Rev. Lawrence A. Kutz

Rev. Lawrence A. Kutz, a Catholic priest of the Opus Dei Prelature, died at his home in Reston, Virginia, on October 23, 2024, at the age of 84. The cause of death was multiple myeloma.

Fr. Larry (as he was known) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 30, 1939, the son of Julius and Doris (Johnson) Kutz. The third of six children, he attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse in Franklin, Wisconsin, a farm town south of Milwaukee, and graduated from Greendale High School in 1957. He majored in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and worked in the University’s Physics Department as an engineer upon graduation in 1962. While an undergraduate in Madison he met and joined Opus Dei at Randall House, an off-campus student residence run by Opus Dei.

Fr. Larry moved to Rome in 1963 to pursue ecclesiastical studies and lived alongside St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei.  He was ordained a priest on August 8, 1965, in Segovia, Spain, and completed his doctorate in Moral Theology at the Pontifical Lateran University in 1966.  He was a chaplain at a student residence in Valladolid, Spain, before returning to the United States in 1967.  Over the next six decades he served as a chaplain for Opus Dei centers in Milwaukee, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Reston, Virginia. He was the Vicar of Opus Dei in California from 1976 to 1990.  While based in Reston, he carried out an active apostolate in numerous cities in Virginia and North and South Carolina through regular visits.

Fr. Larry’s priestly spirit led him to help many souls, generously giving them his time and pastoral care. He was beloved as a confessor, preacher, teacher, and spiritual director. He spent many hours each week hearing confessions and bringing Holy Communion to the sick and aged.  He will always be remembered for his tireless service to souls, his wisdom and patience as a spiritual guide, and his profound knowledge of Catholic doctrine which he always communicated with clarity and enthusiasm.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Most Reverend Michael F.  Burbidge, Bishop of Arlington, at St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church, in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday, October 29, at 2 p.m; preceded by a wake in the church beginning at 1 p.m.  Interment will take place at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Silver Spring, Maryland, on Thursday, October 31 at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, friends are invited to contribute to Reston Study Center (restonstudycenter.org; 1810 Old Reston Ave., Reston, VA 20190).

https://restonstudycenter.org/support/