Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien announced the appointment of several new pastors. Biographical capsules of each follow.
Father William A. Au
Pastor, Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Mount Washington
The 61-year-old native of Phillipsburg, N.J., has been a major force in social justice issues for the archdiocese.
He began his priestly vocation as associate pastor of Our Lady of Victory in Arbutus in 1975. Later that year, he was named associate pastor of Baltimore’s Ss. Philip and James, a parish he would eventually become synonymous with.
After two years at Ss. Philip and James, he then studied at The Catholic University of America in Washington. He became a part-time assistant for special projects for Archbishop William D. Borders in 1984, while serving as a part-time associate pastor of St. Clare in Essex. He became assistant chancellor for special projects in 1985 and added public relations to his busy slate in 1986.
In 1992, he was assigned pastor of Ss. Philip and James, remaining there until earlier this year.
Monsignor Richard Richard E. Cramblitt,
Pastor, St. John the Evangelist, Hydes
Monsignor Cramblitt has spent the last 15 years as pastor of Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Mount Washington, shepherding the parish as it welcomed an influx of professionals from many different cultures.
Monsignor Cramblitt, 63, was ordained in 1972. He was first assigned as associate pastor to St. Anthony of Padua in Gardenville. He was associate pastor for the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen from 1978 to 1984, when he became associate pastor of Hagerstown’s St. Ann parish. He was named its pastor in 1986.
In 1991, he was named pastor of St. Joseph in Fullerton. In 1995, he was appointed pastor of Shrine of the Sacred Heart, where he was named a monsignor in 2003. That year, Cardinal William H. Keeler named him vicar forane of the Metro West region of what was then the urban vicariate.