Msgr. Kaza Named Second Vicar General

Most Rev. Donald W. Trautman, bishop of Erie, has appointed Msgr. Charles A. Kaza, pastor of St. Tobias Parish in Brockway and vicar for the Eastern Vicariate of the diocese, to serve as a second vicar general for the Diocese of Erie.

The new position was created because Msgr. Robert J. Smith, who has served as vicar general since 1990, underwent heart surgery earlier this month. Msgr. Smith will remain in his position as well.

“I have visited with Monsignor Smith and want to assure people he is on the mend and we expect a full recovery,” Bishop Trautman said. “But with the travel on my schedule this fall (including the mandatory 10‐day Ad Limina visit to Rome in early December) and after consultation with the Priests Council, I felt this was a prudent measure.”

A vicar general assists the bishop in the areas of diocesan governance, and along with the bishop oversees the operations of the administrative cabinet, diocesan departments and agencies and matters pertaining to clergy personnel. It is the highest position of a diocese after the bishop.

Msgr. Kaza has served as the episcopal vicar for the Eastern Vicariate of the diocese, extending the pastoral care and vision of Bishop Trautman to pastors and people of six counties including Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter, since 1994. He will remain in Brockway and continue to serve as pastor of St. Tobias Parish.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1972, having earned both a BA and a Master of Divinity from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to his membership on the bishop’s administrative cabinet, he serves as a member of the bishop’s College of Consultors, the Diocesan Finance Council and the Priests Council.

Both Msgr. Smith and Msgr. Kaza will retain their roles as vicars general until a replacement for Bishop Trautman is named. The bishop turned 75 in June, at which time he submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI as required by canon law. The announcement of a new bishop could occur at any time, although the unexpected death of Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the papal nuncio—or representative of the pope—in Washington, DC, makes it unlikely the announcement will come before the end of the year.