Leechburg native Msgr. Larry Kulick named new bishop of Diocese of Greensburg

Catholics in the Greensburg Diocese are celebrating an early Christmas gift from Rome: the appointment of one of their own, Msgr. Larry J. Kulick, as bishop-elect.

Pope Francis announced the appointment of Kulick, a Leechburg native, as the sixth bishop of the diocese early Friday.

The appointment of the 54-year-old priest, who has spent his entire career in the diocese, marks the first time parishioners in the Greensburg Diocese have had cause to celebrate the elevation of a local priest to the bishop’s office.

Dottie Bacher, a member of the parish council at St. James Catholic Church in New Alexandria, was thrilled to hear the news. Kulick has been pastor there since 2012.

“That is wonderful news. I’m just delighted. I’ve been sick and he was just at my house to bring me Communion,” Bacher said. “I used to joke with him, ‘You can become bishop someday, but you can’t leave St. James.’ And he’d just laugh and say, ‘No, I’m too young.’ ”

Kulick will be installed as bishop at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, at a special Mass at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg.

The priest has served as diocesan administrator since September, when former Bishop Edward Malesic left to become bishop of the Cleveland Diocese.

He was appointed vicar general of the Greensburg Diocese, which spans Westmoreland, Armstrong, Fayette and Indiana counties, in 2012 and has served parishes in New Kensington, Greensburg, Irwin, Kent, and New Alexandria over the last 28 years.

Although priests are sometimes named to lead their home dioceses, that typically happens only after they have served elsewhere.

Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who previously served as bishop of the Pittsburgh Diocese, were named to lead the dioceses they grew up in after spending time elsewhere — in Wuerl’s case after a decade at the Vatican, and in Zubik’s case, after serving as bishop of Green Bay.

Kulick said some have speculated that naming a local priest to lead a diocese may be a hallmark of Pope Francis and his desire to have priests who know the community and walk among its people in leadership positions.

“I feel honored to be able to serve as bishop in the diocese where I was born, raised, educated, ordained and have served my entire life,” Kulick said.

He conceded his new post comes at a time of challenge for the church.

Kulick was at Malesic’s right hand as the diocese listened to accounts of clergy sexual abuse survivors. He said he will make continued healing for survivors and the safety of vulnerable people a priority, even as the church also battles the opioid epidemic and works to welcome back parishioners who became accustomed to missing Mass during the covid shutdown.

“Working as a church, we can address all of these concerns and make a difference in the world,” Kulick said.

He has adopted the phrase “Christo et veritas,” or “Christ is the truth,” as his motto.

Congratulatory messages pour in

News of his appointment prompted congratulations from church leaders in the region.

Zubik said he is thrilled with the choice of a local clergy member who is “an amazing pastor and outstanding administrator.”

Malesic weighed in from Cleveland. He said Kulick, whom he worked with for five years, will be an excellent shepherd for the church.

“He is a compassionate pastor, devoted priest and very capable teacher of the faith,” Malesic said.

The Rev. Liddy Barlow, executive minister of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, an ecumenical organization representing 28 Protestant, Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox church bodies across 10 counties, hailed the appointment. She said Kulick has “demonstrated a strong interest in ecumenism and a warm pastoral heart.”

Speaking with the Tribune-Review on Friday, Kulick laughed as he recounted how his parents, Myrna and Larry Kulick of Leechburg, reacted to news of his appointment.

“I anticipated that my mother would be emotionally overwhelmed. Instead, she was so delighted that I was staying in the region. That was her response, ‘You’re staying, you’re staying here,’ ” he said. “They’re proud and honored and excited and happy, but that was their biggest response.”

Raised in Leechburg

The eldest of four children, Kulick grew up in Leechburg across the street from his Slovak grandparents. He attended the former St. Martha’ s parish, a close-knit congregation that Slovak immigrants in 1911 founded in the small steel town along the Kiski River.

Kulick said he came to love the church as a young altar server. That love grew stronger through the years as he attended Saint Joseph High School in Natrona Heights, Harrison and later moved on to Saint Vincent College.

Wayne Schiebel, a Latin teacher at St. Joseph, had Kulick in his classes for four years. Kulick stays close to the communities that formed him, Schiebel said.

“We have a Latin Mass every year at Christmas, and for 20 years he has come back and celebrated Mass for us at St. Joseph,” Schiebel said.

Saint Joseph High School Principal Beverly Kaniecki, who was Kulick’s high school math teacher, said her former student has always come through for his alma mater — be it securing tickets for students to attend a papal visit in Philadelphia, speaking at banquets or offering Last Rites to a friend.

“He is always there for Saint Joseph High School and for me,” Kaniecki said.

Steeped in the culture

Indeed, the new bishop comes steeped in Southwestern Pennsylvania’s small-town Catholic culture.

Although he boasts a 28-year career in the priesthood, including 21 years in church administration, and holds two master’s degrees as well as a degree in canon law, there are other credentials that make him well-suited to Southwestern Pennsylvania.

He brings an endearing love of pierogi, pasta, Terrible Towels and classic Pontiacs to the office.

And then there is the dining room set he won and the Bob Barker autograph he scored on “The Price is Right.”

As a child Kulick often walked across the street to watch the show that with his grandparents. When he traveled to Los Angeles with a group of fellow clergy in 2004, he decided he couldn’t leave without seeing the studio where the show was filmed.

When he learned they were distributing tickets for same-day shows, he camped out overnight by the studio, got a ticket and was the sixth contestant called up to play that day.

Stories like that, his love of the region known as Steelers Nation, his eagerness to serve the community he knows so well and tap new technologies to advance the Gospel are all part of the toolbox Kulick is carrying to his post.