CHARLOTTE — Bishop Peter J. Jugis announces the appointment of Father Richard F. Sutter as in residence at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte effective May 1.
An Atlanta native ordained initially in the Congregation of the Legion of Christ, Father Sutter comes to Charlotte from the Diocese of Savannah, Ga., but he is not unfamiliar with the Charlotte diocese.
He graduated with honors from Belmont Abbey College in 1991. While there he served as student body president and captain of the cross country team. He was also an Army R.O.T.C. cadet at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and member of the Army National Guard in Morganton.
After college he served six years as an U.S. Army Infantry Officer with the 1st Armored Division in Germany and the 10th Mountain Division in New York. Prior to his first assignment he completed the U.S. Army Airborne, Ranger and Air Assault Schools. He earned his Expert Infantryman's Badge while serving as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle Platoon Leader in Germany, and he received the Meritorious Service Medal.
Following an honorable discharge as captain, he worked two years as a corporate IT project manager in New York before entering the Legionary of Christ Summer Candidacy Program in 1999.
He completed his theology studies in Rome and was ordained a transitional deacon by Bishop Jugis at Our Lady Help of Christians Basilica at Belmont Abbey on May 11, 2009. He was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 12, 2009, at the Basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls in Rome.
From 2009 to 2011, Father Sutter served as chaplain of Christian Brothers' School in New Orleans, chaplain of Acadian Oaks Catholic Youth Retreat Center in Lafayette, and Conquest Boys Club Youth Section Director for the state of Louisiana.
He moved to the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 2011, where for three years he served as chaplain at Pinecrest Academy High School and five years as the Catholic chaplain for the Atlanta Braves.
Father Sutter's cousin is a priest with the Savannah diocese, so in 2014 he asked to discern some time there where he served from 2014 to 2016 as chaplain of Aquinas High School in Augusta, Ga.
Earlier this year he spent several months of discernment at Belmont Abbey, during which time he said he sensed a call to serve in the Charlotte diocese.
He has been in residence at the cathedral since May 1 and will serve a temporary summer support assignment from May 28 until mid-August at St. Joseph Church in Bryson City.
Besides his priestly ministry, Father Sutter said his favorite activity is training for Ironman Triathalons. This year he is scheduled to compete in three Ironman 70.3 races, one of them being a 70.3 Ironman World Championship slot earned while competing in Ironman Augusta 70.3 this past September. He holds a high Ironman All World Athlete rank as an amateur in his age group.
He said he finds swimming, cycling and running a great means of praying, as well as a concrete way to evangelize non-Catholics.
"Our Blessed Lord comes to meet all of us in the today of our life as He did His first disciples on the Sea of Galilee," Father Sutter said. "He desires to remain in our boat as we navigate the waters of our daily life. I find Him often and He finds me in these brief moments of recreation amidst the beauty of His creation."
— Catholic News Herald