Twenty-five years ago today, on Nov. 26, 1994, Pope St. John Paul II elevated then-Detroit Archbishop Adam J. Maida to the College of Cardinals. On this special occasion, Detroit Catholic and the Archdiocese of Detroit congratulate Cardinal Maida and thank God for the gift of our shepherd emeritus.

Below is an extended interview with Cardinal Maida originally published in The Michigan Catholic newspaper on Jan. 30, 2009, the day after Cardinal Maida's retirement as archbishop. It is adapted slightly for publication. 

DETROIT — Reflecting on what have been his greatest joys during his 18-and-a-half years as archbishop of Detroit, Cardinal Adam J. Maida first cited what he called the “privilege” of having been able to “to be with the people in the parishes, celebrating liturgies to mark their parish anniversaries or other special functions — being part of the life of the Church firsthand.”

“Those have to be the most uplifting, fulfilling and energizing experiences for a bishop — celebrating the sacraments with his people,” he said.

Also at the top of his list of joys has been the “special relationship” he enjoyed as an archbishop and, even more so as a cardinal since 1994, with the late Pope St. John Paul II and then with Pope Benedict XVI.

“To be able to have a meal at least two or three times a year with Pope John Paul II, and to always be treated with great deference and gratitude by the Holy Father, and to have him thanking me for all I do, when I am overwhelmed to think of his calendar and all the obligations and responsibilities he took on. And then being present at his funeral, and seeing the reaction of the whole world, and their acclimation of his ministry, was so overwhelming,” the cardinal said.

And what followed that funeral — the conclave to choose the next pope — must also be counted the most significant event of his participation in the life of the universal Church, he continued.

“Participation in a conclave has to be one of the greatest joys, and also most humbling experience, a cardinal can have,” the cardinal said.

Cardinal Maida said there was “no question” but that he was in the presence of a living saint when he was with the late Pope St. John Paul, and that he believes the Church will probably declare the late pontiff a said within his lifetime.

“And that’s not only my judgment but also the judgment of many others. Sometimes, it is difficult to judge someone you know well, but in all the conversations we had — public, private and in between — he never had an unkind word about anyone, and even in the most difficult problems, he would always say, ‘God will show us a way out,’” the cardinal continued.

His first meeting with Pope John Paul was back in 1984, within his first six months as bishop of Green Bay, Wis. “I said a few words in Polish, and he said, ‘Learn Polish!’ So, I took that as a papal mandate, and I learned the language — studied it a little every day — so that, ultimately I was able to converse in it, maybe not as fluently, but enough for a very substantial conversation,” Cardinal Maida recalled.

The cardinal also recounted the first time he was invited, as a cardinal, to a private dinner with the late Holy Father, and how he was concerned he might not be able to keep up his end of the conversation: “I thought, ‘Just me! These dinners are an hour-and-a-half — what am I going to talk about?’ But it was the most pleasant thing; I’d characterize it like a father with a son. That’s what’s great about a great man; a great man never puts you down, but he always lifts you up.

“When you would sit with him at dinner, you knew you were in the presence of a holy ma, but it didn’t put your down, you never felt inferior,” he said.

Service to the Universal Church

Cardinal Maida once served as a member of five Vatican congregations — similar to the cabinet departments of a government — as well as several committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

As bishop, archbishop and cardinal, Cardinal Maida has been involved with the Church’s concern for refugees, migrants and for the peoples of the formerly communist countries of Eastern Europe as they try to rebuild the Catholic Church in the wake of the collapse of their former regimes.

“In 1984, when I was made a bishop (of Green Bay), I saw communism in Poland, and then I saw communism fall in 1989 in Poland, and then subsequently in other countries, and that created its own challenge, because these countries that were by definition atheistic and hostile to the faith, you had to help the people with financial resources and sharing our priests, sharing our resources and our vision. So, I spent a lot of time in Eastern Europe, starting in Russia and Poland, the Balkans and all through Eastern Europe,” the cardinal recounted.

For all the traveling those duties entailed, it was only rarely he was unable to be present for the celebration of a parish’s milestone anniversary or other major archdiocesan liturgy. And he kept in communication with the people of the archdiocese through his monthly column in The Michigan Catholic and his appearances on the CTND cable channel’s “Dialogue” program.

But with his official involvement in national and international Church bodies coming to an end, Cardinal Maida said he would be available when asked, but has no specific activities in mind.

“I would think, from time to time, depending on my health and the needs out there, the Holy Father might call on me as he has often called on retired cardinals for advice in areas where they have expertise,” he said. But he added that the Vatican Congregation for Bishops has said retired bishops should engage in a life of prayer and reflection, and be available to help the local bishop, but not to take on any great administrative duties or interfere with the local bishop.

“I intend to live by that advice and directive,” he said.

A heart for education

Although he no longer has the often hectic schedule of meeting with so many people here in the archdiocese, the cardinal said, “I will miss the richness of that dialogue.” “The gifts of the people are phenomenal. They have their work, they have families, they have other interests, and yet they give themselves in faith. It was always very impressive, and it gave me new energy to keep going,” he said.

Asked how he would like to be remembered by the people of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Cardinal Adam Maida replied, “as someone who served as best he could, and served as long as he was needed — to be remembered as a man of the Church, a priest in service to God’s people.” And Detroit’s retired archbishop said he hoped he’d be remembered “as someone who understood the need for evangelization, and who reached out to all people, to help bring them to an understanding of God’s word.”

As to what he would like his time as archbishop to be remembered for, he readily replied, “a constant concern for education.”

He pointed to his work to establish a foundation to help young people attend Catholic schools. “That was very successful endeavor, and it continues to grow, making possible many school programs, and making it possible for many poor children to have an opportunity to go to Catholic schools.”

But his involvement with education also went beyond Catholic schools.

“Living in the city, I saw the difficulties of the public education system, given poverty and other situations. Catholic schools were my primary responsibility, but I wanted to reach out to a broader community than just the Catholic community through the establishment of the Cornerstone Schools, which have been another successful endeavor,” he said about the Christ-centered ecumenical schools.

The cardinal also pointed to his bringing the Covenant House organization to Detroit, and how it has started three high schools in the city, in addition to its work with teenagers living on the streets.

And although demographic changes necessitated the closing of a number of Catholic elementary and high schools in the city that were operated under traditional models of parish or religious order sponsorship, Cardinal Maida’s time also saw the Jesuits’ launch of Loyola High School to serving inner-city youths and the recent start up of Cristo Rey High School in southwest Detroit under the sponsorship of the Basilian Fathers and the IHM Sisters. The cardinal also dedicated Everest Catholic High School in Clarkston in 2008.

Another educational initiative, however, figures among the disappointments of his Detroit years: “One of the failures, I guess, of my time here was the voucher initiative on the ballot in 2000. I was hoping I could spark in the hearts of people an understanding of the need to support the urban poor. And while that didn’t succeed, overall I believe we did the best we could on education with the resources we had — and not only using our own resources, but engaging the broader community.”

Vocations for the Church

Certainly, in the area of education for Church vocations, the development of Sacred Heart Major Seminary must count as an accomplishment of Cardinal Maida, even though its reorganization began under his predecessor as archbishop, Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka.

“The (reorganized) seminary had just been in operation for just one year, and the building was, for all intents and purposes, empty. During my 18 years here, we put together a faculty that is probably the finest seminary faculty in the country. And we have a student body of about 90 seminarians and, beyond that, we have another 450-500 lay people, who are being instructed in the faith so they can go out and evangelize God’s people,” Cardinal Maida said.

“Of course, Sacred Heart had been a thriving institution before, but it had come almost to the point of dissolution. Cardinal Szoka decided to keep it open and, having opened it, he gave me the keys, and said go ahead,” he added.

One of Cardinal Maida’s earliest projects was the adaptive reuse of the former St. John’s Provincial Seminary property in Plymouth Township.

“When I came here, St. John’s was in mothballs, and was a great liability for the Church, because it was costing us to maintain it and for the security. So, I engaged some business leaders in the community to help me devise a plan to make use of this place and turn it from a liability into a huge asset.

“Today, St. John’s is a magnificent facility, with retreats and programs for young people and families. To see the use of this facility now, and how it serves the Church and greater community is, for me, a great acknowledgement of God’s blessings and God’s goodness,” the cardinal said.

New projects

The former seminary property now includes a retreat center and a banquet center. Its golf course — once only for priests — is open to the public, and the Inn at St. John’s is a hotel built adjacent to the main building. Cardinal Maida also expressed great satisfaction in the renovation of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

“I’ll never forget my opening remarks to the clergy (when I was appointed), when I said, ‘I’ve traveled around the country, and as far as I’m concerned, this is the poorest cathedral I’ve seen.’ I said it wasn’t proper for the Church of Detroit to have a cathedral with a roof that was leaking and where there had been no substantial renovation liturgically, so I engaged people and focused on the need not only to improve the cathedral as a building but also the surrounding neighborhood,” he said. The cardinal recalled how it was possible to acquire the street that used to run just north of the cathedral and a number of nearby houses, some of which were vacant and some being used as drug houses.

“It’s brought a great stability to the area. I think if you go by the cathedral (rededicated in 2003), the grounds and other improvements speak for themselves,” he said.

“The acquisition of the cathedral grounds also prepare us for some other building on the site down the line, but that will be for others to decide what’s needed and when it’s time to develop that property,” the cardinal added.

Upon reflection, Cardinal Maida said it was fortunate that the projects and initiatives during his time as archbishop were undertaken when they were.

“I think we struck it probably quite right. Back in 1990-91, I came in with a lot of enthusiasm for the pastoral work that was on my plate. Consequently, I was very busy visiting parishes and schools, and I don’t even remember the economy being on my mind. And yet, we were able to put that stewardship program together — Stewards for Tomorrow,” he said of the campaign that raised about $120 million and provided the basis for the Archdiocese of Detroit Endowment Foundation, which has made grants to more than 75,000 elementary and high school students since 1996.

‘A wonderful spirit here’

But even in the more stringent economic circumstances the archdiocese faced in the late 2000s, the people of the archdiocese continued to be generous, the cardinal said.

“In the present economy, are we hurting? Yes. Are collections down? Yes. But this also brings out the best in people and challenges them to make sacrifices. So, we have been able to keep our programs and the life of our Church going. Through it all we are very conscious of the needs of our people, and try to reach out to them as best as we can,” he said.

Cardinal Maida said that, in his brief visits with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron after his successor had been announced, he had told him “basically, our diocese is in very good shape.”

“I told him there is a wonderful spirit here in the diocese, though we are experiencing many of the challenges society is facing. The changes in demographics, the great poverty in the city — all of those are human problems he’ll have to face. But I told him there are so many wonderful people who are in rich in experience wisdom on whom he can call. Collaboration is key to the effectiveness of a bishop — it can’t be a one-person shop, he has to engage others in the decision-making process,” he added.

This article was written by the late former Michigan Catholic reporter Robert Delaney in 2009.