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October 9, 2002
Bishop Loverde Assigns New Chaplain

On June 26, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde appointed Reverend Robert L. Ruskamp as Chaplain of Christendom College.

Ruskamp replaces College Chaplain Rev. David Rahn who unfortunately, just prior to his arrival at Christendom in June 2001, contracted a serious illness which caused him to withdraw from his position as Chaplain.

Fr. Ruskamp was born and raised in Nebraska, the third of fourteen children. He studied for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in PA and was accepted into the Diocese of Arlington by Bishop Thomas J. Welsh. He was ordained in 1985 by the second Bishop of Arlington, John R. Keating.

Ruskamp credits his mother (a convert) and father for his vocation to the priesthood. They planted the seeds of his vocation at an early age, but he accepted it personally and made it his own after leaving high school.

Prior to coming to Christendom, Fr. Ruskamp served as Pastor of St. John in Woodstock, VA, and St. Agnes in Arlington, VA, where he had Christendom alumnus, Fr. Thomas VanderWoude, as Parochial Vicar.

Click here for a more in-depth story on Fr. Ruskamp

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