When Father Michael Szupper arrived on the University of Delaware campus in the summer of 1964, fresh from graduate school at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., he had to break into the house on Park Place that was to serve both as his home and the place he would hold services as UD's new Catholic chaplain.

Once inside, he found a cigar box with the ministry's funds tucked inside--a whopping $18 and change. He also found a stack of notices from utility companies saying everything was going to be turned off for lack of payment.

Undaunted, his first thought was to count the folding chairs in the parlor where services were to be held. Twenty-five chairs. "It was too small," he says.

Now, almost 40 years later, Father Szupper, who shepherds nearly 1,000 Catholic students, plus faculty, administration and staff, each week on the campus, was losing sleep the last week in August worrying about the New Student Convocation ceremony, scheduled for Sept. 2.

At the ceremony, Howard Cosgrove, chairman of UD's Board of Trustees, was to present the priest with the University's Medal of Distinction--the highest award the institution bestows on citizens of the state and region who have made humanitarian, cultural, intellectual or scientific contributions to society, have achieved noteworthy success in their professions or have given significant service to the University, the state or the region.

In the presentation, Cosgrove encouraged members of the entering class, regardless of their religious affiliation, to take the opportunity to introduce themselves to Father Szupper, whom he described as a "man of spirituality, wisdom and integrity."

Cosgrove said: "Father Szupper--mentor, inspirer and friend--we salute you for contributions to the education, enrichment and spiritual lives of countless students at the University of Delaware, and in the process, for sharing your intellect, energy and selflessness."

Father Szupper was the first member of the clergy serving the campus to receive such recognition. In typical fashion, he said he felt unworthy. Throughout the interview for this story, Kim Zitzner, who also works in the St. Thomas More Oratory, as the Catholic Campus Ministry is now known, had to gently prod him to talk about himself.

In the '60s, Father Szupper was enjoying his studies as a doctoral student at Catholic University when officials there tapped him to help out in the chaplain's office.

No doubt due to his success in that post, he received a letter from his diocese at the end of his last year of doctoral study in the philosophy of education, assigning him to the position at UD.

"In those days, you didn't have a say in where you went or what you did," he recalls, "and that was fine with me. When I found out I would be working with students, I felt so blessed and happy. I didn't know any specifics about the job, but I thought, 'Well, when I get there, I'll find out.'"

The young priest kicked off his campus ministry at Delaware with a luau. "It was one of those occasions where a good time was had by all," he says, "all except for the neighbors, of course. I can't believe we used to do such things!"

Intent on building his campus ministry and unfazed by his lack of funds, Father Szupper soon contracted with the Cinema Center in the Newark Shopping Center and celebrated Mass there every Sunday. "I rented a bus from nearby Blue Hen Lanes and picked students up," he says.

He poured every cent from his $80-a-month salary back into the campus ministry and relied on the small weekly offerings to help pay the bills. Still, he soon found himself behind on rent for the theatre and bus.

"When the movie Dr. Zhivago came out, I wanted to see it," he recalls. "Because of Mass, I had a key to the building and knew the manager, but I was afraid he would be taking tickets and ask me how I could afford to see the film when I was behind on the rent. I have to confess that I wrote a check that I knew would bounce and kept it in my pocket just in case I ran into him at the show. Thankfully, I didn't."

Lack of funds has never stopped Father Szupper, Zitzner says, and that attitude has become a hallmark of his ministry. "If students need it, he does it and worries about the money later," she explains. "And, God has been good. The money has always come in whenever we've needed it and when we've least expected it."

"It's part of my wisdom not to try and balance the books," he says, sheepishly. "I leave that to Kim and others."

In those early years, location was a continuing concern for Father Szupper. In the '60s and '70s, he had an office at 44 East Main St., above what is now Peace A Pizza. It had a back room that seated about 30 people. One Sunday night after a large snowstorm, just after the priest had finished the liturgy and all the students had left, the flat roof collapsed from the weight of the snow. He still marvels that no one was hurt.

Over the years, the unusual facilities where Mass was celebrated also included the First Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church and, during one summer session, the local synagogue.

Father Szupper guided the Catholic Campus Ministry through the troublesome, confrontational and often turbulent period of the late '60s and early '70s when campus activism swirled around such issues as the Vietnam War, the women's movement, minority rights and, as it turned out, the legality of a ministry on campus at all.

Father Szupper reluctantly became the center of a controversy that even today pains him to talk about.

As the Newark campus expanded northward and the Pencader Residence Hall Complex and Christiana Towers opened, a group of students asked Father Szupper if he could start holding Mass there.

Having studied constitutional law when he pursued his doctorate, Father Szupper knew he needed to be sensitive to church and state separation issues, and he told the students, "I don't think I can."

"I put out some feelers and got no strong negative or affirming response," he recalls. "Eventually, we were given permission to say Mass in Christiana Commons. We viewed it as offering a student activity, at which attendance was voluntary, in a common area."

Eventually, the decision was questioned, and things began to deteriorate. It was a difficult time for him, Father Szupper says, as he had many friends in the UD administration. The low point came one Sunday morning when he learned he was to be arrested if he tried to celebrate Mass on campus.

The priest's first instinct was to call his mother and tell her not to worry if she heard his name on the news later in the day. His second was to call a lawyer friend whom he asked, "Should I pack a suitcase in case I am taken to jail?" That did not happen as Father Szupper said Mass that day away from University property.

Eventually, he did become the center of a court case that was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld a ruling, still in effect today, that allows priests to offer Mass on college campuses. The ruling had far-reaching effects for other congregations as well, but Father Szupper does not count it as a personal victory. He counts it as a sad time when he did his best not to offend people he cared about.

"I worked hard not to make it an issue with 'us vs. them,'" he says. "I never wanted it to be personal. I wanted it to be about the law and how it is defined.

"It was a time of questioning and defining the role of religion and its place in the academic community. It was difficult work but rewarding, learning when to share and how to serve the student pursuing academic goals as well as fulfilling personal visions and always respecting those who differed," he says.

He also recounts with humor the antics of the ACLU lawyer whom students arranged to represent him at the time, recalling how the man also was defending prostitutes in Wilmington then.

In 1975, the St. Thomas More Oratory opened on Lovett Avenue, and students had a convenient place to come for Mass. The building can seat 350, and the Sunday evening Blue Hen Student Mass regularly attracts a standing-room-only crowd of about 400. Students also are free to attend the two Sunday morning Masses predominately attended by faculty and their families. Some do because they prefer the family atmosphere, Father Szupper says.

The Sunday evening Blue Hen Student Mass is so popular that Father Szupper encourages nonstudents to attend one of the morning Masses to allow more room for students.

The Oratory also opens its basement to students for quiet studying, with free cookies and inexpensive sodas, 24 hours a day, and numerous students stop by in the afternoons to chat with or seek counsel from Father Szupper and Zitzner. There are retreats and other special activities for students, always offered with lots of free food.

"It's our philosophy: 'If you feed them, they will come,'" Zitzner says.

A few years ago, one special guest at a Mass celebrating the anniversary of Father Szupper's ordination as a priest was YoUDee, UD's Fightin' Blue Hen mascot.

"I don't know who was more excited, Father or the 5-year-olds in the congregation who still talk about the day YoUDee came to church," Zitzner says. "There was nothing this True Blue fan wanted more than a visit from YoUDee."

In his years at UD, Father Szupper rarely misses a football game. He arrives early for every home game and cheers on the team and band from Row PP at the very top of the stadium on the visitors' side. Students who want the priest to marry them or alumni who want their children christened in the fall know those events have to be scheduled around the Blue Hens' football schedule.

Father Szupper says that his shirts may be black, but his favorite colors are Delaware Blue and Gold.

Looking back on his long career serving students at UD, Father Szupper reflects: "When the students file in at the start of the fall for the first 6:30 Sunday evening Mass, it's very quiet for the first two weeks. Then, about two weeks later, as Kim and I get ready, we begin to hear the students talking quietly to each other. By the next week, they are chatting away like family, and we feel like we are interrupting them to hold the service.

"All that talking is the most wonderful sound in the world," he says. "It's the sound of home."

--Beth Thomas

Father Michael Szupper left home at the age of 12 to attend the seminary and begin studies for the priesthood. He was ordained 12 years later. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Pontifical College Josephinum and earned an M.A. and his doctorate from Catholic University.

Qualified to teach in the areas of philosophy, psychology, epistemology and anthropology, he has maintained private research on the works of psychologist Carl Jung, completing several seminars at the Jungian Institute in Zurich, Switzerland.

Numerous faculty, staff and students sent notes of respect, admiration and affection for Father Szupper, in connection with this article. Their comments appear with a story on the Medal of Distinction award on UDaily at [www.udel.edu/udaily]. One such comes from Donald Puglisi, MBNA America Professor Emeritus of Business, who wrote:

"When we have out-of-town guests over a weekend, they--regardless of their religious affiliation--invariably want to attend Mass with us at the Oratory so that they can hear one of Father Mike's homilies. His humanity and sincerity enable him to deliver a message to which everyone can relate. He enables one to address one's own struggles, as Father Mike makes clear that he struggles at times, too. His message to me is the essence of Christianity--love, compassion, forgiveness of one's own failings as well as those of others, that God is a loving, caring and forgiving God. Father Mike makes the Oratory a place of inclusion, where all are welcome. He exemplifies to me what a Catholic priest or other religious should be: humble, caring, accessible, nonjudgmental and committed to helping others, especially in their times of need. He identifies so well with our University students, and they with him. And, his great love of our University is always so evident in him. A few years ago, there was a priest from India assigned part-time to the Oratory. When he left, he said in remarks to the congregation that Father Mike is truly a holy man. That he is."