Fr. James F. Kauffmann

Pastor Creates Transformative Opportunity for Pastors and Seminarians

Fr. James Kauffmann spent his whole life in the Diocese of Richmond.  He was born in Richmond and educated at Star of the Sea Elementary School in Virginia Beach as well as Norfolk Catholic High School in Norfolk, Virginia.  After his graduation from William & Mary, Fr. Kauffmann attended seminary at the North American College in Rome subsequently being ordained in 1976.  For 40 years, Fr. Kauffmann faithfully served at six parishes within the Diocese of Richmond.  His final assignment was as Parochial Vicar at St. Bede in Williamsburg until his passing in June of this year.

Earlier in his life, Fr. Kauffmann had the opportunity to pursue post-graduate studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and graduated in 1990 with a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture.  While there, he studied for a semester at Ecole Biblique and the French School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.  This opportunity inspired him to learn more about both early Christian origins in the Middle East and Christian-Islamic relations.  His post-graduate studies also led him to study Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic (the language spoken by Christ) and Coptic which was the ancient language of the Egyptian Christian Church.

His passion for ministry and for learning about the origins and languages of early Christianity led him to establish the James F. Kauffmann Scholarship Fund in late 2016.  Its purpose is to enable opportunities for pastors and seminarians to pursue continuing studies in Christian Origins.  Special preference is given to those who intend to study Syriac or Christian Arabic.  Through this Scholarship Fund, Fr. Kauffmann continued his legacy of faithful generosity and ministry to the people of the Catholic Church.

Fr. Kauffmann is one of many pastors and lay people who created opportunities for the future Church by making an estate provision.  Making a provision for your parish, a Catholic school or Diocesan ministry is easy and can truly have a transformative impact.  To learn more about creating a legacy gift for the benefit of the Catholic Church, please contact Maggie F. Keenan, Ed.D., Director of Planned Giving at (804) 622-5221 or [email protected].