PRESERVING A LEGACY OF PEACE
THE BISHOP GUMBLETON PASTORAL PROJECT is an an oral history compendium whose goal is to record, transcribe and archive interviews from participants around the world who share stories of their encounters with the late auxiliary bishop of Detroit. Produced in tandem with the documentary film Tom and the People of God, the Pastoral Project is an effort to preserve and make accessible to both researchers and the general public the historic impact of Gumbleton’s ministry and peacemaking work, starting from before his ordination in 1956 to his passing in 2024.
The collection of interviews will include a diverse array of voices who represent the vast reach of Bishop Gumbleton's 68+ year social justice and peacemaking ministry, ranging from parishioners at his first assignment at Saint Alphonsus in 1950s Dearborn, clergy who met with him in during the Vietnam War in 1969, families of the Iranian hostages he visited during the crisis in 1979, fellow missionaries to Iraq during the Gulf Wars, clinic workers at Kay Lasante Clinic in Haiti, his colleagues from the founding days of Pax Christi USA, fellow bishops of the US conference, mission partners in Central America and much more, all in addition to Gumbleton's former parishioners at St. Leo the Great in Detroit, family and close friends.
Members of the general public who knew or encountered Bishop Gumbleton are invited to share their stories with the Pastoral Project to document their own experiences of a ministry that reached across borders and impacted individuals, institutions, generations of Catholics and people of all faiths for decades.
Before his passing in April of 2024 Bishop Gumbleton was thanked by Pope Francis for his "testimony as a pastor, a good shepherd". The overarching goal of the compendium is to provide not just an oral recounting of Thomas Gumbleton's life and personal impact, but also a repository of ministerial practices and pastoral care rooted in the Gospel of Christ that can serve as a model for future ministers, faith and community leaders working in peace and justice for years to come.
