Two honored with distinguished service award

This year’s two distinguished honorees of the Bishop Paul V. Donovan Founder’s Society Award for Outstanding service are Msgr. Michael Hazard, Vicar General and hospital chaplain, and Margaret Mary (Peggy) Gallagher, retired religious education director of St. Joseph Parish, St. Joseph. Honorees are chosen who exemplify tireless service in the name of Jesus and who reflect a love for God through service to the Catholic Church and the members of the Body of Christ. The 2022 recipients were honored during the Feast of St. Augustine Mass on Aug. 28, 2022, at St. Augustine Cathedral, Kalamazoo.

Bishop Paul J. Bradley highlighted the 2022 recipients’ impressive and selfless com-mitment to the Church.“Both Msgr. Mike and Peggy exemplify the motto of Bishop Donovan, ‘to serve rather than be served’,” said Bishop Paul J. Bradley. “Msgr. Mike has the distinction of being the second man ordained to the priest-hood for the newly founded diocese and has modeled the love of Jesus in the many parishes he has served and in a special way through his pasto-ral care for the Hispanic/Latino community. Currently, Msgr. Mike continues his ministry, even in retirement, to the sick and suffering as Chaplain to Ascension Borgess Hospital. “Peggy’s selfless commit-ment to her Catholic faith and Church has borne the fruit of her labors with hundreds of people being brought into the Church, through her teaching music in the local Catholic grade school, and in her volun-teer service to various teaching and parish ministries. She exemplifies the true spirit of being a missionary disciple.“I am honored to recognize these two outstanding indi-viduals who have used their gifts and talents for the glory of God and the good of helping to build up the Church in the Diocese of Kalamazoo."

Msgr. Michael Hazard, grew up in Kalamazoo with St. Joseph Parish as his home parish — one that he would later be appointed as pastor. He was ordained on April 15,1972, and became the second priest ordained for the newly formed diocese. During his 50 years of priestly ministry, Msgr. Hazard has provided pastoral care to a number of parishes through-out the nine counties of the diocese, most notably for 30 years as the pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Kalamazoo. He was one of the first English-speak-ing priests to formally study Spanish so as to provide pastoral care for the Hispanic/Latino community. He was instrumental in establishing a sister diocese relationship with the Diocese of Lodwar, Kenya. He is currently the Chaplain for Ascension Borgess Hospital, Kalamazoo.

Mrs. Margaret Mary (Peggy) Gallagher, St. Joseph Parish, St. Joseph, parishioner, is recognized for her more than 30 years of service to the Church. Peggy worked as the Director of Sacramental Prepa-ration and Religious Education for St. Joseph Parish from 1985 to 2012 (and also simultaneous-ly for Ss. John/Bernard Parish for nine years). During her tenure, she estimates more than 800 people came into the Cath-olic Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program. In addition, Peggy taught music at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School (for-merly Lake Michigan Catholic). Her husband, Deacon Michael Gallagher, was ordained to the diaconate in 1999. She was elected to the board of the National Diaconate Institute for Continuing Education (NDICE) representing all deacon wives from the United States for a four-year term. Additionally, she has shared in ministry work with her husband visiting the sick and the homebound.