Columban Fr. Al Utzig was appointed Director of the Columban Fathers in the United States by the Superior General of the Missionary Society of St. Columban. He succeeds Fr. Chris Saenz in this position. Fr. Utzig assumed duties on November 22, 2024. He will serve a three-year term after which he is eligible to serve a second three-year term.
Ordained in 1983, Fr. Utzig worked in Korea before returning to the U.S. where he worked in formation before becoming parish priest in Fontana, CA, in the San Bernardino Diocese.
The Missionary Society of St. Columban, also known as the Columban Fathers, is a Catholic missionary society founded in 1918 to proclaim and witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Society seeks to establish the Catholic Church where the Gospel has not been preached, help local churches evangelize their laity, promote dialogue with other faiths, and foster among all baptized people an awareness of their missionary responsibility.
The Society’s U.S. headquarters are based in Bellevue, Neb., which is south of Omaha.