Baltimore St. Patrick Parade honors health care hero Michael Willis as grand marshal

After a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic, the Baltimore St. Patrick Parade returns to the streets of Charm City this year with a grand marshal who has fittingly been in the trenches, working to stem the tide of COVID-19. 

Michael Willis, an administrator at Summit Park Health and Rehabilitation Center in Catonsville, who has been involved in Baltimore’s Irish organizations for decades, will lead the parade as it makes its way down Charles Street March 13.  

“It was very exciting,” said Willis, a parishioner of St. Mary of the Mills Church in Laurel. “I was honored. I was humbled. Because there are a lot of Irish organizations in the Baltimore area. And there’s a lot of people who do a lot of good things.” 

Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities were some of the hardest hit in the early days of the pandemic. While Willis said the situation has improved drastically since then, facilities such as his have been extra vigilant to prevent outbreaks and must work under many new regulations including regular testing of staff, residents and even visitors.   

The Laurel resident is a longtime member of the Hibernian Society of Baltimore and past president of the Baltimore chapter of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Both organizations work to raise funds for the clergy and seminarians. 

Sister Lawrence Mary Pocock of the Little Sisters of the Poor said Willis’ organizations have been a huge help to St. Martin’s Home for the Aged, a nursing facility for low-income seniors in Catonsville. 

“We depend upon public charity really to continue to give our residents a very high standard of care,” Sister Lawrence said. “And besides just financial help that they bring us by putting on parties and bringing gifts to the residents, there is a concern for each resident when they’re here. It’s apparent that they really love our residents.”

Sister Lawrence said Willis’ help isn’t limited to his charitable work. He often shares his expertise in the nursing home industry to help the Little Sisters of the Poor. 

“I know he lives his faith,” she said.” He’s a very compassionate person. He wouldn’t be the administrator of a nursing home today if he really wasn’t concerned with the poor and the sick, because the people he has in his nursing home are not rich people.”

While Willis understood the decision of parade organizers to not hold the parade in previous years, he is overjoyed the event is returning this year.

“I think it’s fantastic because it’s a way of celebrating our Irish heritage,” said Willis, a former board member of the Irish Railroad Workers Museum in Baltimore. “I think any kind of function like that, that gets people out and gets people together, can only help us get through this pandemic.” 

Editor’s Note: Watch video from the March 13, 2022 Baltimore St. Patrick Parade below.

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