Retired bishop settles on the shores of Rogers Lake

Retirement has been anything but dull for Bishop Richard Pates, 79, former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. After retiring as bishop of the Diocese of Des Moines and returning to the Twin Cities in 2019, Pope Francis tapped him first to serve as apostolic administrator for the Joliet, Illinois, diocese and then for the Diocese of Crookston. Now, Bishop Pates is living at the Roach Residence on the shores of Rogers Lake on the St. Thomas Academy campus in Mendota Heights.

Q) You’ve had a sort of non-retirement retirement as Pope Francis’ ringer!

A) I enjoy being busy. I try to get the most out of every day.

Q) What do you make of those two post-retirement assignments to help dioceses in need?

A) It was certainly unexpected! But I had pastoral episcopal experience in other dioceses, which made the undertaking less daunting. You just have to go in, and sometimes there’s tension or difficulties during these transitions, so first you reassure people: Things are going to work out, it’ll be fine. We’ll deal with these issues one at a time. Secondly, you talk to as many people as you possibly can. I had an open-door policy. One of the first things I did was give the priests my cell phone number so they felt they could always have access. They didn’t abuse it, but they used it, which was good.

Q) It sounds like that approach worked well.

A) I’ve been really privileged in terms of my mentors in the past. They’ve always had such a pastoral way. Msgr. Frank Curtin at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul — my first assignment. He was very open to other people and had a great big heart. He was experiencing cancer at the time, and he said to me, “You’re going to take all the weddings and I’m going to take all the funerals because at funerals they don’t talk back to you!” He wanted to avoid the mothers of the bride. I had 45 weddings that first year.

Archbishop Jean Jadot in Washington was extraordinarily bright. He was close to Pope Paul VI and gave me a remarkable appreciation for Vatican II.

And Archbishop Flynn, who was pastoral to his fingernails. He was particularly attuned to people’s personal needs. He reached out to the poor. He was an advocate for those involved in union work. We’d go to restaurants and the waiter or waitress would say, “Archbishop, we’re so grateful for what you’re doing for us.”

You learn from your mentors the simple things: Take an interest in people, be their advocate, defend their causes. Then, they give you a confidence to move into new situations.

Q) You’ve had many adventures in priesthood, including being rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary. How has that experience stayed with you?

A) One thing I learned early on is the importance of the development of the human skills. It’s one of the four pillars of priestly formation. That is crucial today!

When I was in Iowa, Gov. (Terry) Branstad was president of Des Moines University, a medical school. He said to me, “When we recruit students, we get these students who are off-the-charts intellectually but unfortunately they have no bedside manner.”

For us, in terms of evangelization and serving people, it’s good to be well educated, to have strong principles, but some people tell me today that the ministers they encounter might be a little too rigid and might not be able to relate on a human level. That has the greatest impact.

A seminarian in Iowa told me that he could not define “homoousios” in a test. “Now, what am I going to do when people ask me?” he said.

I told him, “Well, don’t get too upset. Nobody’s ever asked me that question in my 50 years of ministry, but they’ve brought me all sorts of personal concerns and issues. They want to know God is going to accompany them.”

People are attracted to the whole person, so it’s really a function of evangelization — to be able to communicate at that level, even in your homilies. We need to make the connection so people can move on to a deeper understanding of the faith and the sacraments.

Q) We live in such divisive times. What can help families heal from rifts caused by politics and the pandemic?

A) Those fractures are very prominent today — very unfortunate and widespread. I like to talk about the truth. There’s nothing as stubborn as a fact. Truth is owed to a person because of that dignity as a child of God. To be a fully integral person, you also need to be one who is a person of the truth. I encourage people to ask: What are the facts? What is the truth of the matter? The devil is described as the father of all lies, and divisions occur because of the presence of the devil.

As a person that communicates, I try to be dedicated to the truth and do all my research. And as a person who lives in community, I want to have an integrated life — God gave me the gift of intelligence, and I want to honor that and always adhere to the truth.

Such independence is prized in the United States today, and people don’t really care about others. That’s the issue with vaccines: You don’t do it for yourself, but for others. It’s in the Scriptures, the letter of First John, to identify our relationship with Christ by the expression of love.

People can be so independent, and they’re in your face, “I don’t care what you say, this is what I have a right to do.” That’s true, but it’s not really about yourself. The greatest satisfaction we receive is when we’re in unity with our friends and our church and our community.

Q) What helped you deal with contentious masking policies?

A) Good communication is very important. We look at what it means to be a Christian: to express love, to put oneself on the line for another. We don’t want to agitate people more than necessary and try to utilize our wisdom in our conversations with others.

I’ve found young people are pretty reasonable about these things. I’ve always asked children: “Where’d you get the masks? Those are the most beautiful masks in the world.”

Q) Does the Roach Residence feel like home?

A) It does. I’m only 10 feet from the shoreline. There’s wild fowl, ducks, turtles, lots of birds. The real pleasure is it has an expansive deck that looks over the lake. You can say your prayers out there and visit with people. It’s very enjoyable.

Archbishop Hebda is right down the road at Vis. We see each other quite a bit.

Q) Is life slower?

A) I think it is. I have a lot more leisurely time for prayer. I have more time to let my heart and mind wander — it has surprising outcomes.

But at the same time, I’m involved in a lot of activities and that makes retirement more enjoyable. I just gave a five-day retreat for permanent deacon candidates in Kansas City, and I’m working on a project to build a new high school in Malawi in Central Africa.

You don’t want to sit around. You need to remain active. But you don’t have the daily responsibility as a bishop or a pastor — such a role is like being a parent, you’re called upon daily.

Q) Would you ever sit down and write your life story?

A) Several people have suggested it. Now that I have more leisure time, I’m thinking about it. I’ve given some thought to the different chapters I’d write.

Q) What’s the secret to a long life?

A) First and foremost are relationships with family and friends. The other thing is satisfaction in your life’s work or ministry. As Archbishop Flynn said, I would say, too: If he had a thousand lives, he’d live each one as a priest.

I try to learn from the wisdom of my parents and older people, and I try to siphon off some of the energy of young people, too. I’m still learning about life. The experiences we have can teach us how to interact with people better, to be more sensitive, more kind.

Q) What do you know for sure?

A) What I know for sure is I still have a long ways to arrive at that point. I know the love of God in my life. He loves me, he created me, he only wants my good. He’ll never abandon me. I try to abide by that — and with others, too. I have to learn more all the time.