Msgr. Ziemba, 85, who knew the late pope, Blessed John Paul II, and served him in various capacities, spent all 61 years of his priestly ministry at Orchard Lake, Fr. Machalski noted.
Except for his boyhood in Detroit’s Poletown and later graduate study at Catholic University of America and the University of Michigan, pretty much all of his life was spent at Orchard Lake, as he attended St. Mary’s Preparatory School and then St. Mary’s College.
If not the first person to recognize Cardinal Karol Wojtyla as a potential future pope, Msgr. Ziemba was at least one of the early ones.
In an interview he gave The Michigan Catholic, he recalled turning to a colleague as they left their first meeting with the Polish cardinal in 1968, and remarking, “This man is papabile,” which is to say capable of becoming pope.
As rector of Orchard Lake’s SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary and president of St. Mary’s College, Msgr. Ziemba was among the key Polish-American clerics who briefed the future pope on the pastoral needs of Polonia — the Polish diaspora in North America.
But he also got to know him personally, traveling with him and hosting him on two visits to Orchard Lake before his election as pope.
Msgr. Ziemba first met the then-archbishop of Krakow when he extended an invitation to attend a conference on the Orchard Lake campus.
Cardinal Wojtyla’s American trip turned into a pastoral visit to the major centers of Polonia in the United States and Canada. “I traveled with him 17 days in 1969 — we were in 16 cities in 17 days,” Msgr. Ziemba recounted.
After he became pope, the late Holy Father appointed then-Fr. Ziemba to the administrative board of the John Paul II Foundation, 1988 to 1998, and then to its advisory board, 1998 to 2003.
“As a great person and as the pope and head of the Church, he still allowed himself to become a friend and a person with whom you could have personal and intimate contact,” Msgr. Ziemba said.
“He always made you feel as if, at that moment, you were the only person in the world who counted for him.”
Later, he was asked to serve as official translator of the pope’s book, “Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way,” into English.
Msgr. Ziemba also had a collection of his own reflections on Blessed John Paul’s papacy privately printed for distribution to friends, and personally presented a copy to its subject . That book was later published by Paulist Press as “Pope John Paul II: Reflections on the Man.”
Of his long association with Pope John Paul II, Msgr. Ziemba said, “In my life, it has been the highest honor.”
Walter Joseph Ziemba was born Nov. 25, 1926 in Detroit to Thomas and Sophia (Sosnowski) Ziemba. His parents lived directly across MacDougall Avenue from St. Hyacinth Church in Detroit’s old Poletown district, and young Walter attended the parish grade school.
This spring, Msgr. Ziemba underwent surgery in Petoskey to replace his left knee, and he had hoped to make his home in Charlevoix his permanent residence following a stay in a rehabilitation facility.
Just a couple of weeks before his death, his long-time friend and colleague, Msgr. Stanley Milewski, spoke to him.
“He sounded strong and excited that he would be at last going to his home in Charlevoix,” Msgr. Milewski said.
But by the early morning hours of Monday, June 4, Msgr. Ziemba had developed a fever of 105 degrees, and was rushed to hospital in Charlevoix. It was found that he had developed kidney failure and a blood infection.
On Thursday, June 7, he was transported to the Petoskey hospital, where it was thought there would be a better chance for successful treatment. His relatives were informed, however, that it was unlikely he would live through the night.
Msgr. Ziemba is survived by two sisters, Marie Kladzyk and Helene Megge, and by many nephews and nieces.
A funeral Mass was celebrated Tuesday, June 12, at the Shrine Chapel of Our Lady of Orchard Lake on the Orchard Lake Schools campus. Burial was in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
Memorials suggested to the Orchard Lake Schools.
