William Henry Keeler

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**William Henry Cardinal Keeler**


Church positions
See	Baltimore
Title	Cardinal Archbishop of Baltimore
Period in office	April 11, 1989—present
Raised to cardinalate	November 26, 1994
Predecessor	William Donald Borders
Successor	incumbent
Previous post	Bishop of Harrisburg
Personal
Date of birth	March 4, 1931
Place of birth	San Antonio, Texas

Styles of William Henry Cardinal Keeler

Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Baltimore

His Eminence William Henry Cardinal Keeler, BA, STL, JCD (born March 4, 1931) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as Archbishop of Baltimore, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1994.

1 Early life and ministry
2 Bishop
3 Cardinal
4 Trivia
5 Episcopal Succession
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Early life and ministry

He was born in San Antonio, Texas, to Thomas and Margaret (née Conway) Keeler. Shortly afterwards, the family moved to Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where Keeler attended St. Mary School and Lebanon Catholic High School. He received a BA from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, in 1952. While studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he was ordained to the priesthood on July 17, 1955 by Archbishop Luigi Traglia. He received both a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (1956) and Doctorate of Canon Law (1961) from the Gregorian, and after doing pastoral and curial work in the Diocese of Harrisburg, he served as a peritus, or expert, and secretary to Bishop George Leech at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Keeler was raised to the rank of Chaplain of His Holiness on November 9, 1965, and later Honorary Prelate of His Holiness on May 8, 1970.

[edit] Bishop

On July 24, 1979, Keeler was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Harrisburg and Titular Bishop of Ulcinium. He received his episcopal consecration on the following September 21 from Bishop Joseph Daley, with Bishops Francis Gossman and Martin Lohmuller serving as co-consecrators. Keeler took as his episcopal motto: Opus Fac Evangeliste ("Do the Work of an Evangelist"). He was named the seventh Bishop of Harrisburg on November 10, 1983, and then the fourteenth Metropolitan Archbishop of Baltimore on April 11, 1989. As Archbishop of Baltimore, Keeler heads America's oldest see.

He was elected President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 1992. He had been elected as the organization's Vice President in November of 1989, when hosting Baltimore's bicentennial celebration of the founding of the 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 Saint Mary's University.

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 1987, he helped arrange the Pope's meetings with Jewish leaders in Miami and with Protestant leaders in Columbia, South Carolina.

[edit] Cardinal

Keeler was created Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri by Pope John Paul II in the consistory of November 26, 1994. He 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 to 2001 and again since November 2003, he has served as Chair for the Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Keeler was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave.

One of Keeler's priorities has been the strengthening of the Catholic school system. In 1992, he 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 first cathedral, the cost of which was financed entirely through private donations.

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.

[edit] Trivia

An Eagle Scout, 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]
Keeler holds honorary degrees from Lebanon Valley College, Gettysburg College, Susquehanna University, and Gannon University.

[edit] Episcopal Succession

Consecrator of
Episcopal Lineage
Consecrated by:	Joseph Thomas Daley
Date of consecration:	September 21, 1979
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 Joseph Daley	Bishop of Harrisburg 1983—1989	Succeeded by Nicholas Dattilo
Preceded by William Donald Borders	Archbishop of Baltimore 1989—present	Succeeded by incumbent