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CV NEWS FEED // About 44 years before he was elected to be the Vicar of Christ on Earth, Pope Leo XIV was ordained a deacon at a parish in Michigan. Faithful in Grosse Pointe Park at St. Clare of Montefalco, the church where the ordination took place, recently shared with Detroit Catholic about their memories and reactions over the connection.
“The first time I met him, a friend of mine who was one of my coworkers and I got together, and said, ‘That’s a holy man,’” longtime parishioner and former parish secretary Janet Guensche told the outlet in the May 14 article. “We knew it from the first time we met him.”
Pope Leo was ordained a deacon at the parish in 1981, the same year he professed final vows in the Order of Saint Augustine. He went on to serve in various leadership roles for the order, including prior provincial of the Midwest Augustinians for a time.
According to Detroit Catholic, Augustinian priests served at St. Clare’s parish for many years, until 2012. Guensche recalled that during his time as prior provincial, Pope Leo was attentive to the province’s priests and parishes, and was quick to help at St. Clare.
Guensche said that parishioners at the church are honored and excited over the connection; echoing this sentiment is longtime parishioner Sue Buckley, who told Detroit Catholic, “There’s a tremendous amount of pride in the fact that the pope is, to a degree, one of our own. It’s pretty awesome.”
Fr. Andrew Kowalczyk, CSMA, who is currently serving at St. Clare’s parish, told Detroit Catholic that he was especially moved by how Pope Leo asked for the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession in his first address to the world as pontiff.
“I think the Blessed Mother will be very much a part of his pontificate, just as it was in the pontificates of John Paul II, Benedict and Francis,” Fr. Kowalczyk told Detroit Catholic. “As the mother of the Church and the symbol of hope, I think Our Lady will be a powerful sign to the Church, and to him, and to all of us, as well.”