Detroit— It doesn’t take much to get Catholics in metro Detroit talking about their favorite priests.

In response to a small item in a prior issue of The Michigan Catholic, parish members throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit have been writing in to share a kind word about their pastors, teachers, mentors, confessors and priest friends.

You may link to these articles here.

John Hickey from St. Paul of Tarsus Parish in Clinton Township, for instance, writes that pastor Fr. Ronald Essman and associate pastor Fr. John Kiselica “are both terrific homilists with a clear idea of what they want to say and the ability to say it engagingly and with good humor.”

At Nativity of Our Lord Parish in Detroit, parishioner Elaine Wood relays her gratitude for pastor Fr. Jerome Singer, who “welcomes everyone with a hug or a handshake.”

“His gentle and quiet manner and warm smile endear him to all who meet him. But most of all, he inspires us to be the best that we can be, and walk with our Lord every day,” she says.

Fr. Jerry Slowinski, pastor of St. Jane Frances de Chantal Parish in Sterling Heights, received praise for making sure the father of a parishioner was taken care of spiritually at the hospital while battling cancer.

“I asked Fr. Jerry if he would anoint dad,” wrote parishioner Alice Hatalsky. “Without hesitation, Fr. Jerry was at the hospital. Dad was not even one of Fr. Jerry’s parishioners!”

Fr. Robert Schuster at Our Lady on the River Parish in Marine Citywas singled out by parishioners William and Alice Worden as one who “reverently educates his parishioners, young and old, about the celebration of Mass and the Sacraments, making them relevant in the modern world.”

The list goes on, as evidenced in the rest of this special issue. And if any reader still wants to get a kind word in about their priest, e-mails still can be sent to michigancatholic@aod.org with “Priest Praise” written in the subject line. Or, mail can be sent to Priest Praise, c/o The Michigan Catholic, 305 Michigan Ave. 4th Floor, Detroit, MI 48226.