Known affectionally as "Father Mac", the Right Reverend Monsignor Jerome V. MacEachin (1904-1987) was a significant presence within the life of the Diocese of Lansing for many decades. The celebration of his Silver Jubilee of Ordination in 1957 at Saint Thomas Aquinas, East Lansing, was captured on 16mm film by a local parishioner. Years later that film was given to the then-pastor, Father David Speicher, who kept it safely in a drawer until very recently when he had it transferred onto a digital format. Now the film can be viewed in public for, perhaps, the first time ever. Watch and enjoy as Father Speicher tells the story of this long unseen film and fondly recalls his priestly mentor, Father Mac.
A brief biography of Monsignor Jerome V. MacEachin: A native of Ubly, Father Mac was ordained for the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1932 and was incardinated into the Diocese of Lansing upon the creation of the new diocese in 1937. Father Mac was the first Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Lansing (1940 - 1955). He was the pastor of Saint Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing from 1943 until his retirement in 1978. He also founded Saint John Student Center at Michigan State University in 1957. May he rest in peace.
* For a full obituary, click here.
* Want to see the entire film? Click here.