Biographies of New Pastor, Administrators

HERALD Staff Report
(From the issue of 6/13/02)

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde recently appointed a new pastor and six new administrators to diocesan parishes. Following are brief biographical sketches of the seven priests.

Father Thomas P. Ferguson — St. Bernadette Parish, Springfield

Father Thomas P. Ferguson, parochial vicar at St. Luke Parish in McLean, has been named administrator of St. Bernadette Parish in Springfield while continuing in the Office of the Defender of the Bond of the Diocesan Tribunal in Arlington.

One of six children, Father Ferguson was born in Woodside, N.Y., on May 27, 1966. After attending elementary school in Woodside, his family moved to Alexandria, where he graduated from Bishop Ireton High School in 1984.

After graduating from Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales in 1987, he earned a master’s degree in 1989 and a doctorate in 1991, both from the University of Virginia. He then entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., for theological studies. His diaconate assignment was at St. Mary Parish in Alexandria.

Father Ferguson was ordained to the priesthood by Arlington Bishop John R. Keating on May 21, 1994. His first priestly assignment was at St. Bernadette Parish in Springfield.

In 1998, Father Ferguson completed his studies in canon law at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, and was assigned by then-Administrator Msgr. James W. McMurtrie to the diocesan Marriage Tribunal while also serving at St. Luke.

He has served on diocesan committees, including the Ecumenical Committee and the committee for the diocesan 25th anniversary celebration. Father Ferguson wrote a four-part series on the history of the Church in Northern Virginia, which was published in the HERALD in the summer of 1999.

He is also the author of Catholic and American: The Political Theology of John Courtney Murray, published by Sheed & Ward in 1994.

Father Richard M. Guest — St. Theresa Parish, Ashburn

Father Richard M. Guest, parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Great Falls, has been named administrator of St. Theresa Parish in Ashburn.

Born in Oak Lawn, Ill., Dec. 8, 1963, Father Guest earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago in 1986. He also holds a master’s degree in Hebrew Bible from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. Father Guest has two brothers and a sister.

After holding various jobs in Chicago, he entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., graduating in 1994. His diaconate assignment was at St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish in Alexandria.

Father Guest was ordained May 21, 1994, by the late Arlington Bishop John R. Keating, who appointed him parochial vicar at St. William of York Parish in Stafford. In 1998, then-Administrator Msgr. James W. McMurtrie named him parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Siena.

Father Dennis Kleinmann — St. Mary Parish, Old Town

Father Dennis Kleinmann, parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Alexandria, will now be the administrator of St. Mary Parish in Alexandria.

He was born in Milwaukee, Wis., July 22, 1959, the oldest of eight children.

He attended Beaver Dam High School and Pontifical College Josephinum. He worked for eight years as an office manager at a Wisconsin car dealership, while teaching CCD, and then decided to become a priest.

He attended Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. He spent his acolyte year at Sacred Heart Parish in Winchester and his diaconate year at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington. He was ordained on May 15, 1993, by the late Arlington Bishop John R. Keating.

His first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Michael Parish in Annandale, where he served for three and one-half years. He then became parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Parish in Winchester, until his assignment to St. Mary Parish.

Msgr. James W. McMurtrie — St. Agnes Parish, Arlington

Msgr. James W. McMurtrie, pastor of the St. Theresa Parish in Ashburn, will be the new pastor of St. Agnes Church in Arlington.

Msgr. McMurtrie was born Oct. 29, 1936, in Richmond, to Alexander Benedict and Mary Teresa McMurtrie, both deceased. He attended Sacred Heart Cathedral School in Richmond and graduated from St. Charles College in Baltimore in 1956 and then attended St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. He was ordained May 1, 1962, by then-Richmond Bishop John J. Russell. He also received a master’s in secondary education administration from Loyola University in 1962.

Msgr. McMurtrie has served on numerous boards of diocesan organizations and committees. He was the founding chairman of the Evangelization Commission; a diocesan consulter; member of the personnel board in Arlington; youth director for the Richmond Diocese (1967-72); director of vocations for Northern Virginia (1963-66); president of the priests council in Arlington (1979-83); chairman of the diocesan school board; chairman of the board of trustees for Paul VI and Bishop O’Connell High Schools; member of the diocesan financial committee; member of the board for the HERALD; member of the board at Catholic Distance University in Hamilton; and dean of retreat for the Arlington Diocese. He was named Episcopal Vicar for Parish Development in 1999.

Msgr. McMurtrie has had several pastoral assignments in the Richmond and Arlington Dioceses including: parochial vicar at St. Luke Parish in McLean in 1962; coordinator at Gibson High School in Petersburg (1966-70); pastor at St. Joseph Parish (1966-70); in residence at St. Agnes Parish in Arlington (1970); assistant principal at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington (1970-72); principal of O’Connell (1972-77); pastor of St. Louis Parish in Alexandria (1977-83); pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Annandale (1983-91); and founding pastor of St. Theresa Parish in Ashburn.

Msgr. McMurtrie served as administrator of the diocese after the death of Bishop John R. Keating in March 1998 until the installation of Bishop Paul S. Loverde in March 1999. He is dean of Deanery III.

Father Christopher J. Mould —  St. Lawrence Parish, Alexandria

Father Christopher J. Mould, parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Fredericksburg, has been named administrator of St. Lawrence Parish in Alexandria.

Father Mould was born Dec. 1, 1959, the fourth of seven children of John and Catherine Mould.

He attended St. John School in McLean and graduated from Bishop O'Connell High School in 1978. In 1982, he graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor's degree in chemistry.

His theological studies were completed at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. As a seminarian he served at St. Charles Parish in Arlington, St. John the Apostle Parish in Leesburg and St. Timothy Parish in Chantilly.

He was ordained by the late Arlington Bishop John R. Keating on May 21, 1988. He was parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish, Alexandria, 1988-92; St. Thomas à Becket Parish, Reston, 1992-95; and Church of the Nativity, Burke, 1995-97. He has been parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish since 1997.

Father Mould is a member of the priests’ basketball team, the Earthen Vessels.

Father. Michael T. Orlowsky —  Our Lady of the Blue Ridge, Madison

Father Michael T. Orlowsky, parochial vicar at Holy Family Parish in Dale City, has been named administrator of Our Lady of the Blue Ridge in Madison.

Father Orlowsky is the second oldest of five children. He attended Rutherford High School in Panama City, Fla. He considered becoming an electrical engineer and attended the DeVry Institute of Technology for six months prior to moving to Texas to enroll at the University of St. Thomas. He studied for the priesthood in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, and later switched to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia to study for the Arlington Diocese.

He served his diaconate assignment at St. Lawrence Church in Alexandria. He was ordained on May 15, 1993, by Arlington Bishop John R. Keating.

He served as associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Fredericksburg, Sacred Heart Parish in Manassas and St. Ann Parish in Arlington before being assigned to Holy Family Parish in Dale City.

Father Kevin B. Walsh —  St. Philip Parish, Falls Church

Father Kevin B. Walsh, chaplain and director of Campus Ministry at Marymount University in Arlington, with residence at St. James Parish in Falls Church, has been named administrator of St. Philip Parish in Falls Church.

A Michigan native, Father Walsh was born in Detroit Feb. 2, 1962, and attended Catholic schools in Warren and Madison Heights, Mich. He is a 1987 graduate of Christendom College in Front Royal.

After receiving his priestly formation at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., Father Walsh was ordained by former Arlington Bishop John R. Keating May 16, 1992. His diaconate year was at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington.

He was parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish in Falls Church, 1992-96; St. Rita Parish in Alexandria, 1996-98; and St. James Parish from 1998-2000.

Father Walsh celebrated the first Spanish Mass at St. James Church in May 1998 at the request of then-Pastor Msgr. R. Roy Cosby.

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