By Alfonso Aguilar
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 6/26/03)

As part of the clergy changes announced recently by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde, Father Richard A. Mullins has been named associate director of the Spanish Apostolate, a diocesan office headed by Father Ovidio Pecharromán for the last decade.

"I feel extremely happy and very grateful to our bishop for giving me this special mission, which for me is the fulfillment of a dream," said Father Mullins, whose mother is Cuban and whose father is American.

"I have wanted to work closely with Hispanics because this community has been growing dramatically, therefore its needs present a challenge to which we must respond," said the young priest during his recent visit to the Spanish Apostolate to meet the staff and converse with Father Pecharromán.

The new associate director said that from this very moment he will concentrate on how this office operates and what its programs are. He said he wants to know more about the realities of the Hispanic community in which he will play a prominent role. After the learning phase, Father Mullins, former parochial vicar at the Church of St. Theresa in Ashburn, will present his thoughts and initiatives to Father Pecharromán.

Father Pecharromán said he was very happy with the appointment of an associate director, not just because this is a new post for the Spanish Apostolate, but because a dynamic priest who wants to help our people was chosen. Additionally, he said, Father Mullins speaks Spanish.

"I am sure that within a few months, Father Mullins will be speaking Spanish as fluently as any Latino. He just needs frequent practice of what is in fact one of his native tongues," said Father Pecharromán.

Father Mullins was born in Virginia in 1966 and was ordained a priest for this diocese in 1995. In some ways all his life has been linked to the diocese. Since its inception in 1974, Father Mullins said that he has been away on only two occasions, the first, when he was a university student in North Carolina, and the second, as a seminarian in Maryland.

With regard to his prior experiences with Latino parishioners, Father Mullins recognizes that they have been limited due to the fact that he has been assigned to parishes with few or no Latinos. Nonetheless he has celebrated Masses and confirmations in Spanish in parishes such as St. John Neumann in Reston, St. Philip in Falls Church, Our Lady of Lourdes in Arlington and Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria. Occasionally, Father Mullins accompanied Bishop Loverde in celebrating Masses in Spanish or in meetings with Hispanic parishioners.

Among other comments, he said the bishop’s appointment of Ann Meier as coordinator of a study to determine how the diocese is reaching out to minority groups, and his own special assignment as associate director to the Spanish Apostolate "are clear signals that our bishop is trying to include all our groups, because this is a very multicultural diocese."

Father Mullins has also been named parochial vicar at St. Rita Parish in Alexandria, where he will celebrate the Sunday Spanish Mass alternating with the pastor, Father Denis M. Donahue, and other visiting priests. His introduction to this parish will be next Sunday.

The day before, June 28, Father Mullins will be introduced to leaders of the Hispanic Leadership Assembly in the Spanish Apostolate.