The Ave Herald

The congregation at the 10 a.m. Mass at the Ave Maria Oratory Sunday received a pleasant surprise when they saw Cardinal Adam Maida in the procession as the principal celebrant. The cardinal, who is nearing his 80th birthday, retired last year as archbishop of Detroit.

Ave Maria University is "a great work of the Church," Cardinal Maida said in remarks following Mass, adding, "May it be a beacon of hope for the whole world." Right, Cardinal Maida greeting Tim Moore of Hampton Village, one of many parishioners he spoke with after the Mass.

The cardinal is on the Board of Trustees of both Ave Maria University and the Ave Maria School of Law, and is in Ave Maria to attend a meeting of the university's board later this week. He's accompanied by his brother, Ted Maida, who is also a priest and recently retired after serving in the diocese of Pittsburgh for 51 years.