Orchard Lake — On the very site where Cardinal Karol Wojtyla once kayaked and celebrated Mass, several hundred people gathered April 27 to pay tribute to the Polish pope’s canonization and that of another historic 20th century figure.

“We honor today a Holy Father, John XXIII, who wished the Church, which God has given to us, to make itself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit more visible and more clearly understood in the world,” said Auxiliary Bishop Francis R. Reiss in his homily at Orchard Lake Schools.

“St. John Paul II brought the reforms of the Second Vatican Council to a close with the publication of new laws, to govern the Church, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to make its teachings more clearly understood,” Bishop Reiss added.



Bishop Reiss, who presided at the Divine Mercy Mass at the Shrine Chapel at Orchard Lake, said Pope Francis’ choice to canonize St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII on Divine Mercy Sunday highlights the gift of mercy given by God.

In following Mary’s words at the wedding at Cana, to “do whatever he tells you,” the faithful should also follow Pope Francis in seeing Jesus’ Divine Mercy, and “be mercy to others” as well, he added.

The events at Orchard Lake followed an all-night Eucharistic vigil the night before as about 100 people prayed in anticipation of the early-morning canonizations. A 4 a.m. real-time viewing of the canonizations was held in the Shrine Chapel on a large screen, followed by breakfast featuring Pope John Paul II’s favorite dessert, “kewmowki,” but the celebrations were far from over.

Confessions were held in light of Jesus’ promise to St. Faustina Kowalska that confession during the Easter season imparts extraordinary graces. During this time, relics of both St. John Paul II and St. John XXIII were placed before a large image of Jesus, the Divine Mercy, enthroned on a special altar beside the sanctuary.

Also unique was an afternoon greeting from Msgr. Thomas Machalski, chancellor and rector of Orchard Lake Schools, and Tony Koterba, vice-chancellor — all the way from Rome via a Skype connection on the big screen.

“Literally every country in the world was represented in some way at this canonization,” said Msgr. Machalski, who with fellow Orchard Lake priest Fr. Walter Ptak sat in the special priest section near the front in St. Peter’s Square.



“When Pope Emeritus Benedict came out shortly before Mass began, all the priests got to their feet and gave him a standing ovation,” Msgr. Machalski said. “And when the cardinals were processing in with Pope Francis, the cardinals each went over to greet him, and then the Holy Father himself went over to greet Pope Emeritus Benedict before he began Mass.”

Koterba said the witness of people from across the globe was an incredible testament to the Catholic faith.

“People waited patiently, people cheered, people weren’t disrespectful to one another, and for that again, it gave me great hope for the future of the Catholic Church,” he said.

Msgr. Machalski said during their time in Rome, they met countless fellow Polish groups. After being acknowledged conversationally by pilgrims in Polish, he said, “when we respond to them in Polish they’re a little taken aback, ‘we didn’t know that you spoke Polish.’”

“As a matter of fact,” Msgr. Machalski added, “a running joke here in Rome the last two days is that they were wondering how many people were actually left in Poland. There was so much Polish being spoken in the streets that they were saying yes, you are in Rome, you’re not in Warsaw.”

Msgr. Machalski said that contrary to claims that the Catholic Church is out of touch with young people, “the vast majority of these million or so people that were here, were all young people, between the ages of 15 and 25.”



“These young people are so filled with joy, so filled with faith, so on fire for Christ, so hungry for the teaching of the Gospel of the Church, it’s incredible,” he said.

The Skype greeting was followed by Mass with Bishop Reiss, and then a Eucharistic procession to the Lourdes Grotto and benediction.

The relics of the two new saints were available for veneration after benediction concluded, and most of those attending stood in line to kiss or touch them.

Mark Slater, director of operations at Corporate Travel Service, together with his wife, Carol, said they couldn’t make it to the canonizations in Rome, so they chose Orchard Lake instead.

“I’m Polish,” said Carol Slater. “A lot of the prayers (during the canonization celebrations) were in Polish and reminded me of when my mom took me to Polish church.”

The couple, parishioners of St. Albert the Great Parish in Dearborn Heights, said they had a private audience with and met Pope John Paul back in 2000.

“I am so glad we came,” said Carol Slater.