News from Diocese of Saginaw, MI

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frommi said:
Isn’t New Lothrop in the Diocese of Lansing? I think you mean Maple Grove.

Fr. Kelly was at St Stephen’s in Saginaw once upon a time (like 13 years ago post-ordination).
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New Lothrop is in Saginaw County I believe. Never been there but the diocese web site has the parish at a New Lothrup address with Maple Grove in parenthesis after the parish name 🤷 :

saginaw.org/parishes/listing/77
 
Karl_M said:
They want to have the Cathedral (interior) renovation done by November of 2009. The interior renovation is part of a much larger project and I know they’re having issues tearing down the old high school. Relocating to Holy Family and using it as a temporary pro-Cathedral during the renovation hasn’t been completely ruled out, but don’t bet your life savings on it.
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That is exactly what happened to my former parish. We had priests from the Fraternity of St Charles Boremeo. They were asked to staff another parish in the diocese and my parish was “merged” with the cathedral. Two months later, the announced the rennovation of the cathedral and used our building in the meantime.
 
Lepanto said:
Wow this is great news! I can’t wait until they release some drawings of the planned renovation! The cathedral (the interior, anyways), desperately needs a major re-do. (And a reredo). 😉

Thanks for posting this! 👍
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I don’t know if ‘desperate’ is the right word. But a fresh coat of paint is always welcomed.

I just question the wisdom of pouring a whole lot of money into a church that sits in a pretty poor area of the diocese.

Don’t get me wrong, assuring the future of the cathedral is important, but I hope it does not become an homage to the ego of the architect, the ‘design committee’, or the bishop.
 
frommi said:
I don’t know if ‘desperate’ is the right word. But a fresh coat of paint is always welcomed.
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Well, considering that the cathedral was gutted during the last “restoration,” I think it’s going to take MUCH, MUCH more than a coat of paint. The interior looks like a hollow shell of a church, and with the tabernacle set off in an easily overlooked side-room. The exterior retains it’s beauty, but the interior is a modernist disaster. I say this based upon my impression of it the last time I was there last year visiting friends and relatives in the area.
I just question the wisdom of pouring a whole lot of money into a church that sits in a pretty poor area of the diocese.
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Last year the rumor was that St. Stanislaus might be named the new cathedral, and that St. Mary’s would lose that honor. I can only imagine the howls from certain quarters if that had happened. “Bishop abandons the poor in the city”, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, assuring the future of the cathedral is important, but I hope it does not become an homage to the ego of the architect, the ‘design committee’, or the bishop.
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Agreed. Any renovation should be for the greater glory of God.
 
Lepanto said:
The interior looks like a hollow shell of a church, and with the tabernacle set off in an easily overlooked side-room. The exterior retains it’s beauty, but the interior is a modernist disaster. I say this based upon my impression of it the last time I was there last year visiting friends and relatives in the area.
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It is still today, although the liturgy itself is much more in line with the Church than in the past-and so is their former Rector, I’m happy to say 👍 , but let’s not get into that.

Frommi, I don’t know why you question the wisdom of pouring all that money into a church in that particular area, Saginaw residents should be used to that kind of thing by now.

The City has been dumping good money after bad for forty years into downtown, starting with the downtown mall and that horrible expressway.

But back to my point…

But the Diocese and St. Mary’s Hospital have actually been able to make the area a little bit better. Several of the old abandoned lumber baron mansions are being restored and lived in. The “Cathedral District” is holding its own, and the restoration of the Cathedral I think is a great idea.

The discussions are just barely beginning, so we’ll see where it goes. If I were in charge I’d mandate that everyone on that team reads “Ugly As Sin” by Michael Rose-or at least the chapter that talks about making modern churches look old fashioned, but that’s just my idea. The Catholic Heritage Museum has (at least part of) the Cathedral’s old communion rail, so that might be a start.

Oh, BTW, I have confirmed that Fr. Kelly will indeed be the new pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas, and that Fr. Byrne will be going to Frankenmuth. I still don’t know who the second retiring priest is-I thought I did, but now I’m doubting myself.
 
Karl_M said:
It is still today, although the liturgy itself is much more in line with the Church than in the past-and so is their former Rector, I’m happy to say 👍 , but let’s not get into that.
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Karl,

Although you said “let’s not get into that” regarding how the liturgy at the cathedral has changed, you have made me curious.

If you’re up for it, how has the cathedral liturgy changed? (before vs. after) After all, the liturgy is more important than the building proper.
 
Lepanto said:
Karl,

Although you said “let’s not get into that” regarding how the liturgy at the cathedral has changed, you have made me curious.

If you’re up for it, how has the cathedral liturgy changed? (before vs. after) After all, the liturgy is more important than the building proper.
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In the past, the Cathedral was pretty extreme on the liberal side of the pendlum. Just search the forums for liturgical abuses, and you saw it at the Cathedral. But, after Bishop Carlson said “I’m instituting the GIRM,” the rector (at the time) implemented the changes and was able to rein in the super-liberals to some extent, but his six years was up and he was soon transferred out to a quite conservative parish-and they love him to pieces.
 
Lepanto said:
Last year the rumor was that St. Stanislaus might be named the new cathedral, and that St. Mary’s would lose that honor. I can only imagine the howls from certain quarters if that had happened. “Bishop abandons the poor in the city”, etc
.
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Good point…kind of a ‘no-win’.

I just think you have to keep in check the kind of money that gets thrown at a renovation.

The last renovation the now-rector of the cathedral was at the forefront of was liturgically appropriate, but was not received well by some people, and last I checked was still being paid off ten years later.

I just hope and pray that everyone is open to the process of renovation and restoration. Even if one feels that the current cathedral proper is ugly or a ‘concert hall’ instead of a church, the reality is that ordinations, chrism masses, confirmations and the like have taken place there over the past 30 years since Francis Reh had it renovated. I would hope that some pieces of it are kept around as a way of paying homage to the history of the diocese.
 
I’m pretty sure this renovation will be liturgically approriate (hopefully more than the Cathedral currently is), but hopefully not take ten years to pay off.

As for the rest of the diocese, here’s news that is confirmed:

Fr. Fred Kawka is retiring and Fr. Robert Byrne will be the pastor of Frankenmuth Blessed Trinity.

Fr. Randy Kelly will be the pastor of Saginaw St. Thomas Aquinas.

Fr. Loren Kalinowski will be the pastor of Sacred Heart in Mt. Pleasant-I don’t know who’s going to St. John Vianney.

Fr. Ron Wagner will be the full-time pastor of Saginaw St. Andrews and Sacramental Minister to Saginaw Holy Family.

Deacon Roger Pasionek will be Pastoral Administrator of Saginaw Holy Family.
 
I have a question about parish assignments for newly ordained. In the press release from the diocese of Saginaw website, there was mention of where each deacon served as a transitional deacon. Is this typically where they will be assigned after they are ordained?
 
spanky said:
I have a question about parish assignments for newly ordained. In the press release from the diocese of Saginaw website, there was mention of where each deacon served as a transitional deacon. Is this typically where they will be assigned after they are ordained?
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Not necessairly…

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Deacon Coffaro assigned to St Stan’s due to his Polish background…but it seems unlikely that St Marys Student Parish would have two priests assigned to it…same for Beal City…the cathedral would be another story I suppose.
 
News from the Saginaw Diocese. The RCIA director at Blessed Sacrament Church in Midland is retiring. Don’t know much about it except she used to do homilies and now can’t. Maybe she just got to retirement age - anyone out there know anything else?
MBS1
 
MBS1 said:
News from the Saginaw Diocese. The RCIA director at Blessed Sacrament Church in Midland is retiring. Don’t know much about it except she used to do homilies and now can’t. Maybe she just got to retirement age - anyone out there know anything else?
MBS1
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Personnel changes at a church qualify as news?
 
frommi said:
Personnel changes at a church qualify as news?
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I would consider it news if she had been doing homilies three years into the current bishop’s episcopate. I know the old bishop was amendable to this, but not the current one. It would also be news if she decided to “retire” because she was asked to stop giving homilies.
 
Anyone attend the ordination Mass today? any photos or video available online? I would live to see them if available. thanks.
 
I was at the ordination and I have to say it was a wonderful experience. Very moving and very inspiring. And the weather was beautiful as well. Although the church is air conditioned, I have to say that there were a lot of people there, and if the ordination had been in August, it might not have been so pleasant.

Anyway, I’m so very glad I went-and I even ran into my uncle, the owner of one of my favorite restaurants, and (at least I think it was) Al Kresta-but I didn’t get a chance to talk to him.

At any rate, here are two pictures.

One is the laying on of hands, which after the Bishop, was done by every priest in the Diocese, including all of the senior priests (that were there).

The other is the newly ordained priests being vested.
 
The Diocese of Saginaw’s four newest priests!

I know it’s a little fuzzy, but here it goes: left to right: Fr. Coman, Fr. Roa, Fr. Coffaro, and Fr. Heams.

Good luck to all of you, and God Bless.

dioceseofsaginaw.blogspot.com/
 
Sometimes in life we GET to witness pure LOVE, pure HOPE, pure JOY-
we attended these ordinations. The Holy Spirit is alive and well in our Dioceses.
God Bless these new priests, God Bless Bishop Carlson.
7 new Seminarians on the way-what a gift for our existing priests to know that the work they have done as faithful stewards will persist, that Jesus yearns to be fully present to us through the Eucharist. The Ordination: the vehicle through which we are able to receive Jesus so fully. Jesus speaking to each and everyone there, showing them what is important. Our hearts must forever reach out to these newly ordained priest, appreciate them as the gift that they are. Each new priest was offering prayers of blessings to those who wanted them, it was really beautiful. . . I really thank Bishop Carlson and his willingness to be fully present, fully open to the Holy Spirit. THANK GOD!! We must all stand in reverence and awe of what is happening in this Diocese. Each and everyone of us.
Our eyes, our hearts are opened.
Lisa
 
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