Father Michael Szupper, as he has been known to the campus community for more than 40 years as the chaplain to UD Catholic students, was installed Nov. 27 as a monsignor, one of six in active ministry in the Diocese of Wilmington, which serves 220,000 Catholics.

Szupper first learned about the honor when he was asked to meet with Bishop Michael Saltarelli to discuss the campus ministry at Washington College, one of Szupper's responsibilities for campus ministries at colleges and universities in the diocese. "We briefly talked about Washington College, and then the bishop said, 'By the way, you have been named a monsignor,'" Szupper recalls.

"I was stunned and still am. When anyone addresses me as 'monsignor,' I wonder, 'Whom are they talking about?' But, the bishop's nominating me to become a Chaplain of His Holiness is a statement and affirmation on his part of the importance of campus ministries."

"That Monsignor Michael Szupper has been designated a Chaplain to His Holiness is a significant recognition of his long and dedicated ministry to the community of the University of Delaware," Saltarelli says. "We rejoice in this testament to an outstanding priest of God."

UD President David P. Roselle calls the new monsignor "an icon," adding, "His more than 40 years of service to the University community is unprecedented in length, devotion and quality. During all of those years, members of the University's student body, staff, faculty and other religious leaders have benefited from his wise counsel, leadership and model behavior.

"We are very fortunate that Father Szupper has been a member of the University community, and we were absolutely delighted to learn of the well-deserved Papal order that he is henceforth to be known as Monsignor Szupper."

The soft-spoken priest has been a presence on campus since he began his ministry at UD in 1964. At the time, there was no St. Thomas More Oratory, so he said Mass in a variety of locations from movie theatres to a synagogue. The Oratory was built in 1974 as part of a diocesan building campaign, giving Catholics in the campus community a central place to worship.

Becoming a monsignor will not change Szupper and his service as chaplain, he says. However, when he was fitted for a new cassock with purple piping, buttons and sash, he says, "I asked the tailor if it could be blue for Delaware, but he was not amused."

Szupper says Mass at 12:30 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, followed by his main meal of the day at The Scrounge, where he informally talks and interacts with students and others. "If I miss a day, the staff at The Scrounge ask where I am," he says. Saturdays, there is a Mass in the late afternoon, and Sundays are busy with religious classes for children taught by UD students and three Masses throughout the day.

In 2003, Szupper received the University's Medal of Distinction, the highest award bestowed on citizens of the state and region for contributions, professional success and significant service. He says the other honor he remembers most fondly occurred during Mass on his 70th birthday, when the back door of the Oratory opened and who should strut in but YoUDee. The University mascot came up to the altar holding a bunch of birthday balloons. "It was a wonderful surprise," says Szupper, who has kept a photo of the presentation.

A large part of the ministry is counseling, and he and Kim Zitzner, who is associate chaplain, both are judicial advisers within the University system.

"Basically, students want to be heard and recognized as individuals, and each has his or her own story to tell," Szupper says. "Scripture tells us Jesus walked with people, talked with people, listened to people and broke bread with people. We try to do the same, but we never work miracles."

"Maybe we do, and we just don't know it," Zitzner says.

—Sue Moncure