StechschulteEvery year, when The Michigan Catholic writes its “Year in Review” article, a dilemma arises: There’s only so much space, and so many good stories to review.
We usually limit our lists to the top 10 stories of the past year, and we stuck to that guideline again this year. In 2016, the choices were fairly clear. We had a historic archdiocesan synod, the transition of several bishops, a wildly successful Year of Mercy (including the Holy Door at Detroit’s cathedral) and several important archdiocesan events such as the Amazing Parish Conference, Mass for Pardon and the celebration of the canonization of one of the world’s most beloved saints. We had a presidential election, the release of a landmark papal document and the responses to a tragic year of violence both at home and abroad.
With all of this going on, it left little room for those “other” stories The Michigan Catholic covers, the stories that, quite frankly, don’t always appear on the front page. As editor of The Michigan Catholic, it’s my job to choose where these stories fit into our overall coverage, a task that, given the volume and importance of the Catholic news we cover, isn’t always easy. My worst fear, oftentimes, is that because our limited resources don’t always allow us to cover everything we’d like to, readers will assume these stores aren’t important to us. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, often, it’s the stories that don’t merit the big headlines that end up being our favorites at the end of the year. So, while I encourage you to check out our “official” top 10 list on Page 3, here are some of my personal favorites, my “honorable mentions” from 2016:
Divine Mercy image uncovered: It isn’t often that The Michigan Catholic gets to “break” big news, but it was a pretty spectacular find when a reader informed us that the Felician Sisters in Livonia — unbeknownst to them at the time — actually housed the first image of the Divine Mercy ever painted in North America. The image, which hangs nonchalantly in a back hallway of the Sisters’ motherhouse, was painted in 1943 by Sr. Mary Fabia Szatkowska and helped spark a devotion that would take the continent — and the world — by storm.
Archbishop visits prison: As part of his pledge to be an example during the Year of Mercy, Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron visited inmates at the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer in February. Though The Michigan Catholic was not allowed to take photos, the story still served as a potent image of the mercy of God to those whom we often forget.
Pokemon and prayers: Sure, it might have been a fad, but for a few weeks in July, it was all anyone was talking about. When a Troy pastor (Fr. Steve Wertanan of St. Anastasia Parish) decided to capitalize by designing a life-sized Pikachu to invite game-players to his parish, we just couldn’t resist.
Gabriel the Brave: Perhaps one of the most simultaneously heart-wrenching and uplifting stories we’ve ever done was our April 29 piece on 6-year-old Gabriel Richard, who, like the priest who shares his name, became an inspiration to southeast Michigan through his courageous battle with stage II brain cancer. Young Gabe, who continues to fight, realized his lifelong goal of meeting Pope Francis, receiving a special blessing from the Holy Father during an Aug. 17 audience.
Christ in the Streets: Watching 600 Catholic men process with the Blessed Sacrament through the heart of Royal Oak, a 2.5-mile journey from the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica to St. Mary Parish on July 16, was an experience I’ll never forget. It’s the type of powerful, public expression of faith that, in this editor’s opinion, can be a catalyst to those seeking the face of God.
Friday fish with Mitch: On the lighter side, I certainly hope readers enjoyed our Lenten feature on Mitch Koleczko, whose amateur Friday night fish fry reviews are the closest this paper is likely to come to a real food critic. Bon appetit.
Sent by a saint: One story I thought deserved more play was our March 18 feature on the late Francis Samsel, a Temperance brickmason who escaped persecution from the Nazis in Poland due to the direct influence of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Samsel’s daughter, a local Franciscan sister, told the masterful story of her father’s escape, and his subsequent contribution to Catholic faith in southeast Michigan through his work in building local shrines.
Life on Detroit’s margins: Homelessness in Detroit is nothing new, but Dan Meloy’s Feb. 5 exposé highlighting the root causes — as well as the herculean efforts of the city’s Catholics and others to address them — was eye-opening. Meloy spoke with some of the 15,000 people currently living on Detroit’s streets and asked a question few do: How can we help? The answers, and the story, I hope will help contribute to a conversation that’s much needed in 2017 and beyond.
Of course, these don’t nearly exhaust my list, but, like happens all too often, I’m out of space. I hope you enjoyed the work of this newspaper in 2016, and we look forward to serving you again in 2017. God bless you, and thanks for reading.
Mike Stechschulte is managing editor of The Michigan Catholic newspaper.
