Ralph W. Beiting

Monsignor Ralph W. Beiting (January 1, 1924 - August 9, 2012 ) was a Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Christian Appalachian Project in the US.

Career Beiting was born in 1924 in Northern Kentucky. He was the oldest of eleven children and grew up during the Great Depression.

In 1946 he joined a seminary with the view to becoming a priest. During this time, he accompanied several priests on preaching trips to the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The poverty he observed in Appalachia planted the seeds of a vision that eventually became the Christian Appalachian Project.

After ordination in 1949, Beiting was assigned to work as an assistant pastor in a northern Kentucky parish and as a math teacher at Newport Catholic High School.

One year after his assignment, he met with Bishop William Theodore Mulloy where Mulloy told him he had been selected to pastor a large portion of east central Kentucky.

In 1970, he was named a monsignor by Pope Paul VI.

Kentucky Governor Louie Nunn recognized Beiting as an outstanding Kentuckian in 1969.

He was honored in 1996 by Governor Paul Patton for his work in economic development.

His work as a volunteer has been recognized by the National Catholic Development Conference (The Good Samaritan Award in 1973), the National Center of Voluntary Action (The National Volunteer Award in 1971) and the Caring Institute (The Caring Award in 1990).

Beiting was featured in the PBS series The Visionaries in 1996.

He received the Meeker Award from Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas, in 1997.

He received the Lincoln Award from Northern Kentucky University in 1998, which said, "This award represents a commitment to service, fidelity to noble causes and sense of turning challenges into opportunities."

He was also the recipient of the Catholic University of America Theological Colleges 1999 Alumnus Lifetime Service Award.

In the year 2000, Beiting celebrated fifty years of service to Appalachia.

Beiting is a graduate of St. Gregory Minor Seminary in Mount Washington, Ohio, St. Mary's Seminary in Norwood, Ohio, and the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.