Detroit — Cardinal Edmumd C. Szoka reflected on his 40 years as a bishop during a special August 11 Mass marking the milestone anniversary of his episcopal ordination.

The former Detroit archbishop thanked all those present for joining him “in giving thanks to God for having called me to be a bishop and for all the graces, blessings, guidance and ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­inspiration he has so generously given to me during the forty years of my episcopal ministry.”

About two dozen bishops and archbishops, many priests and deacons, and hundreds of lay people filled the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament for the Mass, and many of them later attended a reception at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

Cardinal Szoka expressed his personal thanks to his two successors as archbishop, Cardinal Adam Maida and Archbishop Allen Vigneron, both of whom were there, and for the many others who had been connected with the event or with whom he worked in years gone by.

He also thanked the two Polish Felician sisters “who have provided a joyful, happy and gracious home for me for the past 20 years: Sr. Mary Hiacenta and Sr. Mary Damiana.”

Recalling in his homily  the first news of his appointment as a bishop, Cardinal Szoka said, “In June 1971 I was notified that the Holy Father had appointed me the first bishop of the new Diocese of Gaylord.

The appointment came as a total surprise, he said, as he had heard nothing about the possibility of a new diocese in Michigan. 

“Gaylord was and still is a very small city of about 3,500 residents. It was chosen as the See city because of its central geographical location in the new diocese. The city of Gaylord had only one church, St. Mary, Our Lady of Mt Carmel,” which he said the papal decree had designated it as the cathedral of the diocese. The church had been built in an earlier age and would accommodate only about 300 people, including some standing. 

Because the town had grown, that little church was holding nine Masses on Saturday and Sunday. Since the church was so small, his consecration as a bishop had to take place in the gymnasium of the parish’s school.

“It was a beautiful liturgy which I will always remember. Cardinal John Dearden, then archbishop of Detroit, was the consecrator.  The apostolic nuncio, the pope’s representative to the United States, Archbishop Jean Jadot, came from Washington to officially erect the diocese just before the Mass of consecration,” he said.

And although he had to begin work with no place to live, no office and no staff to help him, “the Lord provided and gradually we had all we needed.” 

“It is a special privilege to be the first bishop of a new diocese. It was like the birth of a child, beginning life without any old traditions or prejudices or preconceived ideas.  It was a new life, a new adventure,” Cardinal Szoka continued.

After 10 “interesting, challenging and happy year”s in the Diocese of Gaylord, the Holy Father appointed him archbishop of Detroit.

“I was archbishop from 1981 to 1990. They were challenging, exciting years. The joys and the satisfaction far outweighed the difficulties and problems,” the cardinal said.

Then in 1990, Pope John Paul II asked him to come to Rome to work for the Holy See. “I considered his invitation as a clear call from God and accepted immediately. I spent the next 18 years in Rome, serving in various assignments.  At the age of 80, I was relieved of all my various responsibilities for the Holy See and returned here to the Archdiocese of Detroit in 2008,” he recounted.

Cardinal Szoka observed that the world hax changed dramatically and quickly in the years since 1971.

“We are living in a much different world today.  For a bishop, the challenges are more complex but his mission as a bishop is the same.  It is our Catholic belief that bishops are the successors of the apostles – successors as bishops, not as apostles,” he said.

Citing some of the official Church statements on a bishop’s role, Cardinal Szoka remarked, “The bishop has a grave responsibility to be the pre-eminent teacher in his diocese. He is the one whom God has specifically commissioned to teach authentic doctrine. He must also be the sanctifier who leads the flock entrusted to his care into holiness and intimate union with Christ through the administration of the Sacraments and his own example in communion with his priests. He must also govern, not in the sense of a king but in the sense of keeping order and proper direction in his diocese and to maintain unity among the clergy and faithful.”

And the cardinal continued, “For a bishop to fulfill all his responsibilities has never been easy.  In our time today, I believe it is especially difficult.  We live in a very different society – a society that has become very materialistic and very secular.  Many people have lost all sense of morality.  For them, there is no good or bad, there is no sense of sin; whatever you choose is all right; objective norms of morality do not exist; God is important but not religion.

He added, “Our society is in great danger as these attitudes spread and become more and more acceptable. This is true not only of our own country but also of all the first world countries and it is spreading to developing countries as well.”

Cardinal Szoka observed that “It is not easy today to be a good, Catholic Christian. We are torn in all directions by a society in which many have lost their bearings.  But we certainly can remain friends of God, with His grace and help, with our fidelity to prayer and the sacraments.”

Among those attending the Mass was Richard Laskos, whose 30 years working for the archdiocesan Communications Department included all nine years of Cardinal Szoka’s time as archbishop.

“Cardinal Szoka is a very special person. A good man, he worked hard for the Church and the City of Detroit, and I’m proud to be able to say he’s my friend,” Laskos said.

He called the Szoka years “good years, but a challenging time.”

Noting that Cardinal Szoka closed many parishes, Laskos added, “It wasn’t popular, but it was the right thing to do.”

Theresa Giannetti, who was at the Mass with her fiancé, Adrian Tonon, said they were at the Mass “to celebrate an incredible man, an incredible soul, and we feel honored to be a part of it.”

Some of Cardinal Szoka’s fans at his anniversary Mass hadn’t even been born yet when he was archbishop, but they also count him as friend ever since he visited their school back in December. Members of the Little Flowers Girls Club from Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Plymouth told how they gave the cardinal cards they had made for Pope Benedict XVI for him to deliver, and that he then brought back a thank you letter from the Holy Father.

“He came to see us, and told us all about being a bishop,” said Bridget Grumm, 8.