Fr. Joe Mills decorates the Christmas tree at the Catholic Pastoral Center (now known as the McRaith Catholic Center) in Owensboro in this undated photo. ARCHIVES PHOTO

BY EDWARD WILSON, ARCHIVES

For this month’s article I, of course, looked for something Christmas-themed. I discovered what appeared to be a reel to reel containing a Christmas Mass from 1958. Exciting! However, it turned out to be a false promise. In actuality, it was a recorded performance of the Nutcracker. My disappointment was immeasurable.

I continued looking. Diving into our paper documents, I discovered how much people love to send their bishop Christmas care-packages. Let’s just say, Bishop McRaith was not wanting for fruit baskets or sweet treats around the Christmas season. However, I continued to look for something more substantial to write about. That’s when I came across a letter dated Dec. 23, 1978. It started, “Dear Joe.”

As soon as I saw it, I knew who had written it. At the top center of the page, “JMJ” (Jesus, Mary, Joseph) was written in unmistakable cursive. This is how Msgr. Bernard Powers marked his letters and papers. He passed away on Oct. 25 this year. As of writing this, he is our most recently deceased priest. It probably doesn’t take a lot of guessing to figure out who the “Joe” he was writing to is. It is Fr. Joe Mills. Fr. Mills also recently passed in 2020. These two priests are giants of our time in this diocese. A few years ago, seeing a photo of Fr. Mills in some materials on my research desk, a young priest pointed to it and said something to the extent of, “If I end up being half the priest that man was, I will have done more for God than I could have ever imagined.” Needless to say, these men are loved and admired all around. So, why did Msgr. Powers write Fr. Mills on that cold December day?

The letter was a Christmas greeting; however, Msgr. Powers wasn’t simply going to send his dear friend and brother priest a Hallmark card. He wrote to Fr. Mills as they celebrated “the coming of God into our life through the Incarnation.” He penned a heartfelt letter thanking him for his friendship and for his priesthood. He reaffirmed what a gift Fr. Mills was to those he served and reminded him that his priesthood was a conduit of God’s love; through the mysteries that cannot be seen by our earthly eyes, God works wonders with our service. Also, attached to this letter was a 10-page reflection of thanksgiving and celebration of Fr. Mills’s priesthood, written by Msgr. Powers.

We have countless letters in our archives. Each of them gives us a glimpse into a different time. Even though both of these good priests now bask in the warmth of God’s love in this cold December, we can still see their friendship. Nearly 50 years after it was written, we can read the letter and appreciate the faith and friendship these two men had. Their friendship saw many more Christmases and their service continued to bring God’s love to his people.  

Edward Wilson is the director of the Diocese of Owensboro’s Archives and the Archives of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. Comments and questions may be sent to [email protected].

Originally printed in the December 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.