Detroit -- Cardinal Adam Maida called it “a liturgy of thanksgiving” — and words of gratitude flowed freely among the cardinal, his priests and the lay faithful at a liturgy last Sunday at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and subsequent reception at Sacred Heart Major Seminary.

The Mass, initially meant to commemorate Cardinal Maida’s 25th anniversary as a bishop, became also an opportunity for Detroit’s chief shepherd and his flock to bid each other a fond farewell after 18 1/2 years. It was the cardinal’s last public appearance before the installation of his successor, Bishop Allen H. Vigneron, as the new archbishop of Detroit’s 1.4 million Catholics.

“As I give thanks to God for the unique privilege of having been your chief shepherd all these years, I also want to thank each of you for your own witness of openness to the gifts and challenges of the Holy Spirit according to the particular circumstances of your vocation and state in life,” Cardinal Maida said during his homily.

The cathedral was filled to capacity, and some members of the congregation lined the aisles during the liturgy. About 100 priests surrounded the cathedral’s altar for the celebration. Among them were 10 bishops, including former Detroit archbishop Cardinal Edmund C. Szoka. More than 30 deacons also participated in the Mass.

Following the procession, Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores read a letter from Pope Benedict XVI, which was addressed to Cardinal Maida for the occasion.

Pope Benedict, on behalf of the Vatican, noted how Cardinal Maida’s “gifts of soul and intellect” led him to be chosen as the bishop of Green Bay in 1984, and six years later the archbishop of Detroit. The letter also stated that Pope John Paul II noticed Cardinal Maida’s “remarkable energy” and “lively fidelity,” and thus inducted him into the College of Cardinals.

The pontiff thanked Cardinal Maida for a number of initiatives, above all the “spiritual renewal” of the Archdiocese of Detroit. “Indeed, God alone, who has constantly accompanied you with his divine grace, knows the full extend of your efforts,” the letter stated. “We — who have met with you often and have been able to witness the results of your diligence, your immense charity and your pastoral zeal — now publicly commend you, endowed with the merits of your labor, as we join you in giving thanks to Almighty God for all the benefits he has abundantly bestowed upon you.”

At the close of Mass, Cardinal Maida thanked all those who shared in his ministry. He called Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI his “friends.” He expressed gratitude for the support and presence of his predecessor Cardinal Szoka. And he drew a chuckle from the congregation while thanking his brother bishops who were present by noting he had ordained most of them into the priesthood.

Cardinal Maida called the priests and deacons the “finest collaborators in ministry to God’s people.” And to the lay faithful, he said each one, in his or her own vocation, has had the opportunity to witness to the Lord and “has been an apostle.”

“We have done our work and lived our day,” the cardinal said. “But nonetheless we acknowledge that it is God’s work and we are blessed by the Lord through all our efforts.”

Lastly, he assured the faithful that he would still be a priest in their service.

“Life is changed, it’s not taken away,” he said.

Priesthood, he added, is “a vocation that never ends. It’s like being a mother or father. I will be a priest until my last breath.”

In the pews were many with deeply felt connections to Cardinal Maida. At the front of the Cathedral were members of Cardinal Maida’s family, including his brother Daniel Maida who drove from Pittsburgh for the Mass.

“I know he’s sad to go,” said Daniel Maida. “But I’m glad at this time he’s still healthy enough to enjoy a lot of years. That’s really nice…He made a lot of friends here. The people have been so good to him, so he’ll miss them a lot.”

He said the family would be glad to see more of Cardinal Maida, who plans to live in Plymouth Township but make frequent visits to his native Pittsburgh.

Among several shedding a few tears after the Mass was Discalced Carmelite Sr. Margaret Mary, an extern sister for her cloistered order in Clinton Township. “I think he was great,” she said, noting that he would visit the sisters on a regular basis. “I’ll miss him saying Mass with us. He was a beautiful priest.”

She added that, in his retirement, she hopes he still comes by to visit and celebrate Mass for the sisters.

Deacon Paul Stevens, who ministers at Transfiguration Parish in Detroit and St. Ladislaus Parish in Hamtramck, says the day Cardinal Maida ordained him in 2006 will forever live in his memory. The cardinal also established a meaningful link for him between the archdiocese and the former pontiff.

“I had such a connection with John Paul II, and knowing that Cardinal Maida was here during John Paul’s term as pope — there was a wonderful connection there,” he said. “And with (Cardinal Maida) ordaining me and laying his hands upon my head that day, it’s something I’ll never forget. I’ll miss his gentleness, actually, and his love that’s so evident for the Archdiocese of Detroit.”

Several members of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish also were on hand at the celebration. Though Msgr. Michael LeFevre serves as the cathedral’s rector, Cardinal Maida is officially its pastor — and the parishioners present acknowledged that he was a good one.

Beverly LeMons, vice president of the cathedral’s altar society, said the cardinal’s warmth would be missed.

“When you meet Cardinal Maida, he just seems like family,” said LaMons, who counts among her favorite memories seeing a photo in the Detroit Free Press of Cardinal Maida with her 5-year-old grandson during a World Youth Day event. “I feel close to him, just in experiencing him through the years. Whenever he sees me, he says, ‘Hello, my friend’ — and that just really moves me.”

Fellow parishioner Marcella Verdun added that the cardinal’s pastoral leadership would be missed.

“Through his guidance and leadership, I felt a personal increase in my faith,” said Verdun, 74. “He projects the way he feels about the Lord and his dedication to the faith and to spreading the Gospel. That’s such an inspiration. He’s a model, I would say.”

Another woman who knew Cardinal Maida through the cathedral was Nancy Deacon, the cathedral’s music director, whom the cardinal thanked warmly at the end of Mass for leading the congregation in song.

“He always had such a twinkle in his eye, and his smile,” said Deacon. “I always appreciated that every time I went up to him. He had this little twinkle, and a wink that he always gave me. I’ll miss seeing that all the time.”

A friend of hers, Glenn Legacki, a parishioner at St. Fabian Parish in Farmington, said he would miss the Cardinal’s “good will,” especially toward the city of Detroit.

“He always seems very happy, upbeat and positive on the city,” he said. “Hopefully that will continue as we go along here. He had so many positive things to say about the city and the hope he had for the city. That message alone was very uplifting to me.”

Judging from the turnout at the reception at Sacred Heart, Cardinal Maida uplifted Detroit’s Polish-American population, as well. Many of his Polish friends came to wish him well in his retirement.

“He was such a great cardinal, and it was just great to be with him in Detroit,” said Tadeusz Gorecki. He and his wife Euginia are Polish natives and parishioners at Our Lady of Refuge in Orchard Lake. “It’s a little bit sad,” added Euginia, “because each time we’ve been with Cardinal Maida, he would say a couple of words in Polish, and you felt really good. “So, we’ll teach the new archbishop some words.”

For his part, Cardinal Maida seemed to enjoy the sizable crowd that filled the seminary’s decorated gymnasium to wish him farewell, amid a buffet of Polish food.

But it was at the Mass where he left his friends with his final thoughts on ending his ministry. At the end of his homily, he cited St. Augustine’s classic, “The City of God.”

“These are the very words that my predecessor, John Cardinal Dearden, used at his own farewell in October, 1980,” Cardinal Maida said. “They express well my sentiments of gratitude and hope. And this is what he said: ‘I am done. With God’s help, I have kept my promise. This, I think, is all that I promised to do when I began this huge work. From all who think that I have said either too little or too much, I beg pardon; and those who are satisfied I ask not to thank me, but to join me in rejoicing and in thanking God. Amen.’”