Fr. Prashanth Kumar comes from Holy Rosary Parish in Shettihalli, Karnataka State; India. He was born on April 14, 1977. His parents Mrs. Rita and the late Mr. Anthappa, who passed away in February of this year, are devoted Catholics from the same parish. Father Prashanth has one older sister and 3 brothers (2 are older and 1 is younger).
In his younger years, Father Prashanth studied at his parish Catholic school, St. Mary’s. After graduating high school in 1994, he went to seminary and completed his novitiate for the Pallottines in 1996. Following novitiate, Father studied philosophy, and theology, as well as spent a full year serving as a deacon. With great thanks to God, Fr. Prashanth was ordained a priest on April 21, 2007.
From ordination to 2013, Fr. Prashanth worked as an associate pastor and as an administrator in a seminary. He also served as a pastor in India during that time. In 2013, he began serving as an Associate Pastor in three parishes of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, Canada. Due to COVID restrictions, Father returned to India in 2020 and continued to serve there until coming to the United States in late August of this year.
Now in the USA, Fr. Prashanth is excited to begin his priestly ministry in a new place! In a recent email, he said: “I thank God for the gift of life and blessings, also thank the Almighty for the wonderful opportunities to serve HIM in different capacities.”