June 21, 2010
Fr. Charles R. Kullmann will become the next pastor of St. Austin and superior of the Paulists in the Diocese of Austin on July 1, 2010. He will succeed Fr. John Hurley who became administrator on December 1, 2010 after the death of Fr. Jim Wiesner. Fr. Hurley remains administrator through June 30, 2010.Fr. Chuck was born in St. Louis, MO and is the oldest of six children. He entered the Paulist novitiate in 1974 and received his MA from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He spent his pastoral year at St. Nicholas Parish in North Pole, Alaska where he made his final profession as a Paulist and was ordained deacon. In May, 1978, Fr. Chuck was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Cooke, the Archbishop of New York.
Fr. Chuck comes to St. Austin after finishing up his eight year term as Pastor of historic Old St. Mary’s Cathedral in the heart of San Francisco. During his tenure there, he was a board member of the San Francisco Interfaith Council and completed a multi-million dollar seismic retrofitting of San Francisco’s #2 landmark. During his time in San Francisco, Fr. Chuck also served as Chairman of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Stewardship Council and was a member of the Archdiocesan Priests’ Council.
Immediately before going to San Francisco, Fr. Chuck was the pastor for eight years at St. Paul the Apostle Church, the Paulist Motherchurch in mid-town Manhattan in New York City.He also served as pastor of the Paulist parish in Clemson, South Carolina and held other Paulist pastoral positions in Toronto, Chicago and North Pole, Alaska.
Fr. Chuck hopes to arrive right after the July 4th weekend, and we look forward to giving him a warm welcome (in more ways than one!).