousins.

Memorial tributes may be made to Sacred Heart Major Seminary, 2701 W. Chicago Blvd, Detroit, MI 48206, or Priests’ Retirement Fund, Archdiocese of Detroit, 1234 Washington Blvd., Fourth Floor, Detroit, MI 48226; write check to “Archdiocese of Detroit,” with “Priests’ Retirement Fund” in memo line.

— Elizabeth Wong Barnstead, Tim Keenan, Robert Delaney, and The Michigan Catholic staff contributed to this report

 

In Gaylord…

• Bishop Szoka founded the diocese of Gaylord in 1970.

• He established their first diocesan office building and staff.

• He implemented the first Catholic Services Appeal to fund the diocese.

• He travelled extensively to be personally present at parishes spread over a wide area.

 



In Detroit…

• Archbishop Szoka began the Catholic Services Appeal in Detroit.

• He founded the Catholic Television Network of Detroit (CTND).

• He streamlined processes in the Metropolitan Tribunal to ease them for those who required annulments.

• He facilitated a visit from Pope John Paul II.

• He was elevated to the College of Cardinals.

• He oversaw a difficult, years-long process of downsizing city parishes.

• He re-established Sacred Heart as a major seminary.

 

At the Vatican…

• Cardinal Szoka eliminated deficits for the Vatican City State.

• He oversaw infrastructure and technology improvements.

• He was named the top official to govern the sovereign nation.

• He had a close relationship with Pope John Paul II, and gave the future saint a blessing on his deathbed.

• His resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.