CULLMAN, Ala. – In June, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Cullman welcomed its new pastor Fr. Linus Klucsarits, OSB, following the reassignment of longtime pastor Fr. Patrick Egan, OSB to St. Michael Catholic Church in Florence.
Fr. Linus, the former Paul Klucsarits, was ordained on June 3, 2017, by Bishop Robert Baker of the Diocese of Birmingham. He became a professed member of the monastic community of St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman in 2012.
The son of the late William and Alice Nilan Klucsarits of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Fr. Linus attended Cathedral School and graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School in 1983. After graduation, he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.
Fr. Linus then started a successful career working with the deaf and hard of hearing as a certified sign language interpreter. He spent 13 years as a tenured professor and director of the Interpreter Education program at Camden County College in Blackwood, New Jersey.
In 2004, Fr. Linus began discerning the religious life and found himself drawn to the Benedictine monastic life.
After first joining St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, he ultimately found his home at St. Bernard, where took solemn vows in 2015.
Since coming to St. Bernard, he earned a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, focusing on teaching English as a second language. He served as both assistant headmaster and middle school director at the Abbey’s school. He also served as headmaster of the high school and as the school’s chaplain and as the prior of the monastery before being named pastor at Sacred Heart.
Outside of his pastoral duties, Fr. Linus enjoys reading, running and following baseball. He is an avid New York Mets fan and completed his first full marathon in 2015. He has run several half-marathons since that time.
“I had thought about being a priest while in school, but after finishing seminary, I wasn’t sure what God was asking of me. I stepped away and pursued another path, but in time I was led back — this time through the monastic life. The Benedictine vow of stability spoke to my heart. I ask for your prayers that, in all things, I may serve my Lord,” he said.
Fr. Linus now looks forward to joyfully serving the Lord both at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and in his monastic community, he said.
The community at Sacred Heart will formally welcome Fr. Linus with a drop-in reception for parishioners at the church on Sunday, Aug. 31, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
