‘A pastor most of all’

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

Archbishop Michael G. McGovern has been described as a voracious reader who enjoys history, art, music and hole-in-the-wall restaurants that serve homestyle comfort food. 

He’s been known to halt a Eucharistic procession to bless a baby when prompted by the Holy Spirit; to wear clothes past their expiration dates; to help turn around a parish in debt; to seek out parish festivals where he can call a Bingo game; to drop everything, at any time, to assist a person in need. 

Those who have served with him have called the archbishop gracious, endearing, smart, somewhat reserved, quirky, funny, kind and level-headed. 

But the one word that describes him best, they said, a characteristic at the core of his being, would be pastor. 

For his part, Archbishop McGovern would like their choice of that word. 

“I would describe myself as a pastor, a shepherd,” he said in introducing himself to the Archdiocese of Omaha at a March 31 press conference. 

Though he’s held administrative posts, too, he said, “I love being a pastor most of all.” 

The 60-year-old has been shepherding increasingly larger flocks as he’s transitioned from a parish priest ordained in the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1994, to bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, ordained in 2020, to his most recent appointment, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha. 

In his latest move, he went from leading about 70,000 Catholics in 28 counties in southern Illinois to leading more than 230,000 Catholics in 23 counties of northeast Nebraska. 

But for 16 of his 31 years as a priest, he served as a parish pastor, a role that’s become ingrained in him. 

Then-Father Michael G. McGovern is pictured at a 2019 event when he was pastor of St. Raphael the Archangel Parish in Old Mill Creek, Illinois. COURTESY PHOTO

Archbishop McGovern takes his vocation as shepherd to heart, “always with the singular aim of drawing others closer to Christ,” said Mary Fleming, his former chief of staff in the Belleville diocese. 

In the two years Fleming worked with him, she was impressed by his pastoral nature. 

“During the rededication of a pregnancy care center in Belleville, he took the time to sit with an elderly woman who was alone, offering her companionship. At a youth group gathering where he was invited to speak, he chose to have dinner with the high school students instead of his fellow priests. When he celebrated Mass for those grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide, he privately met with several of the families to offer support.” 

Benedictine Father Godfrey Mullen also saw a shepherd’s heart in his diocesan superior. Father Mullen serves as moderator of the curia for the Diocese of Belleville and rector of its St. Peter Cathedral. He lived several years in a rectory with then-Bishop McGovern and became a close friend. 

“I do think that the hallmark of his time in Belleville will certainly be marked by that pastoral presence,” Father Mullen said. 

“I think he loves being a bishop, but I think he would’ve been perfectly happy being a pastor his whole life. He just loves that ministry.” 

If a priest was sick or otherwise unable to offer Mass, Bishop McGovern was ready to substitute.  

“That, to me, says a lot about his desire to be with the people,” Father Mullen said. 

The bishop loved having fun with his flock, keeping an eye on the schedule of parish festivals. He would make a point of going, eating with the people, then calling Bingo. 

“That has endeared him very much to the people here,” his friend said. 

The bishop accompanied people in their pain, too, including his priests who were trying to overcome an addiction or grieving a family member’s death. 

“He’s incredibly willing to walk that path with them,” Father Mullen said. 

During his first assignment as a pastor, at Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest, Illinois, “he totally poured himself into shepherding the parish,” said Ellyn Von Huben, who continues to serve there as an administrative assistant and bulletin editor. 

Von Huben worked with then-Father McGovern during his 12 years at St. Mary, from 2004 to 2016. 

During that time, he counseled and aided struggling parishioners, built up pro-life ministries, encouraged Bible studies and Eucharistic adoration and revived a Corpus Christi procession. 

“He just had a great pastoral sense,” Von Huben said. “He was very warm with people.” 

COURTESY PHOTO

Prayer was a priority when he was pastor of St. Raphael the Archangel Parish in Old Mill Creek, Illinois, said Robert Forster, a former parishioner. “He was always willing to listen and discuss things, but when it came time to pray, it was time to pray.” 

Forster said his former pastor was smart and level-headed, someone who tackled problems by listening and proceeding carefully, one step at a time. 

Forster, a sacristan and active volunteer at St. Raphael, said his pastor sought others’ opinions, weighed options, “and then he’d make a wise choice.” 

JoAnn Osmond, a member of the pastoral and finance councils at St. Raphael, said Archbishop McGovern serves like a father, leading by example. 

“If he saw something that was not right, he would kind of pull it back together,” Osmond said. “He just had that way about him, not pointing out what’s wrong, but making you think perhaps you could do better.” 

He moved people forward in faith, she said, creating a sense that “the Church is where you want to be. 

“He brought a lot of different people who were on the fence post back into the Catholic Church.” 

When St. Raphael started a rummage sale, the pastor worked alongside his parishioners, loading, boxing and sorting donations. It was then Osmond realized: “There’s nothing that he would ask you that he wouldn’t do himself.” 

Father McGovern frequently dropped by Knights of Columbus and women’s council meetings, helped at parish picnics and trained altar servers. 

Gidget Leable, another active volunteer and president of the Altar and Rosary Sodality at St. Raphael, remarked on her pastor’s modest lifestyle during his four years at St. Raphael. 

He lived for a while in a meager, old farmhouse, “without an ounce of complaining,” Leable said. He wore his black clergy shirts until they faded to gray. 

“He’s the simplest man,” she said. “You’re lucky if he buys himself a new pair of shoes when he needs them.” 

“He’s probably the best example of what a priest could be,” Leable said. “He put the bar on the ceiling.” 

“Any sacrament somebody needed, he would go immediately. He said, ‘I’m on call 24/7.’” 

Parishioners were heartbroken when he departed to become a bishop. 

“You won’t find a better man of God. You just won’t.”

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