The Rev. William Gurnee will greet the AU community this fall as he takes the place of Roman Catholic Chaplain Keith Woods in the Kay Spiritual Life Center.
Gurnee said he was "thrilled" when he found out that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the archbishop of D.C., had assigned him to AU.
"I had actually hoped to be placed here," Gurnee said. "[The cardinal] knows I had expressed an interest with this in the past. I think he tries to look at what the needs of the community are and I know the cardinal has celebrated mass at AU in the past, so he has an idea of who the students are."
Woods, Gurnee and dozens of other priests were reassigned this summer as part of usual changes within the diocese.
"It's the way it works in the priesthood," Woods said. "This is usually the time of year because we've just ordained new priests and also had a few priests retired."
Woods, who came to AU in August 2002, is now a pastor in Morganza, Md.
"I never saw myself as being a college chaplain but I did my best to be a good priest and found the students to be remarkably generous and solid in their faith," Woods said. "You can't be with them and walk away with anything but hope about the future and the world. I enjoyed [my time at AU] very much."
Gurnee, who studied with Woods in seminary school, said "[Woods is] a far better priest than I," but Woods and others are confident in Gurnee's abilities.
"He's marvelous, he's very intelligent, he has a great sense of humor and he's far more interested in learning about you than about telling you about himself," Woods said. "I'm thrilled they sent someone who wants to be on campus."
University Chaplain Joe Eldrige said Gurnee is easy to approach.
"He's very personable, engaging, a person with an easy smile and a very kind disposition. It's a blessing to have him on our campus."
Others said they've noticed Gurnee's energy.
"I think he'll be a great priest to have this year," said Erin Hinchey, president of the Catholic Student Association. "He's really enthusiastic and he's actually worked on Capitol Hill so he'll be able to meld with the students here like no other."
Gurnee began working on Capitol Hill in 1989 before he became a priest.
"Public affairs and politics is something near and dear to my heart," Gurnee said. However, when the congressman he was working for retired Gurnee decided to leave the Hill. "I had thought about becoming a priest my whole life," he said.
Gurnee has worked with young people in the past, particularly during his two years as chaplain at Pallotti High School in Laurel, Md. Also, Gurnee is himself a student, studying for a degree in canon law from Catholic University of America in Northeast D.C.
"I will have great empathy for the students," Gurnee said.
So far, Gurnee has met with other Kay leaders, Catholic students and some incoming freshmen.
"I went over for orientation for the new students and I enjoyed that very much," Gurnee said. "I feel a lot of the same things they're feeling. They're excited and they're a little nervous and it's a whole new world for them."
Associate Catholic Chaplain Karin Thornton said that Gurnee did well at orientation.
"I think he's going to be excellent ... he relates very well to students," she said.
Though members of the Catholic community have said they will miss Woods, Woods said he and Gurnee are somewhat similar.
"I don't know that he'll try to do anything differently. We were trained the same way ... and we have the same outlook," Woods said. "I think he's looking at doing all the good things we've been doing and allowing them to grow and expand."
Hinchey agrees with this outlook.
"I don't think we're going to do any major changes from the previous years," she said. "Pretty much a smooth transition is what we're looking for. I know students will be excited to see a new priest in the fall and they'll be as awesome welcoming Father Gurnee as they were welcoming Father Woods."
Gurnee does not plan to change AU's Catholic services because he has "a lot on his plate." He said his job is to be a servant and help people with their spirituality.
"People are not experiencing God," Gurnee said. "That goes for Catholics, non-Catholics, Jews, Hindus - people are not praying; they don't know how to pray, [God] is a nice abstract idea to them but he doesn't have much to do with their daily lives. To me, as a priest, that's both sad and a wake-up call."
Gurnee said he wants people on campus to feel free to come to him if they have questions or "just need someone to listen to them." He added, "And they're always welcome to come to one of our services if they want to see what us crazy Catholics are up to"
