|
To Accomplish His Work
A historical look at Bishop Povish's episcopate adapted from the
program for the celebration of his 50th anniversary to the priesthood
and 30th anniversary as a bishop (June 27, 2000)
compiled by Fr. George C. Michalek, Archivist
The Early Years
 Kenneth
Joseph Povish was born in Alpena, Mich., April 19, 1924. He was the
eldest child and only son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Yachaik) Povish
and the grandson of Polish immigrants. He attended St. Anne Elementary
School and Alpena High School, where he graduated in 1942. Even though
he left Alpena to answer the Lord’s call, his love for the area
remained strong. Povish entered St. Joseph Seminary in Grand Rapids
and finished his bachelor’s degree in 1946 at Sacred Heart Seminary
in Detroit. During the summers of 1947-49, he worked among migrants
in the Reese area as part of the original staff of the Mexican Apostolate
for the Diocese of Saginaw. Bishop Steven Woznicki sent the promising
young seminarian to the Catholic University of America in Washington,
D.C. In 1950, Povish received a master’s degree in education
from the university.
 A
Priest for Saginaw
Fr. Kenneth Povish was ordained to the priesthood June, 3, 1950, at
St. Mary Cathedral, Saginaw. His parochial assignments included St.
Ignatius, Rogers City (1950-52) and St. Hyacinth, Bay City (1952-56).
He served as pastor at St. Mary Parish, Port Sanilac (1956-57), St.
Norbert, Munger (1957-60) and St. Stanislaus, Bay City (1966-70).
Fr. Povish served as the first dean of the college department at St.
Paul Seminary in Saginaw, as an instructor in Latin, history and religion
from 1962-66. He became known to the people of the Diocese of Lansing
through his column in The Catholic Weekly following the newspaper’s
launch in the diocese in 1954, the same year Fr. Povish began writing
The Question Box. (He continued his column until 1970. As bishop of
Lansing, he wrote a column entitled Grace and Peace. Later, his column
was named The Way, The Truth and The Life.)
In addition to these duties, Fr. Povish served as interim director
of Catholic Charities in Bay City from 1953-56. He later served as
a member of the Bay City Catholic Family Service Board. His talents
as an educator were expanded while he served as the Saginaw Diocesan
Director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine from 1958-67.
Under his leadership, more than 400 people were trained and certified
by diocesan programs. His experience as chaplain for eight years to
the Bay County League of Catholic Women, and three years to the Saginaw
Particular Council of the St. Vincent dePaul Society, was invaluable
training for his later work with these organizations as a bishop.
He was a member of the first Saginaw diocesan liturgical commission
and the first advisory board to the St. Francis Home for the Aged
in Saginaw.
In 1967, Fr. Povish was elected to the first of two terms on the Saginaw
Priest Senate and, on Oct. 15, was appointed a domestic prelate by
Pope Paul VI. His installation was held in December of that year at
St. Stanislaus. Working with two other pastor he assisted in the merger
of three east side Bay City parochial high schools to form All Saints
Central High School. Msgr. Povish served on the All Saints school
board from 1968-70. In June 1969 Msgr. Povish was appointed dean of
the Bay Deanery of the Saginaw Diocese. at the time of his elevation
to the episcopacy, Msgr. Povish was completing four years as a diocesan
consultant.
 Crookston’s
Bishop
On July 28, 1970, the announcement was made that Msgr. Povish had
been chosen by Pope Paul VI to become the fifth bishop of Crookston,
Minn. The episcopal ordination was held Sept. 29, 1970, at Immaculate
Conception Cathedral in Crookston. He was ordained by the Apostolic
Delegate, Bishop Luigi Raimondi. The co-consecrators were Bishop
Francis Reh of Saginaw and Bishop (now Cardinal) James Hickey of
Cleveland, a Saginaw Diocese native. Bishop Povish and Cardinal
Hickey worked together at St. Paul Seminary when Cardinal Hickey
was rector.
Bishop Povish’s priorities included visiting his people and
implementing the decrees of the Second Vatican Council. He sought
to establish parish councils in each of the diocese’s 49 parishes
and created a diocesan pastoral council. In Crookston, Bishop Povish
was instrumental in founding Glenmore Recovery Center, a treatment
center for the chemically dependent, and he served as the first
president of the group’s board of directors.
 The
Third Bishop of Lansing
On Oct. 8, 1975, Pope Paul VI appointed Bishop Povish to fill the
See of Lansing left vacant by the death of Bishop Alexander M. Zaleski
in May 1975. The announcement was made public Oct. 21, 1975. Bishop
Povish chose the Civic Center in Lansing as the site of his installation
so that as many people as possible could attend. A severe snow storm
did not stop Cardinal John Dearden of Detroit, 35 bishops, 180 priests,
women religious from 17 orders serving Lansing and hundreds of faithful
from attending Dec. 11, 1975. The Apostolic Delegate Archbishop
Jean Jadot installed Bishop Povish as the third bishop of Lansing.
Two days later Bishop Povish presided at the ordination of three
transitional deacons.
Truly, from the moment of his ordination, Bishop Povish had always
sought to live up to his episcopal motto To Accomplish His Work.
The following gives evidence of the work Bishop Povish sought to
accomplish for God. In accomplishing this work he collaborated with
many gifted individuals and groups. Those mentioned herein are no
attempt to provide a complete list.
Catholic Charities
• A reorganization of the Diocesan Offices of Social and Community
Service (a.k.a. Catholic Charities) occurred in December 1976. The
reorginization included a 16-member diocesan Christian Service Commision.
• The youngest county-wide social service agency opened February
1985 in Livingston County. The response was so great that within
five months it was necessary to add another counselor to the staff.
• In January 1985 the Charities staff added a staff member
to care for Christian Service, Parish Social Ministry and Campaign
for Human Development.
• Catholic Social Services of Lansing and St. Vincent Home
were merged in 1985. The new association provided continuing care
for children outside their family of origin through foster care,
counseling, residential treatment and adoption services.
• Shelter of Flint was founded in the late 1980s as a temporary
haven for battered women.
 Education
• Bishop Povish actively participated in many fund-raising
efforts on behalf of Catholic schools. Among them was a successful
$2 million drive to pay off the debt of Luke M. Powers Catholic
High School in Flint, launched October 1976.
• He supported the annual Lansing Catholic Central High School
Fr. Mac Scholarship Dinner, which was inaugurated in 1985.
• In 1990, he was involved in three campaigns – a multi-million
dollar campaign for Lumen Christi High School, Jackson, the Catholic
Education Campaign for Genesee County Schools and the Greater Lansing
Catholic Education Foundation $5 million campaign.
• In 1993, he was engaged in yet another fund-raising campaign
in the Jackson area.
• In 1981, St. Mary Cathedral hosted its first Catholic Schools
Week Mass. Msgr. Jerome Vincent MacEachin celebrated the Mass for
students from the Lansing area. It was so well received that the
following year, Bishop Povish was the main celebrant at a Mass for
students from schools across the diocese. The Mass is now traditionally
held on the Monday of Catholic Schools Week.
• Regional boards of education, with deputy superintendents,
were abolished and, in 1985, secondary schools were constituted
as Public Juridic Persons under Canon Law 113-116. Each school was
given its own set of bylaws. This type of model served as a governance
model for Catholic high schools across the country for many years.
• He endorsed a diocesan chapter of the Federation of Catholic
School Parents in 1986. Though short-lived, it was a witness to
the importance Bishop Povish placed on parental involvement.
• He endorsed the expectation that every elementary and secondary
diocesan Catholic school would become fully accredited by the Michigan
Non-Public School Accrediting Association in 1988. In February 1991,
Holy Family School, Grand Blanc, was the first Catholic school in
the state to be accredited.
• Hundreds of catechists attained at least one level of diocesan
certification during Bishop Povish’s administration, and an
extensive resource handbook for parish leaders and catechist trainees
was developed.
• A certification program for directors of religious education
was begun in May 1989.
• Through the work of a committee of directors respresenting
religious education and school principals, the diocesan catechist
formation program underwent a major revision and was completed in
May 1991.
• In 1993, Bishop Povish appointed four regional adult education
representatives to provide assistance and resourcese to parish adult
leaders.
• From 1987-94, curriculum guides were written for all subject
areas K-8, with a distinctive Catholic identity.
• In 1994, Bishop Povish approved the writing of a high school
religion curriculum for all the Catholic high schools and parish
high school religious education programs in the diocese. Fr. Robert
D. Lunsford was assigned as theological advisor.
School Openings and Closings
• After being closed for more than ten years, St. Mary School,
Pinckney, reopened its doors in August 1983.
• After beginning its educational program with a preschool
in January 1993, St. Martha School, Okemos, formerly opened in August
1993.
• Among the most painful experiences reported by Bishop Povish
was the need to close three parish schools. The last parish high
school of the diocese, Holy Rosary High School in Flint, was closed
in 1992. The closures of two elementary schools, St. Anthony School,
Hillsdale, in 1985, and St. Alexis School, Ypsilanti, in 1995, brought
sadness to the parish communities.
 Ethnic
Ministry
• Bishop Povish built upon the foundation of the two Hispanic
parishes in Lansing and Flint.
• He encouraged the Summer Migrant Program and opened the Spanish-speaking
Cultural Center in Jackson in March 1980.
• A ministries program for the Spanish-speaking was established
in 1980, with a pilot project at Cristo Rey Church, Lansing.
• A Youth Encuentro was held at Luke M. Powers High School,
Flint, in 1981.
• Two national Hispanic Encuentros in 1972 and 1977 led to
the development of the Diocesan Spanish Speaking Commission, which
approved its bylaws in August 1982.
• Office of Hispanic Affairs was opened July 2, 1984, in preparation
for the upcoming Tercer Encuentro (Third Encuentro) in 1985. A diocesan-wide
Encuentro was held in March 1985. Bishop Povish and a delegation
of 10 took part in the national Tercer Encuentro held in Washington,
D.C., in August 1985.
• He presided over the blessing of the new Cristo Rey Community
Center, Lansing, on April 13, 1988.
• A second diocesan Encuentro was held in November 1989 to
implement the Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry.
• The development of a specific “Black Theology”
in the Catholic Church took firm root in the diocese under the direction
of Bishop Povish. As the home diocese of Fr. Norman DuKette, the
second Black priest ordained in the United States, Bishop Povish
understood the unique historical role of the diocese.
• The growth of Black Catholic ministry beyond the confines
of Christ the King Parish in Flint led to the opening of the Fr.
DuKette Center in October 1977. The DuKette Center was designed
to meet the needs of the Black Catholic Community in the city of
Flint.
• The first Black Catholic Diocesan Coordination Team was commissioned
by Bishop Povish in September 1986. He led the 10-member delegation
to the first National Black Catholic Congress, held in Washington,
D.C., in May 1987.
• A special day of reflection for Native American Catholics
was held at St. Therese Parish, Lansing, in June 1989.
• The Black Catholic Ministry Office opened in March 1990,
with a part-time director.
National Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Bishop Povish served as the chair of the Vocations and Catholic
Charismatic Renewal Committees.
• For ten years, he was the National Episcopal Moderator of
the Council of Catholic Women/
• He also served on the Committee for the Laity, Committee
for Communications and on the Administrative Committee.
• He was the second bishop of Lansing to serve on the Committee
for Doctrine.
Vocations
• A Diocesan Vocations Council first met in May 1978.
• In August 1978, a house in East Lansing was opened for young
men contemplating priesthood. This residence was the prototype for
later facilities.
• The first Desert Meal to raise money for seminarians to spend
a semester studying in the Holy Land was held in January 1984.
• In August 1984, Bishop Povish served as the retreat master
of the first annual retreat for seminarians.
• The first annual Vocations Appreciation Dinner was held in
April 1986.
• Sixty priests were ordained for the Diocese of Lansing during
Bishop Povish’s episcopate. Only one year, 1984, were there
no ordinations. In 1978, there were a record ten ordained.
• In June, 1976, Fr. Douglas R. Osborn was given the responsibility
of the development of a training program for the permanent diaconate.
On April 17, 1978, the first training program for the permanent
diaconate in the diocese began for ten men.
• In nine celebrations of Holy Orders, Bishop Povish ordained
67 men to the permanent diaconate.
• To mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the restoration of
the permanent diaconate, a diaconal convention was held at St. James
Parish, Mason, on June 25, 1994.
 Lay
Ministry
• Bishop Povish encouraged the institution of the Loyola Institute
for Ministry Extension Programs in the diocese in the fall of1983.
The program offers masters degrees in Religious Education or Pastoral
Studies.
• The increase in lay ministers on parish staffs led to the
formation of the Professional Pastoral Ministers Association (PPMA)
in December 1986.
• The first director of the Office of Lay Ministries was appointed
in September 1987. The director’s duties included serving as
liaison between the diocese and the PPMA and coordinating ministry
training programs for parish volunteers.
• The first Stephens Ministries were commissioned in the diocese
on April 16, 1989, at St. Mary Parish, Flint.
• The first regional parish ministry institute was held October
1989.
• Befrienders Ministry training sessions began in the diocese
in March 1994.
• A concern that 70 percent of the lay ministers in positions
of leadership did not have proper training led Bishop Povish to
convene a task force in August 1993. He desired that lay ministry
education be more affordable, more accessible and more attainable
across the diocese.
• A new Ministry Formation Program was launched in March 1995
at St. James Parish, Mason. The Ministry Formation Program has agreements
with Siena Heights University in Adrian and Loyola University in
New Orleans.
• On Oct. 10, 1992, Bishop Povish commissioned the first class
of 12 ecclesial lay ministers at St. Mary Cathedral, after they
had completed their academic and spiritual formation through the
Church Ministries Institute.
New Faith Communities
• The Catholic community in Goodrich held their first Mass
on Aug. 20, 1978, as a mission of St. John the Evangelist Parish,
Davison. Later, they took St. Mark the Evangelist as their patron.
• As an outgrowth of St. Robert’s Parish, Flushing, Catholics
in Montrose named their community after the Good Shepherd and celebrated
their first Mass Feb. 4, 1979.
• In June 1979, Bishop Povish sent Fr. Charles Irvin to be
the first pastor of the newly created parish of Holy Spirit in Hamburg.
• In June 1988, Fr. Jonathan Werhle was asked to found the
new parish of St. Martha in Okemos.
• Fr. David Howell was entrusted by Bishop Povish with the
pastoral care of St. Mary Magdalene Parish, founded June 29, 1993.
• St. Alexis and St. Ursula Parishes in Ypilanti were merged
to form Tranfiguration Parish. The pastor, Fr. David Franco, OSFS,
celebrated the first Mass of the new parish on Jan. 9, 1994.
• Only one parish closed during Bishop Povish’s episcopacy
– St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Flint, in 1985.
Diocesan Services Expanded
The following offices and programs were instituted during Bishop
Povish’s 20-year episcopate, during which the Diocese of Lansing
saw an unprecedented expansion of services.
| Diocesan Patoral Council |
September 1977 |
| Health Affairs |
1977 - January 1987 |
| Permanent Diaconate Office |
June 1976 |
| Priestly Life and Ministry |
July 1, 1978 |
| Archives |
Oct. 1, 1979 |
| Rural Life |
July 1, 1980 - 1983 |
| Bishop’s Council on Alcoholism and Chemical Dependency
|
January 1981 |
| Real to Reel |
February 1981 - December 1991 |
| Independent Office of Handicappers |
Sept. 15, 1982 |
| Office of Deaf Ministry |
July 1981 - July 1992 |
| Graphics |
April 1983 - July 1992 |
| Young Adult Ministry |
July 1, 1983 |
| Peace and Justice Ministry |
July 1, 1983 |
| Respect for Life |
July 2, 1984 |
| Hispanic Affairs |
July 2, 1984 |
| Women, Poverty and Age |
July 1984 - July 1992 |
| Campaign for Human Development |
January 1985 |
| Outreach Mass |
January 1985 |
| Livingston County Catholic Social Services |
February 1985 |
| Evangelization Office |
July 1987 - June 1990 |
| Diocesan Coordinating Committee for Separated and Divorced
Catholics |
August 1987 |
| Lay Ministry Office |
August 1987 |
| Worship Office |
May 1, 1988 |
| Criminal Justice Office |
July 1, 1988 - July 1, 1992 |
| Project Rachel |
Oct. 1, 1989 |
| Black Catholic Ministry |
March, 1990 |
• On July 1, 1986, after a two-year study, five departments were
created to better facilitate communication and services – Administrative
Services, Catholic Charities, Education and Catechesis, Diocesan Ministries
and Pastoral Formation.
• A revisioning process in September 1991 led to the elimination
of nine office and letting go of 13 employees on July 1, 1992. At
the same time, the five diocesan departments were reduced to four.
Spiritual Renewal and Continuing Education for
Priests
• Bishop Povish appointed Fr. William F. Meyers to open thte
office of Priestly Life and Ministry in July 1978.
• The Emmaus Program for Priests was launched in May 1979 when
nearly 170 diocesan priests met at St. John Provincial Seminary in
Plymouth. Retreats for the clergy followed, and in May 1980, 159 priests
attended the concluding conference at Weber Center in Adrian.
• An outgrowth of the Emmaus program was the annual convocation,
at which the bishop would give his state of the diocese address.
• A number of our priests participated in the doctoral ministry
program. Rome, Dublin and Menlo Park, Calif. were among the most popular
sabbatical sites.
• During Bishop Povish’s episcopate, the Chrism Mass grew
in importance. His homily was mostly directed to the priests, with
a message that consoled, challenged and encouraged them.
Diocesan Evangelization Efforts
• The Real to Reel program on Channel 6 in Lansing was first
aired on Feb. 1, 1981. Fr. Donald Eder and his staff in the Communications
Office put together quality programs for more than a decade. Because
of budget constraints, the last edition was aired Dec. 29, 1991.
• The Diocesan Wide Open House was held March 13, 1983. Parishes
across the diocese set up displays and gave church tours in effort
to reach out to lapsed Catholics and the unchurched.
• Encouraged by Bishop Povish, Auxiliary Bishop James S. Sullivan
began the weekly televised Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, East
Lansing, in January 1985. Bishop Povish made it a practice of his
to celebrate the Outreach Mass once a month, including the Palm Sunday
Vigil Mass at the beginning of Holy Week each year.
• On Jan. 1, 1989, the diocese purchased Portiuncula in the Pines
retreat house in DeWitt, from the Francisicans. It became St. Francis
Retreat Center and has provided spiritual nourishment and solace to
thousands.
• The spiritual direction internship program began in the fall
of 1992.
• Regional meetings and clergy days were held to reflect on the
NCCB pastorals, “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and
Our Response” (1984) and “Justice for All” (1987).
• To prepare for the Church in the 1990s, an initial diocesan
planning meeting was held in June 1987 and regional meetings began
in February 1998. Bishop Povish reported the results at the Chrism
Mass in 1990.
• A three-year Stewardship Initiative was launched in February
1993.
Evangelization Efforts in Parishes
• The first Parish Renewal Weekend was held at Cristo Rey Parish,
Lansing, in 1980. Recognizing its potential for growth and healing,
Bishop Povish participated in the training sessions at St. Joseph
Home, Jackson, in February 1981. A number of parishes benefited from
these weekends.
• In preparation for the golden jubilee of the diocese in 1987,
Bishop Povish made the decision to launch the Renew Program in the
diocese on June 7, 1983.
• Thirteen information sessions on the Renew Program were held
across the diocese in the fall of 1983, and Bishop Povish presided
over the opening Renew Liturgy at St. Mary Cathedral in September
1984.
• Fr. Matthew Fedewa adapted the TEC (Teens Encounter Christ)
program and created the Koinonia program for adults. The first Koinonia
held in the diocese was at St. Pius X Parish, Flint, in April 1994,
and had 35 participants.
Special Focus Evangelization
• The first Sons and Daughters Encounter weekend was spearheaded
by Fr. James McDougall in February 1980.
• The first Red Mass for Catholic lawyers and judges was celebrated
by Bishop Povish in November 1985, with great support from Frs. James
A. Murray and Michael D. Murphy.
• In February 1986, the Catholic Lawyers Guild held its organizational
meeting.
• In June 1987, Bishop Povish celebrated a Mass marking the founding
of the Michigan chapter of Legatus, a group of Catholic chief executive
officers.
• The first remarriage seminar offered in the diocese took place
in the fall of 1987, and the first conference for separated and divorced
Catholics was held the following spring at Lansing Catholic Central.
• Nearly 380 students attended the first middle school rally
in April 1991.
 Knights
of Columbus
• There were 26 Knights of Columbus councils when Bishop Povish
came to the diocese. He encouraged the establishment of additional
parish councils. In May 1995, when he attended his last state convention
on Mackinac Island as our bishop, there were 58 councils that sent
delegates.
• He was well-known for his faithful attendance to the Knights’
annual meetings, and was recognized for his distinguished service
as their first Man of the Year in May 1994.
• Each year, he proudly witnessed the presentation of top state
awards to councils from the Lansing diocese, and three Lansing men
served as state deputy during his episcopacy.
• Bishop Povish was asked to serve as state chaplain from 1996-1998.
• His articles in the Columbian were much appreciated.
Pastoral Coordinators
• In 1980, Sr. Rita Schaefer, O.P., was appointed to the community
of St. Augustine in Deerfield Twp., which was considered a mission
of St. John the Evangelist Parish, Fenton.
• Bishop Povish appointed the first lay couple to administer
a parish in the diocese in July 1985.
• In July 1988, Sacred Heart Parish, Flint, St. Joseph in Gains,
St. Mary on the Lake in Manitou Beach and St. Catherine Laboure in
Concord all received pastoral coordinators. Several other parishes
would soon join their number.
Diocesan Golden Jubilee
• In 1983, Bishop Povish appointed diocesan archivist Fr. George
C. Michalek to chair the diocesan celebration of its 50th anniversary.
In the fall, parish historians began gathering information.
• On Dec. 13, 1985, Bishop Povish issued a proclamation announcing
the Golden Jubilee of the diocese.
• The Festival of Faith opened with Mass at St. Mary Cathedral
and a block party on May 25, 1986.
• Bishop Povish presided at each of the regional celebrations
which drew to a close in May 1987. He preached on the centrality
of “The Book, the Bread and the Bishop” to the Catholic
faith.
• The fruits of the parish historians’ three years of
gathering history was displayed in the cathedral crypt from May
to September 1987.
• The grand finale was the Aug. 4, 1987 Liturgy at St. Mary
Cathedral. Bishop Povish presided and Archbishop Pilarczyk of Cincinatti
preached. Cardinal Dearden and Archbishop (now Cardinal) Szoka were
in attendance.
Youth Ministry
• In July 1985, the Office of Youth Ministry became a separate
office in the Department of Education and Catechesis.
• The first diocesan youth leadership camp was held in the
summer of 1986, with 86 youth and 12 adults participating. Bishop
Povish was present for the closing day’s activities.
• In 1989, the Office began a formal program of certification
in youth ministry training, with basic, intermediate and advanced
levels.
• Bishop Povish led a 640 member Diocese of Lansing delegation
to the World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado, in August 1993.
|
