Thomas C. Kelly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Archbishop Thomas Cajetan Kelly, O.P., has served as the Archbishop of Louisville since February 1982. Pope John Paul II appointed him to this position in December 1981.
Born in 1931 in Rochester, New York, Archbishop Kelly entered the Dominican Order in 1951 after two years of study at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island. Ordained to the priesthood in 1958, he subsequently received a Licentiate in Theology from the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C., in 1959 and a doctorate in canon law from the University of St. Thomas in Rome in 1962.
Before his episcopal ministry, Archbishop Kelly served in key administrative positions within the Catholic Church in the United States. In 1962 he was assigned as secretary in the Dominican provincial offices in New York City; he also worked with the National Legion of Decency and the tribunal for the Archdiocese of New York. In 1971 Kelly joined the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference as associate general secretary. Kelly moved to Washington in 1965 as a secretary and archivist for the Apostolic Delegation, a position he held until joining the NCCB/USCC. He was elected in March 1977 to a five-year term as NCCB/USCC chief administrative officer and general secretary.
In July 1977, Pope Paul VI named him auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., and titular bishop of Tusuro in Africa. He was ordained a bishop two months later by Archbishop Joseph Bernardin at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
Archbishop Kelly is the third Archbishop and first member of the Dominican order to head the Archdiocese of Louisville. He succeeds Archbishops Thomas J. McDonough (1967-1981), and John A. Floersh (1937-1967).
In 2002 Archbishop Kelly celebrated 20 years as Archbishop of Louisville, 25 years as a bishop and 50 years as a Dominican. Kelly's tenure was marked by settling numerous lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Louisville for its lack of action against priests that were molesting children. The tens of millions of dollars in settlement money paid out severely crippled the Archdiocese's budget, and caused the loss of jobs on both the Archdiocesan level and in numerous parishes and related agencies.
On July 14, 2006 Archbishop Kelly submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI as required by Canon Law. Upon its acceptance the Archbishop could remain in Louisville as Apostolic Administrator until his successor is named by the Congregation of Bishops in Rome.
