The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg has its first homegrown bishop.

Bishop Larry Kulick was ordained as the sixth Bishop of Greensburg on February 11 in an Installation Mass celebrated at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral.

The new bishop’s predecessors, The Most Reverend Edward Malesic, Bishop of Cleveland, and The Most Reverend Lawrence Brandt, Bishop Emeritus of Greensburg, served as Co-consecrators. Bishop David Zubik, who was Bishop Kulick’s spiritual director when he was a young seminarian, also attended the ordination.

“He has all of the perfect qualifications to be a great bishop,” Bishop Zubik said. “Bishop Kulick is devout with a strong prayer life, and is a proven administrator who channels the Church’s resources for the common good.”

Born and raised in the small town of Leechburg, Westmoreland County, Bishop Kulick is the first Bishop of Greensburg to come from that diocese, which was established in 1951.

He recalled that growing up with his younger sisters and brother, their parents offered “great examples of sacrifice. Their faith was so strong.”

After attending public elementary school, the future bishop graduated from Saint Joseph High School in Natrona Heights. He earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Saint Vincent College, received a master’s in systematic theology and master of divinity from Saint Vincent Seminary before being ordained to the priesthood in 1992.

In 2012, Bishop Kulick earned a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., when he was named vicar general of the Diocese of Greensburg. Last year he became administrator when Bishop Malesic was appointed Bishop of Cleveland.

“I am humbled and deeply honored to serve the diocese that’s been my home,” Bishop Kulick said when he learned that Pope Francis had named him Bishop of Greensburg. “Leechburg was a tight knit community where people modeled a life of service and unity.”