A loving presence, a caring hand

Editor’s note: This article has been featured in the magazine for the Installation Mass of Archbishop Michael G. McGovern.

In the words and actions of their bishop, Catholics of the Belleville diocese witnessed Jesus’ convicting words in St. Matthew’s Gospel: “As you did it to one of the least of My brothers and sisters, you did it to Me.”

He celebrated Christmas and Easter Mass with the men and women detained at the St. Clair County jail.

Staff at the Society of St Vincent De Paul Belleville’s soup kitchen watched their bishop regularly connect with the mostly non-Catholic homeless men and women served there.

Bishop McGovern often would bring dessert down to the kitchen, share the Word and then pray individually with guests.

“They didn’t expect it,” said Pat Hogrebe, the society’s executive director.

While he went out of his way to assist the Society’s mission administratively, he also was concerned for the families slipping into poverty beyond the society’s footprint in the diocese, she said.

He’s a very kind, giving man, said Joe Hubbard, vice president of the society’s board.

“He tries to see the face of Christ in those who are suffering,” Hubbard said.

ST. CLAIR COUNTY CORRECTIONS 

Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Bishop McGovern called on Catholics in Illinois to increase their assistance to mothers in need. A few weeks later he sold the historic 13-room bishop’s residence, donated the proceeds to assist expectant mothers and directed the establishment of St. Anne Cradle of Hope, a care center to assist women and children in need.

He met privately with families grieving because of a suicide and often visited sick and dying priests in hospitals and nursing homes.  In recent months, he advocated for the legislature to reject attempts to legalize euthanasia for patients diagnosed with terminal illness. 

“He takes his role as shepherd to heart, always with the singular aim of drawing others closer to Christ,” said Mary Fleming, his chief of staff in Belleville.

A few months into his episcopacy, Bishop McGovern called on the faithful to do something “useful and demanding for those in need,” in turn making the Catholic faith more credible to an increasingly secular world. 

“The beggar, the leper, the victim of AIDS do not need discussions and theories; they need love. The hungry cannot wait for the rest of the world to come up with the perfect answer; they need effective solidarity. The dying, the handicapped and the defenseless unborn… need a loving human presence and a caring hand.”

COURTESY PHOTO

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