14-05-2025
Whatever happened to … Richard Bozzelli, high-powered government attorney turned priest?
Thirty-one years ago, Richard Bozzelli changed careers and struck a chord. At 33, he left his job as a high-powered government attorney and became a Roman Catholic parish priest in Baltimore.
His move piqued public interest; Bozzelli's story appeared in newspapers from Florida to California. Answering To A Higher Court, read the headline in The Los Angeles Times.
Bozzelli donned a cassock and has never looked back. At 64, he's a pillar in the pulpit, celebrating Mass and shepherding the flocks at both St. Bernardine, in Edmondson Village, and nearby St. Peter Claver. (The predominantly African American churches merged last year).
'I've never questioned my vocation,' said Bozzelli, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School. 'I wake up every morning and know that I'm in a place where I'm supposed to be, doing what I'm supposed to do. In the [printed] program for my first Mass [in 1994], I wrote, 'Thank God that even the wildest of dreams can come true.''
Known as 'Father Rich' to his nearly 500 congregants, Bozzelli served parishes from Bolton Hill to Glen Burnie before settling in 2014 at the gold-domed St. Bernardine, the largest African American Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Clearly, his superiors have faith in his abilities; in 2009, Bozzelli was presented a bishop's cassock and appointed a Monsignor, a title of honor, by Pope Benedict XVI.
His journey has weathered setbacks. In 2012, he underwent triple bypass surgery; a year later came a heart attack, which the priest called 'a life-changing event.' It gave him pause and prompted a year-long sabbatical from clergy work in an effort to reboot his calling.
'I needed a spiritual health break to give my body time to heal,' he said. 'I told the Archbishop [William Lori], 'I'm not having a vocation crisis and I have no intention of leaving the priesthood. I'm just sick and I need to get better.''
Recovery was a challenge. For a while, he said, 'I went through a period of anxiety. I sat around waiting for the next heart attack. I thought, 'Is today going to be the day?' So I got help, went to a counselor and learned how to deal with [the worry].'
The hiatus proved helpful. When he returned to work, Bozzelli told the Archbishop, 'You just got another 20 years out of me.'
It's a story he shares openly with both parishioners and seminarians:
'It's not a matter of praying your way out of [the abyss]. Sometimes you need to seek mental health professionals. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.'
Now, he follows an exercise regimen that dovetails with his work. Once a year, Bozzelli embarks on a religious pilgrimage, hiking as much as 100 miles through Europe over oft-challenging trails that lead to places like Assisi, Italy, and Santiago, Spain, site of the tomb of St. James the Greater. It's the priest's way of meshing body and soul.
'I do intend to retire at 70, but that doesn't mean I won't still be doing priestly things, like teaching Bible studies,' he said.
Bozzelli kept his Maryland law license but has no plans to return to the bar.
'It was something I worked hard to accomplish and I don't want to give it up,' he said. 'Besides, it's not unusual for parishioners to ask for legal advice, and I don't want to be accused of practicing law without a license.'
'Whatever happened to?' is an occasional series following up on individuals who have made news in The Baltimore Sun. Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@ and 410-332-6456.
