A Ministry of Presence

It’s not uncommon for a parish to have “that person.” That is, the employee who’s been there for as long as you can remember, who seems to be almost woven into the very fabric of the parish. That person is who the parishioners see as a constant and who the pastor can turn to for nearly anything.

At Ss. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church in Detroit, that person is Lydia Maola, who joined the staff in 2008. Some refer to her as Jesuit Fr. Gary Wright’s “right-hand man,” but Maola hadn’t sought out such a role originally.

It started when she saw an opening for an administrative assistant, but she quickly realized there was something special about the parish. Maola recalls, “I immediately fell in love with the historic structure.”

The parish saw remarkable growth in the years that followed, and Maola’s responsibilities at Ss. Peter and Paul increased in tandem. She now serves as director of operations, though she notes that she wears several hats as office manager, bookkeeper and business manager, facility manager, and human resources.

Though Maola was unfamiliar with the Society of Jesus before, she is now a firm believer in the Jesuits’ mission, especially as it relates to Ss. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church’s presence in Detroit. Maola says, “We’ve been here for close to 175 years; we are the beginning point for all Jesuit ministry in inner- city Detroit. And it’s not because of anything that the province or a Jesuit or any one particular person has done. It’s because there is a need in this city for the Jesuit charism, and people are still responding to it today. And we really feel blessed to have all of this great history and a legacy that we’re leaving for future generations.”

For Sr. Kathleen Flannery, OSU, director of parish life and liturgy at Church of the Gesu in University Heights, Ohio, the Jesuits weren’t totally unfamiliar; her brother is Midwest Jesuit Fr. Kevin Flannery.

But she had a vocation of her own to the Ursuline sisters and was originally drawn to her role at Gesu because of her experience in pastoral settings. Eleven years into the job, though, she’s found that Gesu is not your average parish, but a destination for people acquainted with the Jesuits. Sister Flannery says, “You have to learn a community and build on the strengths that are already there.”

Vivian Amu has spent her entire career thus far in a parish setting, that is, St. John’s Parish in Omaha. Amu, the parish’s sacristan, joined St. John’s immediately after graduating with her undergraduate degree from Creighton. While Amu stays busy with typical sacristan duties like setting up for Mass and coordinating sacraments, she describes her work as a whole as “a ministry of presence.” In the past 17 years, St. John’s has seen five pastors, five liturgists, and five music directors. But Amu has been a constant, which is a source of comfort for parishioners, who she says, “have become extended family.”

Amu finds true job satisfaction in the community. She says, “People come [into St. John’s] because we understand that we’re all members of the body of Christ. And that’s the kind of thing I enjoy most. It means that I can do my work with all of my heart and want to do it, even if I’m not making millions. What I’m doing nourishes the spirits and souls of the people who are walking in; it makes their lives better.”