Daniel E. Sheehan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Styles of
Daniel E. Sheehan
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Archbishop
Posthumous style none

Daniel Eugene Sheehan (May 14, 1917-October 24, 2000) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Omaha from 1969 to 1993.

Biography

Daniel Sheehan was born in Emerson, Nebraska, and ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 1942.[1]

On January 4, 1964, Sheehan was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Omaha and Titular Bishop of Capsus by Pope Paul VI.[1] He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 19 from Archbishop Gerald Bergan, with Bishops John Paschang and James Casey serving as co-consecrators, at St. Cecilia Cathedral.[1]

Sheehan was later named the third Archbishop of Omaha on June 11, 1969.[1] He was installed on the following August 11, and was the first native son of the Archdiocese to hold the office of Archbishop.[2] During his tenure, Sheehan has earned a national reputation for his support of Catholic education. His campaign for educational excellence raised more than $26 million to improve Catholic education in the Omaha Metropolitan Area.[2] In recognition of his dedication to Catholic schools, the National Catholic Educational Association presented him with the Elizabeth Ann Seton Award in 1992.[2]

In response to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Sheehan led efforts to establish the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) in the early 1970s.[2] He gathered representatives from the ranks of the clergy, religious communities and laity to lay the groundwork for a pastoral council that would share in the local church's decision-making process. Due to APC action, emphasis has been placed on improving family life, youth and young adult ministry, evangelization, social and rural life issues and Hispanic ministry.[2] In the late 1980s, he led a campaign to raise funds for archdiocesan improvements, including a $4.5 million refurbishment of the St. James Center.[2]

After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Sheehan resigned as Archbishop of Omaha on May 4, 1993, ending a 23-year-long tenure.[1] He later died at age 83, and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Omaha.[3]

Controversy

Archbishop Sheehan failed to remove Rev. Thomas Sellentin after numerous allegations of sexual abuse. [4]

References

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Gerald Thomas Bergan
Archbishop of Omaha
19691993
Succeeded by
Elden Francis Curtiss
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.