Bishop Larry J. Kulick, J.C.L., C’88, S’92, will preside and give the address at the Saint Vincent Seminary commencement at 5 p.m. Friday, May 12 in the Archabbey Basilica. Bishop Kulick will receive an honorary doctor of divinity degree, honoris causa.
Bishop Kulick was appointed the sixth Bishop of Greensburg by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, December 18, 2020. Prior to his appointment, he served as diocesan administrator after his predecessor, Bishop Edward C. Malesic, was installed as the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland on September 14, 2020.
Bishop Kulick is the son of Larry J. Sr. and Myrna Dolores Coleman Kulick. He is a native of Leechburg, where he was a parishioner of the former Saint Martha Parish. He is the first native son and priest of the diocese to be appointed Bishop of Greensburg.
A 1984 graduate of Saint Joseph High School, Natrona Heights, Bishop Kulick earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, in 1988. He attended Saint Vincent Seminary, where he received a master’s degree in systematic theology in 1991 and a master of divinity degree in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood May 16, 1992, by Bishop Anthony G. Bosco at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Greensburg.
Bishop Kulick served as parochial vicar of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral Parish (1992-95) and Immaculate Conception Parish, Irwin (1995-97), and as pastor of Church of the Good Shepherd Parish, Kent (1997-2002), Saint Joseph Parish, New Kensington (2002-08), and Saint James Parish, New Alexandria (2012-21).
He served in diocesan appointments as consultant on priestly vocations (1999-2004); co-director of priestly vocations (2004-08); director of clergy vocations (2008-10); co-director of clergy vocations (2010-12); co-director of the permanent diaconate (2012); episcopal master of ceremonies (2008-10); co-episcopal master of ceremonies (2010-12); and acting chancellor (2012-13).
Bishop Kulick has also served on the Priests’ Council and Board of Consultors, and as moderator and chaplain of the Greensburg Diocesan Council of the National Council of Catholic Women.
Bishop Kulick was appointed vicar general and moderator of the Curia in 2012 by Bishop Brandt and reappointed vicar general by Bishop Malesic in 2015.
He was elected diocesan administrator by the College of Consultors, a priest advisory group on September 15, 2020, the day after Bishop Malesic was installed as Bishop of Cleveland.
Bishop Kulick earned a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 2012. He received the title of monsignor by virtue of his office as vicar general of the diocese on May 21, 2014.
He was inducted as a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem on October 1, 2011, and elevated to Knight Commander on October 31, 2015.
As Bishop of Greensburg, he is a member of the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference (PCC); serves on the boards of Saint Vincent Seminary, Saint Vincent College and Seton Hill University; and is a member of Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania. He was previously a member of the PCC Administrative Board (2012-21) and served as board secretary.
Due to his heritage, Bishop Kulick is active in many Slovak cultural and fraternal organizations locally and nationally. He is a life member of the First Catholic Slovak Union and has served as chaplain for the George Onda District for more than 25 years.
Bishop Kulick is a classic car enthusiast and, with parishioners, has organized parish car cruises for a day of summer fun and fundraising. He has a lifelong love of the General Motors’ Pontiac. One of his most prized automotive possessions, his 1966 Pontiac LeMans, is the car in which he was brought home from the hospital as a newborn and was given to him as an 18th birthday present from his grandmother.
Bishop Kulick was ordained to the episcopacy on February 11, 2021, at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral by Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez, D.D., principal consecrator. Bishop Malesic, fifth Bishop of Greensburg, and Bishop Emeritus Lawrence E. Brandt, J.C.D., Ph.D., fourth Bishop of Greensburg, were co-consecrators.