DETROIT — Bishop Moses B. Anderson, SSE, was a man who knew that his true citizenship was in heaven, as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians, his longtime friend and fellow Edmundite said in his homily at the bishop’s funeral.

“If you believe that our citizenship is in heaven, say ‘Amen,’” Msgr. James Robinson, SSE, said to the congregation gathered Jan. 7 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.

To which the assembly replied with a hearty “Amen.”

A retired auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit, Bishop Anderson died of cardiac arrest Jan. 1 at age 84.

Msgr. Robinson, the cathedral’s rector emeritus, said he had always found it difficult to preach at funerals for friends, and never more so than for that of Bishop Anderson, whom he had known “for almost 70 years,” since high school days in Selma, Ala.

“It is in the tradition of the black Church, at times such as this, to call on other people, and ask them to lift you up, and so I ask you to help give me the power to get through today,” he said to the prelates, priests, deacons and people gathered for the funeral of Bishop Anderson.

He told the story of the young boy who helped provide for his struggling family in the Jim Crow South, and grew up to care for a wider family as a Catholic bishop. He told of the boy who cooked for his parents and siblings, foreshadowing the man known for his hospitality and culinary expertise.

“As a young boy in Selma, he grew up in the Jim Crow society,” Msgr. Robinson said, referring to the system of racial segregation laws that mandated separate facilities for whites and blacks — whether it was schools or accommodations or even drinking fountains and restrooms.

But this young boy not only helped out at home, but was also employed by a local white family, who also came to love him and help him to have a brighter future.

Msgr. Robinson told of the young Baptist boy who became attracted to the Edmundite-sponsored Don Bosco Boys Club, and chose to become a Catholic at a time when Catholics were widely viewed with disdain in that part of the Deep South.

He also told of the young priest who, assigned to a black Catholic parish in North Carolina, became one of the leaders in the effort to integrate public schools in an area that had dragged its feet in conforming to the intent of Brown v. Board of Education.

Vatican sends condolences “The Holy Father was saddened to learn of the death of Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Moses B. Anderson. Recalling with gratitude the late Bishop’s years of episcopal ministry in the Archdiocese of Detroit, he joins you and all present at the Mass of Christian Burial in commending his soul to the merciful love of God our heavenly Father. To all who mourn Bishop Anderson in the hope of the resurrection His Holiness cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of consolation and strength in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone Secretary of State

And later, as a college professor in Vermont, the future bishop would send teams of students down to North Carolina to work with the children in that parish where Msgr. Robinson had succeeded him as pastor.

Msgr. Robinson spoke of Bishop Anderson’s abiding faith and how he would weave sung expressions of that faith into his homilies. And as the monsignor began to recite the words of one of his friend’s favorite spirituals, “Steal Away, Home,” the choir joined in to give it full expression.

The funeral Mass also included other elements from the black worship experience, including another of Bishop Anderson’s favorites, “There is a Balm in Gilead.”

Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, in his final commendation, said, “We have lost a brother, and we have the consolation of knowing that we remain one in the Holy Eucharist.”

All of those who mourn the bishop’s loss can unite in thanksgiving “for all he accomplished for God’s glory,” the archbishop said.

And he read the apostolic blessing received from Pope Benedict XVI, “recalling with gratitude the late bishop’s service to the Archdiocese of Detroit.”