St. Clare of Montefalco marks unique place in Church history as site of pope's ordination

Augustinian bishop, close friend of Pope Leo, relays message from the pontiff to the parish during its centennial celebrations

GROSSE POINTE PARK — Since the election of Pope Leo XIV last spring, St. Clare of Montefalco Parish in Grosse Pointe Park has considered it a point of holy pride to be the church where the first U.S.-born pontiff was ordained a deacon.

During the weekend of Sept. 12-13 — the 45th anniversary of the pope's diaconal ordination — the parish commemorated its unique place in the Church's history with a special visit and a message from the Holy Father himself.

Pope Leo XIV — known then as Robert Prevost, a newly professed member of the Order of St. Augustine — was ordained a transitional deacon on Sept. 10, 1981, when the parish was staffed by the Augustinians.

As part of the parish's centennial celebrations, St. Clare of Montefalco honored the occasion by inviting Bishop Daniel T. Turley, OSA — Pope Leo’s superior when he served as a missionary priest in Peru — to celebrate the parish's weekend Masses. 

“I’m most grateful to you, especially your pastor, Fr. Andrew (Kowalczyk, CSMA), to invite the Augustinians to be part of the 100th anniversary of the parish, especially with the knowledge that Pope Leo was ordained a deacon at this parish, in this beautiful, magnificent church,” Bishop Turley said in his homily Sept. 12.

Bishop Turley relayed that his friendship with Pope Leo goes back more than 50 years. Then-Fr. Prevost served as an assisting priest when Bishop Turley was ordained a bishop in Peru in 1996, and likewise, Bishop Turley was present when the future pontiff was consecrated as bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2015. 

During his homily, Bishop Turley read a personal message from the Holy Father to the people of Detroit.

“I told Pope Leo I’d be here with you today, and he said he had just finished a meeting with the School for New Bishops. He said, ‘I’m so happy you are going to Detroit. Safe travels. Give my special greeting and my blessing to the people of St. Clare of Montefalco in Grosse Pointe Park,’ and he put his name — Pope Leo,” Bishop Turley said, reading the message from his cellphone.

During his homily, Bishop Turley preached about what it means to be a deacon, a servant of the Church, and how the future Pope Leo approached that mission 45 years ago. 

“When he was ordained a deacon, he took that diaconate so very seriously,” Bishop Turley said. “I have ordained many priests, but I told every priest I ordained that they never cease to be a deacon. The diaconate is part of the priesthood of Jesus Christ. We all have this service of love, mercy, and helping and taking care of the poor.”

Bishop Turley then blessed a plaque commemorating Pope Leo’s ordination at St. Clare, which will be installed next to a plaque commemorating the Augustinians' service at the parish from 1926 to 2012. 

“Throughout this jubilee year when we are celebrating our centennial, we have invited the Augustinians, especially those who ministered at St. Clare, to come and celebrate with the parishioners,” Fr. Kowalczyk told Detroit Catholic. “We have parishioners who remember the Augustinians, who went to Austin High School back when it was on campus, and we honor the history and heritage the Augustinians have given us.”

Celebrating the 45th anniversary of the pope’s ordination to the diaconate during the parish’s 100th anniversary year is a sign of how the Church, from the parish level all the way to the Vatican, is united in Christ throughout the world, Fr. Kowalczyk said.

“It’s an incredible, incredible thing to think about how mysterious the ways of our God are in which He builds His kingdom,” Fr. Kowalczyk said. “Of all the churches in the United States, this church here in the Archdiocese of Detroit was chosen to be the church for the ordination to the diaconate of one of the young, aspiring men of the Augustinian order, who would go on to lead His Church.”

It goes to show, Fr. Kowalczyk added, that one doesn't always recognize moments of extraordinary grace when they happen.

“It shows how we are part of a journey,” Fr. Kowalczyk added. “We don’t always know what we have witnessed because we didn’t pay attention to it at the time, but now we know that here at this parish, the future pope was first ordained.”

The Sept. 12-13 weekend Masses also marked the parish’s annual “Project Hope” celebration, which annually raises money for a special cause within the parish community. As part of the event, parishioners participated in the parish's “5K and Pray,” in which participants ran, walked and strolled through the parish grounds while Eucharistic adoration was taking place in the church. A dinner took place afterward.

Lisa Vismara, along with her husband John, led the team that organizes Project Hope, which this year raised funds and prayer intentions for two parishioners diagnosed with cancer.

“It is a whole day dedicated to community and wrapping around a particular person, sometimes two, who are really struggling with life,” Lisa Vismara said. “It’s an opportunity for our parish to pray for one of our own and put community around them to some degree, raise funds and give them hope.”

This year’s Project Hope recipients — Bruce Hubbel and Jamie Dempsey — are both longtime St. Clare of Montefalco parishioners.

Vismara said participation in this year’s Project Hope — which has taken place for the past 11 years — was up by nearly 50%.

“It really speaks to the community and how we are just there for one another,” Vismara said. “It just speaks to how we see others; we let each other know they are not walking alone. We can’t take the cancer away from them, but we can let them know that we are journeying beside them.”

In his homily, Bishop Turley commended St. Clare parishioners for the Project Hope effort, noting a life-sized cardboard cutout depicting Pope Leo wearing a red Project Hope t-shirt.

It's exactly the kind of compassion the Holy Father would appreciate and endorse, Bishop Turley said.

“What a beautiful project,” Bishop Turley said. “There is such a need for hope in our world today, and we are all called to be deacons, like Pope Leo, who want to serve and reach out to others — never to close ourselves in because we have been hurt or someone caused us harm. 

“We have to forgive and open our hearts and invite so many others who are in need of love and hope, in need of faith, and need so much from us,“ Bishop Turley added. “So God is visiting us on this day.”