William Henry Keeler
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His Eminence, William Henry Cardinal Keeler (born March 4, 1931 in San Antonio, Texas) has been the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore since 1989 and a Cardinal since 1994.
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[edit] Early life
He was raised in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where he attended St. Mary School and Lebanon Catholic High School. He received a B.A. from St. Charles Seminary in Overbrook, Pennsylvania, in 1952. While he was studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1955, he was ordained a priest in the Church of the Holy Apostles, by Luigi Cardinal Traglia, then the Vicegerent of the Diocese of Rome but later Dean of the College of Cardinals. He received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, and served as an expert at the Second Vatican Council.
An Eagle Scout, Cardinal Keeler is a longtime supporter of Scouting. He is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award of the Boy Scouts of America.[1]
[edit] Career
He was ordained an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on September 21, 1979; and installed as the Bishop of Harrisburg on January 4, 1984. Bishop Keeler was named the 14th Archbishop of Baltimore in 1989 and appointed to the College of Cardinals by the late Pope John Paul II in November, 1994.[2]
He was elected President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 1992, he had been elected as the organizations' Vice President in November of 1989, when hosting Baltimore, Maryland's bicentennial celebration of the founding of America's first Roman Catholic diocese. He also serves as Chairman of the Maryland Catholic Conference, Chair of the Board and Chancellor of St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, as well as of Mount St. Mary's Seminary, Emmitsburg.
Cardinal Keeler developed a reputation for effectively building interfaith bonds, particularly for furthering Catholic-Jewish dialogue and serves as moderator of Catholic-Jewish relations for the USCCB. As Chair of the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs from 1984 to November 1987, he helped arrange the Pope's meetings with Jewish leaders in Miami and with Protestant leaders in Columbia, S.C. The Archbishop was appointed to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in the summer of 1994, and to the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in November 1994. From 1998-2001 and again since November 2003, he has served as Chair for the Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Keeler participated in the 2005 papal conclave as a cardinal elector.
One of Keeler's priorities has been the strengthening of the Catholic school system. In 1992, the Cardinal initiated the Lenten Appeal, a giving campaign that has raised over $44 million in support of Baltimore's Catholic schools, the needs of the less fortunate, and a variety of spiritual development efforts and the Cardinal's Partners in Excellence scholarship program has raised $16 million in tuition assistance for at-risk children.
The Cardinal is also responsible for the effort to restore Baltimore's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, America's oldest Cathedral. The majority of the cost is financed through private donations. Millions of dollars were also provided by the state of Maryland which has raised some controversy concerning the state underwriting a religious organization.
Cardinal Keeler is the President of the American Division Catholic Near East Welfare Association, and Chair of the Black and Native American Missions Board. He is Chairman of the Board of Catholic Charities, the largest non-governmental agency providing assistance to the needy of Maryland. He is president of the Cathedral Foundation and publisher of The Catholic Review.
He is Cardinal Priest of the Titular Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri which is in Piazza Repubblica in Rome.[3]
[edit] Episcopal Succession
| Episcopal Lineage | |
| Consecrated by: | Joseph Thomas Daley |
| Date of consecration: | September 21, 1979 |
| Consecrator of | |
|---|---|
| Bishop | Date of consecration |
| Gordon Dunlap Bennett | March 3, 1998 |
| William Francis Malooly | March 1, 2001 |
| Mitchell Thomas Rozanski | August 21, 2004 |
| Michael Joseph Bransfield | February 22, 2005 |
| Denis James Madden | August 24, 2005 |
| Preceded by: William Donald Borders |
Archbishop of Baltimore 1989–present |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |
[edit] External links
- Archdiocese of Baltimore - official site
[edit] References
- ^ Vatican II at 35: An Interview with Cardinal William Keeler. St. Anthony Messenger. Retrieved on May 24, 2006.
- ^ William Henry Cardinal Keeler from catholic-hierarchy.org
- ^ Cardinal W H Keeler on the website of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
