New chaplain named for Grotto

When William B. Kauffman needed serenity in his life, he found comfort in the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes at Emmitsburg’s Mount St. Mary’s University.

Each day should be full of tranquility for Father Kaufmann, as he has been appointed the Grotto’s chaplain.

Mount St. Mary’s president, Thomas H. Powell, announced the appointment Dec. 2.

“Father Kauffman is a great addition to our team here at the Grotto and the Mount,” Powell said. “His peaceful and welcoming way will make many pilgrims visiting the Grotto feel at home. We are excited to have him develop new ways to bolster the closeness of the Grotto with the campus community.”

Father Kauffman, 60, most recently served as the chaplain in the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Medical and Regional Office Center in Wilmington, Del., and as the chaplain of Port of Wilmington and Seamen’s Center from 1996 to the present. Father Kauffman was rector of The Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington from 1995 to 2001.

“I have made many visits to the Grotto the throughout my life and often come for prayer and reflection in a peaceful environment,” Father Kauffman said. “I believe God has led me to this ministry. I am humbled, excited, and eager to serve at the Grotto and be involved in the larger university and seminary community”

According to a university spokesman, Father Kaufmann was once a Lutheran minister and converted to Catholicism.

A Waynesboro, Pa., native, Father Kauffman said he considers the Mount close enough to home, to be his home. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College and Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. He studied for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore to serve the Diocese of Wilmington. Father Kauffman is an avid musician and enjoys playing the organ.

A Mount spokesman said Father Kaufmann received permission from Wilmington’s Bishop W. Francis Malooly, formerly of Baltimore, to accept the post.