Faith

Episcopal clergyman headed to Africa is blessed by Catholic bishop

Published

6 years ago

May 22, 2019

Patrick Augustine (left), Episcopal clergyman from La Crosse, stands with Bishop William Callahan of the Catholic Diocese of La Crosse

A La Crosse clergyman who’s about to begin serving his church in Africa got a blessing from La Crosse’s Catholic Bishop.

Wednesday, Bishop William Callahan, of the La Crosse Diocese, blessed the mission of Canon Patrick Augustine of Christ Episcopal Church, who was recently appointed an assistant bishop to an area of South Sudan.

Augustine will continue to be based in La Crosse, but he will be an assistant bishop in South Sudan and spend several weeks of the year in that war-torn nation.

He doesn’t know yet what kind of housing he will be provided, hinting that he could stay in a native hut.

Augustine said he never expected, at the age of 69, to be appointed assistant bishop and be chosen for such an assignment.

His last service at Christ Episcopal in La Crosse will be on June 2.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.