St. John Paul is the Father of Orchard Lake: Half its Regents Vote to Kick Out Priests
A house divided: Orchard Lake Regents split 16–13 on removing the Polish Seminary, Michigan’s oldest place of Catholic formation
Forty-one years ago today, an assassin aimed and perfectly struck St. John Paul the Great with four bullets. The trained killer — who eventually became a Catholic — was shocked that the Polish pope would not perish.
Today, 16 Orchard Lake, Michigan Regents — opposed by bishops, priests, nuns, alumni, Polonia, and the entire Polish community — are trying to kill the Polish Seminary that became John Paul’s first “American home” in 1969 and 1976.
The Catholic clergy and Poles lost that 16–13 vote, but they kept fighting, singing their anthem: “Poland has not yet perished, So long as we still live.” Many argue that the bishop’s and priests' votes have more weight in influencing Michigan’s oldest Catholic seminary.
Orchard Lake’s founding documents require board members to be engaged Catholics, including priests, representatives of Polish organizations, and alumni. Every Regent meeting those criteria (13) voted to save the seminary. It remains the reason the schools began in 1885.
