After decades managing parishes, former pastors adjust to new ways of serving
Fr. Richard Hartmann, who was granted senior priest status in 2014 after serving 13 years as pastor of St. Roch Parish in Flat Rock, says he misses daily contact with parishioners, but retirement still provides plenty of opportunity for ministry.Courtesy of St. Roch Parish
DETROIT — How does one retire from a lifelong commitment?
Though things may change, ministry doesn’t end when a retiring priest is offered senior status and relieved from the day-to-day duties of managing a parish.
Senior priests are often no longer assigned to a parish or mission by the Archdiocese of Detroit, but their commitment to saving souls and being a guide to those who surround them still remains. One could liken being a senior priest as the same as being retired, but a priest’s mission never truly ends.
“The priesthood is a commitment to Christ and a commitment to the Church for the rest of our lives,” said Fr. Richard Hartmann, who retired in July 2014 after spending 13 years at his last assignment as the pastor of St. Roch Parish in Flat Rock.
Fr. Hartmann said he doesn’t miss the ins and outs of running a parish from the bureaucratic side — playing “church politics” — but he does miss the day-to-day interaction with people.
“Not being around the people of the parish is the biggest change for me,” Fr. Hartmann said. “I’m living in a clergy village on the campus of Madonna University, so I have a fraternity of other priests to be around, so that helps a lot.”
Fr. Hartmann and other senior priests continue their mission outside the confines of a parish by celebrating Mass every day, taking time to visit people and spending their free time reading, writing and reflecting on what God is calling them to do.
Fr. Arthur Baranowski has been retired for only two months after being pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Marysville for 20 years.
“The biggest challenge is finding a way to be pastoral, through prayer and contact with people,” Fr. Baranowski said. “I’ve only been retired for two months, but the biggest thing is to have a reason to leave my apartment every day.”
Fr. Baranowski completed spiritual director courses and would like to serve as a spiritual director for other priests. He also wants to work with Austin Catholic High School in Ray Township, talking with and advising students, though not in a full-time teaching role.
“I would like to help out whenever I can, even though I’m not sure what that would be, maybe some teaching but be more of a spiritual director,” Fr. Baranowski said. “The challenge is your life is now more free as to what you do and don’t do.”
Fr. Baranowski said it’s important to have spiritual contact with others throughout the day. He now lives in an apartment complex in New Haven near St. Francis of Assisi-St. Maximillian Kolbe Parish — where he often celebrates Mass and the sacraments — and described the moving-in process as being similar to what most others experience.
“There are things you aren’t used to,” Fr. Baranowski said. “Picking out furniture and decorating an apartment, buying cable and Internet for yourself, going out of your way to meet your neighbors outside a church setting. These are things priests didn’t have to do day to day.”
Today, there are 127 seniors priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit, each of whom is supported by the Archdiocese of Detroit Priests’ Pension Plan. The plan was established in 1969, offering health and auto insurance and a $1,500 monthly pension to priests older than 70.
Every September, many parishes in the archdiocese take up a special collection, With Thanks for Their Service in Christ, which is used to fund the Priests’ Pension Plan. This year’s collection is Sept. 19-20. But outside of monetary needs, it’s up to senior priests to find human relationships to fulfill their spiritual needs, which means carrying on priestly duties in a different way.
“You find ways to be pastoral though prayer and contact with other people,” Fr. Baranowski said. “They’re people who are in my apartment complex who are not Catholic or particularly religious, but they still tell me how their day is going and describe what they are facing in their lives. So in an unofficial regard, I maintain my pastoral responsibilities.”
Whether it’s living in a senior priest community or in an apartment complex, the role of priest never stops, regardless of age. For senior priests, every day is a new challenge, a new calling to administer God’s message to the people.
“God puts people into your life for a reason,” Fr. Baranowski said. “Some may not believe in organized religion, but they know I’m a priest and I’m there to listen if needed. A human contact is needed before a spiritual contact. In retirement, you are a neighbor first, fulfilling your mission with your presence. Then it evolves into something deeper, carrying the message, and that will always be what being a priest is about.”
Priests’ Pension Plan
To learn more about the Archdiocese of Detroit Priests’ Pension Plan, including a special collection, With Thanks for Their Service in Christ, visit www.aod.org/sharingthelight/priestspensionplan.
