Bishop Lawrence Persico of Erie was a student at St. Joseph Preparatory School in Unity Township when the late Monsignor Giuseppe De Andrea taught there and was headmaster.
After serving various ministries in the Diocese of Greensburg (1958-1981), including being pastor at St. James Church in Salem Township, Monsignor De Andrea returned to his native Italy. He was installed as a bishop there, then Titular Archbishop of Anzio, and was appointed by Pope Paul II to serve as apostolic nuncio to Kuwait, Yemen and Bahrain.
Bishop Persico, as a monsignor and vicar general of the Diocese of Greensburg, was pastor of St. James Parish from 1997 to 2012 when he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Erie.
Monsignor Larry Kulick wondered who would lead the Diocese of Greensburg after Bishop Edward Malesic was installed in the Diocese of Cleveland in September.
How easily would the new bishop fit in with the 126,000 Catholics in the 78 parishes in Westmoreland, Indiana, Fayette and Armstrong counties? Would he have a sense of humor? Would he like pierogis, pizza and the Terrible Towel?
âI have been fervently praying for the announcement,â he said about Pope Francisâs anticipated appointment.
As vicar general under Bishop Malesic and diocesan administrator after the bishop left, he would be the one receiving the news.
That call came the week before last when he learned that Pope Francis had appointed him as the sixth bishop of the diocese.
Pope Francis appoints administrator of Greensburg, Pa., to head the diocese
Dec 19, 2020 contributor
Msgr. Larry J. Kulick, the diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Greensburg, Pa., is seen in this undated photo. Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Greensburg Dec. 18, 2020. (Credit: CNS photo/courtesy Diocese of Greensburg.)
Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Larry J. Kulick, diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to head the diocese.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Larry J. Kulick, diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to head the diocese.
Kulick, 54, was elected administrator in September to oversee governance of the diocese after Bishop Edward C. Malesic was installed Sept. 14 to head the Diocese of Cleveland.
On Friday, the Diocese of Greensburg celebrated the announcement that one of its own was named the new bishop.
Bishop-elect the Rev. Larry J. Kulick was walking to his vehicle last week when he received a phone call from Washington, D.C. He said he wondered if the call had something to do with naming the dioceseâs new bishop. Its former head, Bishop Edward C. Malesic, was installed as bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in September.
Since Malesic left, Kulick had been asking himself all kinds of questions about the eventual incoming bishop, but didnât know most of his questions would be answered he was told he was chosen by Pope Francis to take on the role.
Bishop-elect Larry J. Kulick of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Credit: Diocese of Greensburg.
Vatican City, Dec 18, 2020 / 05:05 am (CNA).- Pope Francis appointed Friday a new bishop of Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
The pope named Msgr. Larry J. Kulick Dec. 18 as the sixth bishop of the diocese founded in 1951.
Kulick, a 54-year-old canon lawyer, has served as diocesan administrator since Sept. 15, when he was elected to the post by the diocese’s College of Consultors.
He took up the role following the July 16 appointment of Bishop Edward C. Malesic, the fifth bishop of Greensburg, to lead the Diocese of Cleveland.
In a statement on the website of Greensburg diocese, the bishop-elect said: “I would like to express my gratitude to the Holy Father for his confidence and trust in appointing me as bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg. Western PA has always been my home.”