ARTICLES

Former businessman is Richmond’s newest priest

By Steve Neill
Of The Catholic Virginian

The newest priest of the Diocese of Richmond is Father David Warren Cupps who was ordained by Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo May 30 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.

Father Cupps, a former businessman who worked for Capital One in Richmond, answered God’s call to priesthood and entered St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore after he realized that he felt greater satisfaction from his volunteer role in parish ministry than he had from his professional career.

He had been active at St. Paul parish in Richmond where he celebrated his first Mass the following day.

After coming forward in the procession following seminarians, deacons and priests and preceding Bishop DiLorenzo and Bishop Emeritus Walter F. Sullivan, then-Deacon Cupps took a seat in the front pew next to his mother, Mary Ellen Cupps, of Butler, PA., the western Pennsylvania town where he grew up.

Seated in that same pew were his sister, Kathy, his brother, Jeff, and his wife, Cathy, and their two daughters, Emily and Allison.

Father Michael Renninger, diocesan director of Vocations, said in his homily at the ordination liturgy that during the prostration at the foot of the altar the congregation would see “David Warren Cupps declare his readiness to lay down his life for God’s people.”

He pointed out that many sacred moments take place at the foot of the altar where the candidate was soon to lie prostrate.

Couples were united there in the sacrament of matrimony, new parents brought their infants forward in the sacrament of baptism, the sick came to be anointed and others came to be buried.

Then, as Father Renninger had said, soon-to-be Father Cupps lay prostrate with his face down on the floor and his arms outstretched while the Cathedral choir led worshippers in singing the Litany of the Saints.

“In that moment, David will be showing us what the life of every priest, in fact, the life of every Christian, could look like,” Father Renninger asserted.

“When you lay down at the foot of the altar, you are giving everything to Christ and his people.”

“But once you give that gift, you cannot take it back, piece by piece. So, for the rest of your life, you must go to the foot of the altar, and there you must help the people of God to encounter the love of God.

“You will lay down your life there today – you must stand with the people of God there every day.

“Stand with God’s people there, as they bring their children for baptism.

“Stand with God’s people there, and nourish them with the Body and Blood of Christ.

“Meet God’s people there, and anoint them with Christ’s mercy.

“Lay down your life at the foot of every altar, and then lead the people of God out the door of every church.

“Show us that the Christ who demands our complete self-giving here is present in every person, and every situation of our daily lives.

“Be joyful in your generosity, so that every baptized believer will see that Christ meant it when he said, ‘I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.’”

Father Renninger pointed out that Father Cupps “walked away from a successful career in order to lay down your life in a whole new way.”

“Thank you, David, for laying down your life today at the foot of the altar,” he said.

“Be prepared to lay it down every day. Serve God’s people with authenticity, generosity, and joy.

“Love others as Christ has loved you.

“In the end, that’s all that matters. In the end, that’s what gives life meaning.

In the end, that’s what allows our mortal bodies to rise from the foot of the altar to the heart of God in heaven.”

back to top »