www.theleaven.com | Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas | Vol. 33, No. 1 july 1, 2011
All-American Indian-born priest will have much to celebrate this Fourth of July By Joe Bollig | Photos by Elaina Cochran
Father Arul Carasala recites the Pledge of Allegiance at a ceremony in which he became a citizen of the United States on May 20 in the state capital. Father Carasala is pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Onaga, St. Patrick Parish in Corning, St. Bede Parish in Kelly and St. Columbkille Parish in Blaine.
T
OPEKA — It might have not been his most dignified moment. But it sure was fun. When Father Arul Carasala saw his first snow, he was 37 years old, and the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul in Onaga, St. Patrick Parish in Corning, St. Bede Parish in Kelly, and St. Columbkille in Blaine. And he made the most of it. “I went out and rolled and rolled in it, and caught it in my hand,” enthused Father Carasala. “I never had done so before in my life.” That was in 2004 — his first winter away from his native India. But that was only the first of many adventures in this exotic, faraway place called Kansas. Adventures that have led Father Carasala to a moment that was very dignified indeed. On May 20, at the Federal Courthouse in Topeka, Father Carasala raised his right hand, swore an oath, and became an American citizen.
Archdiocesan vicar for clergy Father Brian Schieber congratulates Father Carasala on becoming a U.S. citizen. Everything that is America — all its history and celebrations — is now his. “I’m really going to celebrate this
Fourth of July,” he said. “Before, every time I’ve been to a Fourth of July celebration, I considered myself an outsider.”
That’s right, everything American is his — including the national debt. “Yes,” he laughed. “Now I’m part of the problem.” All kidding aside, becoming an American means a lot to Father Carasala. “The judge who received the new citizens opened up the floor to any of the new citizens to give a testimony of what the day meant to them, and Father Carasala was one of three who volunteered to speak,” said Father Brian Schieber, vicar for clergy and one of the priests who accompanied Father Carasala to the momentous occasion. “So Father Carasala got up and spoke about how he appreciated the religious freedom we have in the United States,” continued Father Schieber, “and how wonderful it is that he could be welcomed here as a Catholic priest and preach the
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