Queens native unveils vision for forming men for the priesthood who will have a ‘missionary zeal for souls,’ a heart for God
DETROIT — Fr. Kevin G. Creagh, CM, was installed Sept. 8 as the 15th rector and president of Sacred Heart Major Seminary, where the Queens, N.Y., native already saw a sign he was at home.
In delivering his first homily as rector inside Sacred Heart's century-old chapel, Fr. Creagh, a Vincentian priest, noticed a stained-glass window depicting St. Vincent de Paul to his left.
Watch the Mass: Fr. Kevin Creagh installed as Sacred Heart's 15th rector
“It’s wonderful to be here in this beautiful chapel, where I’ve noticed a beautiful feature for all of us, and me in particular, is this stained-glass window of St. Vincent de Paul,” Fr. Creagh said. “I can trust in his prayers for me from his heavenly throne in heaven.”
Fr. Creagh thanked his parents, siblings, nephews and all the men and women who formed his vocation, which turned a new chapter in January when Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger asked him to come to Detroit to be the seminary's next rector.
“Today, I feel incredibly blessed to be invited to this new experience of missionary discipleship, to move from Queens to the great city of Detroit, and I’m blessed to be here,” Fr. Creagh said. “I’m happy to be here, and I’m thrilled to be here. I’m honored and privileged to be the next rector of Sacred Heart Major Seminary, and I am grateful to Archbishop Weisenburger for entrusting me with this sacred task in this sacred place. I’m humbled by it.”
Fr. Creagh succeeds Fr. Stephen Burr as leader of the seminary. Fr. Burr, along with Detroit Archbishop-emeritus Allen H. Vigneron, Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton and Msgr. Todd Lajiness — all Fr. Creagh’s predecessors as Sacred Heart's rector — were on hand to welcome the seminary’s new leader.
“Sacred Heart Major Seminary has a rich history of preparing men for the priesthood as well as the laity for ecclesiastical ministry,” Fr. Creagh said. “Since mid-February, I’ve experienced a welcoming community of faith that is rooted in the Sacred Heart of Jesus — a seminary community that appreciates and understands its sacred mission that comes out of the heart of the Church.”
Archbishop Weisenburger formally welcomed Fr. Creagh to Detroit at the start of Mass, adding that in following in the footsteps of Fr. Burr, Msgr. Lajiness, Bishop Monforton and Archbishop Vigneron, Fr. Creagh would be “standing on the shoulders of giants, and as the analogy holds, you will see far.”
“I think I can speak on behalf of all those gathered here today that our great prayer is that truly with a synodal and listening discernment, with myself, with the sending bishops and religious superiors and the staff and faculty in whom I have tremendous faith, in consultation with our seminarians and lay students, together we will discern a way forward as this revered institution has for so many years,” Archbishop Weisenburger said.
Long missionary journeys
Providentially, Fr. Creagh was installed rector on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom Fr. Creagh called an inspired example for all seminarians and lay students in bearing the good news to the world.
“Mary, as we know, is the disciple par excellence in showing how her soul magnifies the Lord as she accepts the Father’s will and takes in the Lord in her whole being, body, mind and soul,” Fr. Creagh said. “Mary’s fiat is one of openness to God’s special invitation for her, and she goes about this invitation in zealous service because the Lord is with her. The Lord is always residing in her, so she can’t help but go forth bringing the Lord to others.”
Fr. Creagh began his homily recounting a story of an older missionary priest who served in South America, Africa and Asia, about his greatest challenges in spreading the Gospel around the world.
“I wanted to hear about his long, sometimes arduous missionary journeys, and he said, ‘Kevin, I will tell you something: The longest missionary journey is to go from the head to the heart for true conversion,'” Fr. Creagh recalled. “That’s a very long journey. Another journey, for many people, is to go from the kitchen to the living room table to reconcile with a spouse or a family member. That is a long, arduous, missionary journey. But reconciliation is truly needed and important.”
A third missionary journey, the priest recounted, is to go “from one side of the street to the other to be neighbor to the other, to offer hospitality, goodness and care,” Fr. Creagh said.
“That, too, is a very long missionary journey,” Fr. Creagh added. “To go and be united, to show solidarity and lend a helping hand. These, I believe, are long, difficult journeys of missionary disciples in Christ’s church, then and now.”
In his homily, Fr. Creagh laid out his vision for seminary formation, centered on three core principles: adherence to the four dimensions of priestly formation, instilling a culture of readiness, and infusing a servant-leadership mindset.
The four dimensions of a priestly formation — the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral — happen "in all stages of seminary life," Fr. Creagh said.
“Human development is about forming men of maturity and self-awareness, and instilling a spiritual life where men go out into the deep with the Lord, to rest in the Lord and know the Lord will always be with him," Fr. Creagh said. "Third, an intellectual man understands and appreciates the resources of the Church in Scripture and tradition and can clearly communicate those goods to the contemporary Church amid an increasingly secular society. And finally, (it's about) forming a pastor who has a zeal for the souls in his care, especially the stranger, the afflicted and the poor.”
Fr. Creagh said it is also critical for seminarians to be able to read the signs of the times and be ready to answer the new challenges the Church and the world face, responding with the Gospel message and the sacraments.
“Seminarians need to be both excellent communicators, teachers and formators themselves in word and sacraments,” Fr. Creagh said. “They need to be astute pastoral leaders in shepherding the spiritual needs and the corporal needs of the people of God. This is what we owe to our people, the body of Christ."
Finally, Fr. Creagh said Sacred Heart Major Seminary must prepare servant-leaders who will communicate a vision rooted in the Catholic Church’s mission to serve the people of God.
“A servant-leadership mindset is always relational,” Fr. Creagh said. “That’s what is essential to prepare seminarians to be approachable and to be available to the people of God. This is what the people expect. This is what the people of God deserve. In this mindset, they will be ready to lead the change that is necessary and adapt accordingly.”
A promise to faithfully serve
After Fr. Creagh's homily, representatives of Sacred Heart Major Seminary presented the Sacred Scriptures, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Program of Priestly Formation, the bishops’ document on lay ministry formation, called, “Coworkers in the Vineyard,” and iconography of Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Archbishop Weisenburger then instructed Fr. Creagh to “always be a loving father, a gentle shepherd and a wise teacher of your people, so you may lead them to Christ, who will strengthen all that you do. As a teacher of the faith, I ask you now to make the profession of faith and oath of fidelity.”
Fr. Creagh recited the creed and affirmed his belief in everything contained in the Word of God, whether written down or obtained through tradition, along with a submission of will and intellect to the Roman Pontiff and the college of bishops in their authentic magisterium.
Fr. Creagh, with his right hand on the Gospels, then took the Oath of Fidelity in assuming the office of rector in upholding the teachings, discipline and laws of the Church.
In concluding his homily, Fr. Creagh entrusted his new role to the Holy Spirit and asked the local Church to pray for him, for vocations and for the mission of Sacred Heart Major Seminary.
“I ask of you, please continue to pray for the mission of Sacred Heart Major Seminary,” Fr. Creagh concluded. “Please pray for our seminarians who boldly, beautifully step forward to be formed as ministerial priests, for our lay students who boldly step forward to be formed in discipleship, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. And I also ask you, please pray for me.”
