(choir singing faintly) - I think of grace when I think of Joe.

Joe has lived his life accepting whatever came his way with grace.

- [Patricia] Cardinal Joseph Tobin is the oldest of 13 children, and his calling to the Catholic priesthood began right here at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and School in Southwest Detroit.

- I lift you and your loved ones up in prayer every day.

- [Patricia] Tobin, age 72, is a prince of the church, a cardinal leading the Newark, New Jersey Archdiocese, and he was mentored by the late Pope Francis.

Vatican observers say Tobin himself could be the next Pope to lead the 1.4 billion member worldwide Roman Catholic Church.

- It is mind blowing.

Just that his name was in the papal mix is incredible for our family.

Mom and dad first, our family, and the city.

He's the first Detroit-born Cardinal, and it's pretty cool if that white smoke goes up and that name emerges, but yeah.

- [Patricia] Seven of Tobin's siblings gathered to talk about their brother at Holy Redeemer Church.

- This is where it all started.

This is where Joe's formation started.

Our parents were daily communicants, and Joe came to mass every day.

And the Holy Spirit obviously came to him at an early age.

- [Patricia] The Tobin home, just two blocks away where the family said the rosary nightly after dinner.

- Joe knew at a very early age he wanted to be a priest.

So we had a wonderful neighbor who was a seamstress.

And she made Joe a set of vestments when he was in elementary school, and Joe was pretending to say mass, and two of his buddies were altar servers.

Well Joe, because I was the knowing sister, said I could be a server too.

And they protested because I was a girl, I couldn't serve.

And Joe said, "No, she will serve."

And it really speaks to his passion for the inclusivity of all of God's children.

- [Patricia] Even in grade school, Tobin was big and brawny, a smart leader, and a bit of a troublemaker.

- Joe actually played on the varsity high school football team when he was in grade school.

But anytime we needed to get in for dinner, mom would yell out the door, and of course there were Tobins playing in the alley on the street.

And to find Joe, we'd either find him on the football field, here in the playground, or brother Joseph who was a brother here, Joe was hooked to him, and we'd find Joe in here cleaning vigil lights and getting things ready for the mass of tomorrow.

- We think of him now as a priest and as a cardinal, a minister to so many in need.

But was he ever a bad kid?

- Ask some of the IHM nuns in the store.

I think our parents had a private office at the convent here at Holy Redeemer.

- Now if there was ever a scuffle out in the playground, they throw up the windows and said "Tobin, knock it off."

They didn't even have to look.

- [Patricia] As a newly ordained priest, Tobin thought he'd be a missionary overseas.

He spoke Spanish and other languages, but he was assigned back home at Holy Redeemer.

- I thought he was the gentle giant.

He was so friendly and he knew all the people, and the people knew him.

- [Patricia] Sister Elizabeth Fleckenstein of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters in Monroe was the elementary school principal.

- He was just a son of the parish and one of the people of the hood.

And he had a fierce love of his family, of Holy Redeemer Parish School.

And so proud of being a redemptorist.

He had a real gift for preaching, for opening the word of God to the people.

At that time, we saw changes in the demographics of Holy Redeemer.

The parish was becoming more and more having Hispanic people come.

And that was the first thing that I think was a real mission that Joe had was to make life welcoming for the new people coming into our parish.

That's when I think Joe got his real love for working with people of other cultures.

- [Patricia] Tobin was mentored by the legendary Monsignor Clement Kern, the pastor of Detroit's Holy Trinity Catholic Church who ministered to the poor and immigrants.

Vic Venegas is a long time Hispanic community activist.

- When Father Kern was in the hospital, his last words were to Cardinal Tobin.

And Cardinal Tobin was the last one to talk to Father Kern before he passed away on August the 15th, feast of the assumption, 1983, - [Patricia] As a young priest, Tobin said he drank too much.

- Personally, I find it difficult to imagine how people can make it to full sobriety on their own.

- [Patricia] He helped others through Alcoholics Anonymous while throwing himself into exercise.

Lifting weights became part of the regimen.

- When I was drinking, and I realized that afterwards as well, alcohol was like the thread that held it all together in my life.

And if you hold on that, the whole thing would come pop.

- [Patricia] In 2010, Tobin would become the second in charge of a Vatican office overseeing priests and nuns worldwide.

But he questioned Vatican investigations of American nuns who'd been criticized for emphasizing social justice issues over promoting church teachings against abortion and same sex marriage.

- Cardinal Joel just said he wanted to fight to heal this rift between the United States religious and the Vatican.

So he was very, very supportive of every congregation of religious women in the United States.

And as a result, he was relieved of his post and made Archbishop of Indianapolis.

- Tobin's reassignment was widely seen as a demotion.

Tobin never called it that, but he'd become a symbol for reform in the church because of his advocacy for women.

So what did he learn from so much feminine power in the household?

- That we influenced Joe and his position on women in the church and the position he took with the American nuns and how supportive he has been on women issues because I don't know how he couldn't be otherwise.

Not that we beat it into him, but.

- [Patricia] Pope Francis made Tobin a Cardinal in 2016 and moved him to New Jersey, impressed with Tobin's fierce advocacy for migrants and refugees.

Tobin has decried President Trump's mass deportations, and was a reliable ally of Pope Francis until his death.

- For Joe, I thought it's a friend that he's lost, and not just the friend, but the mentor and the person that he kind of had a shared vision with.

I think they had the shared vision for inclusivity, making sure everyone was welcome, making sure everyone was treated with dignity and respect.

And I think Pope Francis certainly did that, but I always felt like Joe did that his whole life too.

- [Patricia] The Detroit-born Cardinal once considered on the outs could be Catholicism's new leader.

(choir singing faintly) Around here, perhaps we'll be watching the Vatican conclave a little more closely.

- There can be many surprises at a conclave.

You never know.

You let the spirit work, and what the spirit does, But they say anybody that goes into the conclave thinking he's gonna be a Pope or wanting to be a Pope will come out a Cardinal.

- And wouldn't it be a blessing that Joe Tobin become the first American Irish Pope, and be from this parish in the city of Detroit.

We've done everything well, but dear God, as you're up there, create that miracle that Joe Tobin is our next Pope.

(pastor speaking faintly)