Kathleen Kozlowski Okray | Special to The Michigan Catholic

Detroit — Three men from three different generations, all members of the Metro Detroit clergy, all first-hand witnesses to the changes in the Church that began with the Second Vatican Council, say the legacy of the newly canonized St. John XXIII will live for generations.

Ordained in 1957, Fr. Richard J. Elmer, CSB, welcomed the papacy of St. John XXIII, but admits that “Vatican II came as a surprise to me, though I am sure the pope anticipated the changes his leadership would bring.”

But Fr. Elmer, president emeritus of Detroit Catholic Central High School and chaplain for St. Catherine of Siena Academy in Wixom, noted that change was necessary. “The pendulum swings in one direction and then it swings back in the other, and then hopefully settles in the middle. Pope John Paul II was the tempering factor; he came in and got that pendulum to swing back to the center after the winds of change that opened the doors with Vatican II.”

“John XXIII was my favorite pope until Pope Francis,” Fr. Elmer reflected, adding, “He was inspired, with his humility and his courage, to call that Vatican Council, which I am sure he knew was going to be world-shaking.”

Fr. Thomas L. Meagher, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in White Lake, was in seminary during the papacy of St. John, and the winds of change were already blowing. “We were on the cusp of the transition. It was a time of tremendous change in the liturgy,” said Fr. Meagher, celebrating his 50th ordination anniversary this year. “We were still facing the wall as we celebrated Mass. The Mass was still in Latin, and the laity were still on the other side of the communion rail.”

Fr. Meagher also credits the new saint’s bravery in venturing into the unknown.

“Pope John XXIII was a great leader who has been somewhat forgotten along the way, but we would never have gotten to the Second Vatican Council if we had not had that kind of leadership, from him and the Holy Spirit, at that time.”

Fr. Brian Chabala, pastor of St. Irenaeus Parish in Rochester, was a Catholic schoolboy during the time of “the Good Pope.”

“He was beloved then like Pope Francis is now. He was referred to as Good Pope John, and his comments were very clever and very witty,” he recalled. “There is a story that some reporter asked him, ‘Your Holiness, how many people work in the Vatican?’ and he smiled and replied ‘about half.’ It was remarkable because no one expected the pope to be funny, ever.”

“People were so attracted to him and his personality,” Fr. Chabala added. “The new St. John thought that the Church should not be like a museum, but rather a garden that is worked, and taken care of and nurtured.”

The impact of the pope on Fr. Chabala’s faith is even more evident now than in his youth, he said.

“Pope John’s book, ‘Journal of a Soul’ is filled with profound things, (such as) his concern regarding the fighting that was going on during the council — one group that didn’t want change, others that were pushing for it, and how he put it in God’s hands, trusting Him to lead the council through the Holy Spirit,” he said.

“When I feel that I have to control this or control that, I remember what Pope John did and say ‘Lord, I am putting this in your hands, and I know it will be well.’ His canonization is long overdue.”