As he has on many Wednesday afternoons since he became the head of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington 12 years ago, Msgr. John Enzler stepped out of its front doors to help at the St. Maria’s Meals food distribution program set up in front of the agency’s headquarters downtown.

But on May 24, as the front doors of Catholic Charities opened, Msgr. Enzler was greeted with loud applause at a surprise gathering organized to thank him for his service as president and CEO of Catholic Charities, a post he’ll be retiring from on June 30. 

Those applauding him included dozens of homeless and poor guests who were about to receive a meal of barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs from the St. Maria’s Meals program as they sat at tables under a large tent set up in front of the Catholic Charities building. Also applauding him were adult and teen volunteers there to serve the meals, and Catholic Charities board members, staff and supporters.

The special guests at the gathering included D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser who later presented him with a special proclamation declaring May 24, 2023 as “Monsignor John J. Enzler Day in Washington, D.C.” During the event, At-Large Councilmember Robert White Jr. read a resolution from the Council of the District of Columbia honoring the priest.

As the doors to Catholic Charities’ headquarters were held open on the outside by Patrick Dunne, the agency’s chief operating officer, and by Mary Jane Morrow, its chief financial officer, Msgr. Enzler smiled and waved to the crowd, then he made a beeline to say hello to many of the homeless guests who had gathered for the meal.

The event’s organizers had arranged for the doors to be held open, to replicate how Pope Francis during his September 2015 visit to Washington had made it a point to visit Catholic Charities and had emerged from the building to greet the agency’s clients who were also gathered outside there beneath a large tent for a meal.

In an interview, Msgr. Enzler said he remembered what Pope Francis had done that day, so after emerging from Catholic Charities front doors, he too went outside and first greeted the homeless and poor people there.

“When he came, he went right to the clients and met with them…,” the priest said, adding that he wanted to follow the pope’s example of service. 

Msgr. Enzler said volunteering to serve food to the poor through the St. Maria’s Meals program set up outside Catholic Charities’ building on Wednesday afternoons had underscored to him that all people have human dignity and should receive the gift of love and respect from others.

“This is my family,” he said of the poor people gathered there for the meal that day.

Earlier that month, Msgr. Enzler marked the 50^th anniversary of his ordination as a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington. Before leading Catholic Charities, Msgr. Enzler served as a pastor at Mount Calvary Parish in Forestville, Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in Washington, and also as director of the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Organization and Office of Youth Ministry.

Before the meals were served, John Veihmeyer, the chair of Catholic Charities’ Board of Directors, said people had come to thank “Father John for being an amazing priest for 50 years, a fantastic leader for Catholic Charities, and most importantly of all, our great friend.”

He noted that in 2013, Msgr. Enzler worked with members of the McMurtrie family to start the St. Maria’s Meals program, which in the last fiscal year provided more than 62,000 meals to people in need.

“Many have seen Father John serving food and talking with guests every Wednesday here on G Street,” Veihmeyer said. “In his time as Catholic Charities’ president and CEO, he has given help and hope to hundreds of thousands of area residents through this food program and other services, helping people meet their basic needs. We’re here today for one reason, to say ‘thank you’ to him for his vision, his leadership and his service.”

During the last fiscal year, Catholic Charities, the largest independent social services agency in the metropolitan D.C. area, served more than 167,000 people in the nation’s capital and the five surrounding Maryland counties that are within the Archdiocese of Washington.

As she addressed the people gathered there, Mayor Bowser noted the “incredible partnership” that the city shares with Catholic Charities, and added that she was “happy to represent all of Washington, D.C., in offering a big thank-you to a great leader in our city, Msgr. Enzler.”

Noting the challenges that the District of Columbia faced during the pandemic, the mayor praised Catholic Charities’ work with city officials to help “keep Washingtonians healthy and alive and on their way to permanent housing. We couldn’t have done it without Catholic Charities.”

Mayor Bowser remembered how in 2015, Pope Francis “visited right here” at Catholic Charities. “He couldn’t come to Washington without coming to visit Father John and to see all of the work that we have been able to do together in the community.”

The mayor, expressing thanks to Msgr. Enzler as a fellow leader, Washingtonian and Catholic, said, “That visit (from the pope) is just one example of many times that Catholic Charities has made us proud.”

As she read part of the proclamation declaring May 24 as Msgr. John Enzler Day in the city, the mayor encouraged Washingtonians to join her in congratulating him on his 50^th anniversary as a priest and on his upcoming retirement from leading Catholic Charities.

“We wish him well, yet also know that he will continue to serve our community,” Mayor Bowser said in her proclamation.

After stepping down from leading Catholic Charities, Msgr. Enzler will serve as the agency’s mission advocate and support its fundraising efforts. This fall, he will serve as a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington.

Before  he presented the ceremonial resolution from the Council of the District of Columbia, At-Large Councilmember Robert White Jr. said that Msgr. Enzler is known throughout the archdiocese for “his compassion, for his dedication to service, for his prolific fundraising that is the envy of every politician and business owner in the region, and for his willingness to speak up on behalf of those least served.”

Councilmember White noted how Msgr. Enzler came out of Catholic Charities’ front doors that afternoon and walked right over to the poor people gathered there, who looked at him with love as he greeted them.

He then read part of the council’s resolution, which noted that “Father John is a strong advocate for vulnerable communities and through his service has given thousands of individuals and families in the District of Columbia and beyond a hand up to self-sufficiency.”

Msgr. Enzler also received a letter of congratulations from Archbishop Christophe Pierre, who as apostolic nuncio serves as the pope’s personal representative in the United States. Congratulating the priest for his 50^th anniversary and for his service at Catholic Charities, Archbishop Pierre in the letter commended Msgr. Enzler “for the ways that you have said ‘Yes,’ and encouraged others to ‘Say Yes’ to our Lord’s commandment of love.”

Archbishop Pierre noted that Pope Francis remains grateful “for the time he was able to spend among the poor and homeless during his visit to Washington, D.C. in 2015,” and said the pope was imparting an apostolic blessing on Msgr. Enzler.

Jim Malloy, who will become the new president and CEO of Catholic Charities on July 1, also spoke at the gathering. Malloy a retired vice admiral and native Washingtonian who had a 36-year career in the Navy, is a graduate of St. John’s College High School and the U.S. Naval Academy. 

“Jim is a proven and tested leader and a man of deep faith who is passionate about spending the next phase of his career caring for the underserved,” Veihmeyer said.

In an interview before the event, Malloy praised Msgr. Enzler’s legacy at Catholic Charities, saying, “He is and always will be the pastor to the poor. I like everybody else am attempting to follow in his footsteps.”

Also at the gathering, Maria Andreas Guadalupe, a longtime friend of Msgr. Enzler and a frequent volunteer at the St. Maria’s Meals food distribution outside Catholic Charities, presented the priest with a book of thanks with messages from 200 Catholic Charities clients, volunteers and donors.

The cover of the book noted the priest’s motto of “Say yes,” and thanked him for saying “yes” to Catholic Charities’ clients, employees, donors and volunteers.

As the meal was about to be served, Sandy McMurtrie, whose family worked with Msgr. Enzler in starting the St. Maria’s Meals program, said that was a fitting setting to honor the priest. “He cares about every individual, particularly the people Catholic Charities serves. He has a big heart,” she said.

Veihmeyer in an interview said Msgr. Enzler “is the best pastor I’ve ever seen in my life. The exact same things that made him a great pastor for us is what made him effective in this role” at Catholic Charities.

Joan Fowler Brown, Catholic Charities’ chief of staff, said in an interview before the event that Msgr. Enzler’s commitment to “say yes” as a priest and as head of that agency “empowered staff to do whatever they needed to do to help a client in need.”

When he addressed the gathering, Msgr. Enzler said serving as Catholic Charities’ leader these past 12 years has been “the best job I ever had. You know why? Because every single day, I could help somebody else… Every single day, I could go to bed saying, ‘I helped somebody today.’”

The priest known as Father John then said, “You don’t have to change the whole world, just say, ‘Today I helped somebody change their life.’ There are lots of ways to do it. Do the best you can.”