Friends of late Detroit Bishop Thomas Gumbleton: He did what he believed was right 'popular or not'

Friends and former parishioners of the Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Gumbleton remembered his warmth, compassion and commitment to social justice on Friday, saying he followed his conscience "regardless of the consequences."

Gumbleton, a vocal advocate of peaceful political causes, died Thursday. He had been living at his apartment on Grand River in downtown Detroit, friends told The Detroit News. He was 94. Funeral arrangements hadn't been finalized as of Friday afternoon.

"He did what he believed to be right whether it was popular or not," said retired auxiliary Bishop Donald Hanchon.

Gumbleton became a national religious figure in the 1960s when he was urged by activist priests to oppose the U.S. role in the Vietnam War. He was a founding leader of Pax Christi USA, an American Catholic peace movement.

“Our participation in it is gravely immoral,” Gumbleton said of the war, writing in The New York Times. “When Jesus faced his captors, He told Peter to put away his sword. It seems to me He is saying the same thing to the people of the United States in 1971.”

In 2007, Gumbleton served his last Mass as pastor at St. Leo Roman Catholic Church in Detroit where he had served for 23 years, telling his parishioners that he was forced to step down as pastor because of his lobbying efforts on behalf of the victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy, a stance that put him in opposition to his fellow bishops.

Hanchon, who spent his life at Detroit parishes, recalled first hearing about Gumbleton while at high school at the now-closed Sacred Heart.

At the time, Gumbleton was chosen to travel to Rome for education and was "the man who could do anything," said Hanchon, who served as pastor of Most Holy Redeemer parish in southwest Detroit since 1999.

"I met him when I was a priest, and we were both very committed to the church in the city," said Hanchon, who still lives on Central Avenue. "He was at St. Leo's and was a private guy, teensy shy, and still the most outspoken in the room. We'd often see each other at Vince's, a now-closed restaurant in southwest Detroit on Springwells. I'd go with friends and he'd be eating alone in the corner, reading something. It's almost like he preferred to be alone."

After his passing Thursday, former parishioners recalled Gumbleton's warmth and compassion.

"Our world needs more religious leaders like him," recalled one former parishioner on Facebook.

"Bishop Gumbleton followed his conscience regardless of the consequences," said Judy Beyersdorf on Facebook. "His was a life well lived in the service of God."

Gumbleton led a "radically simple life," his friends said.

"He never lived in a place that had more than a bed, chair, dresser... People would be jarred to know how simple of a life he lived," Hanchon said. "I remember in 2010, he established a link to a very poor community in Detroit that had nothing more than a health clinic and he was committed to seeing it improve throughout his whole life and as Detroit changed."

What made him special, Hanchon said, was his gratitude for life.

"He always remembered to be grateful. He had such conviction that when you're in his presence, you thought 'Wow he's the real deal.' The people loved him, who didn't?" Hanchon said.

Gumbleton, a Detroit native, was born Jan. 26, 1930, the fifth of nine children. He grew up in Epiphany Parish on Detroit’s west side, Detroit Catholic reported.

After he was ordained on June 2, 1956, he served as pastor of numerous parishes; most notably, St. Leo Parish in Detroit, between 1983 and 2007, the Archdiocese of Detroit said. He retired in 2006 but continued serving as administrator of St. Leo.

Pope Paul VI appointed him the 10th auxiliary bishop of Detroit on March 8, 1968. Gumbleton was consecrated on May 1, at that time the youngest bishop in the country.

The Archdiocese of Detroit described Bishop Gumbleton as a "champion of social justice causes."

"Bishop Gumbleton was a faithful son of the Archdiocese of Detroit, loved and respected by his brother priests and the laity for his integrity and devotion to the people he served," said Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron in a news release. "We in the Archdiocese join his family and friends in praying for the repose of his soul and asking God to grant him the reward of his labors."