Meet the Staff

I grew up two houses from St. Mary’s Church in Janesville and was intrigued by all that I saw happening at the parish, as well as by the work of the priests. Faith was an essential part of my family life, so with both church and family influences, I felt called to minister as a priest to serve the people of God. I attended St. Mary’s grade school, Queen of Apostles high school in Madison, Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, and post-graduate study at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee.

Before coming to Our Lady Queen of Peace as pastor in 1993, I served eleven years as an associate priest, first at St. William-Janesville and then at St. Bernard-Madison, and nine years as pastor of Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary-Sun Prairie. I have been a priest since 1971 and have always felt that this was the right calling for me. I enjoy praying with the community, teaching, and sharing faith with so many members. I am also grateful for the support of the people and their encouragement of priestly ministry. The latest challenge was taking on the reopening of the Catholic Multicultural Center in 2010 and now the opening of CMC West. I am proud of how our parishioners and many, many others in the Diocese responded to Christ's call to hear the cry of the poor.

Father Rich is a Dominican priest, ordained 15 years. He's served at Newman Centers at Indiana University, the University of New Mexico, and is coming to QP from the University of Missouri Newman Center in Columbia, Missouri.

Father Rich was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, with his four brothers and sister. He attended Catholic grade school and a Jesuit high school there. After a year in seminary, he left, got married, and had two children and four grandchildren. He lived and worked in the “real world” as a juvenile corrections counselor, a probation officer, and a community corrections counselor. After a divorce and subsequent annulment, the Dominicans accepted him, and he returned to seminary at age 47. Although he is a Dominican, he says that it is more about becoming a Dominican. They are always in formation, studying, learning, growing, ministering, and praying.

His journey has now brought him to QP, where he is looking forward to the challenges, excited about learning about Madison, and living in a larger Dominican community. The opportunity to work with an energetic group of school children will be a wonderful new experience for him too. Welcome, Father Rich!