Joseph Edward Kurtz

His Excellency Joseph Edward Kurtz
Archbishop of Louisville President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
See	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville
Installed	August 15th, 2007
Predecessor	Thomas Cajetan Kelly, O.P.
Successor	incumbent
Other posts	President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Orders
Ordination	March 18, 1972
Rank	Archbishop
Personal details
Born	(1946-08-18) August 18, 1946 Mahanoy City Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Residence	Louisville
Parents	George and Stella (née Zmijewski) Kurtz
Previous post	• Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops • Bishop of Knoxville (1999-07) • Pastor, Notre Dame of Bethlehem Paris in Bethlehem PA (1996-99) • Pastor, St. Mary Parish in Catasauqua, PA (1988-96) • Diocesan director of Catholic Charities (1988-98) • Diocesan coordinator for health affairs (1994-98) • Exec. Director of Diocese Catholic Social Agency and Family Life Bureau (1984-94) • Teacher at Mary Immaculate Seminary and St. Pius Seminary.
Alma mater	St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Marywood University
Motto	Hope in the Lord
Coat of arms

Styles of Joseph Kurtz
Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop
Posthumous style	none

Joseph Edward Kurtz (born August 18, 1946) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the fourth and current Archbishop of Louisville, having previously served as Bishop of Knoxville from 1999 to 2007. Kurtz also currently serves as the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops a position he was elected to on November 12, 2013.

Early life and ministry

Joseph Kurtz was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, to George and Stella (née Zmijewski) Kurtz. He is of Polish descent.^[1] One of five children (Rose Marie, Theresa, George, and Patricia), he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1964, from where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s in divinity. Kurtz was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph McShea on March 18, 1972, and did his post-graduate work at Marywood University in Scranton, earning a master's in social work.

During his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Allentown, Kurtz served as a high school and college teacher, an administrator, and a pastor in Catasauqua and Bethlehem. He was raised to the rank of Monsignor in 1986.

Episcopacy

On October 26, 1999, Kurtz was appointed the second Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 8 from Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo Higuera, with Archbishop Thomas Kelly, OP, and Bishop Edward Cullen serving as co-consecrators, before a crowd of approximately 5,000 people at the Knoxville Convention Center.

Kurtz was later named Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, on June 12, 2007. His installation took place on August 15 at Louisville Gardens.

Archbishop Kurtz, in addition to his diocesan duties, also serves as Chairman of the Committee on Marriage and Family Life of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Kurtz was elected as the Vice President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2010.^[2]

On November 11th, 2013, Kurtz was elected as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Positions and future prospects

Kurtz is generally seen as a conservative and a firm follower of Vatican directives on doctrine and liturgy. The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a frequent critic of the church hierarchy, indicates that he fits the mold of a “smiling conservative” in the vein of New York’s Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, who is “very gracious but still holds the same positions” as a more pugnacious cleric like Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who has not hesitated to call out Catholic politicians who dissent from church teachings on abortion.^[3]

John L. Allen, Jr., a longtime Vatican watcher with the National Catholic Reporter, speculates that Kurtz is seen as a leading candidate for archbishop in a major American city with possible promotion to the exclusive rank of cardinal. Allen states, "In church circles, he’s widely seen as a comer, I don’t mean that he’s personally ambitious necessarily, but he’s the kind of guy the system would promote.”^[3]

Michael Sean Winters, who writes the blog "Distinctly Catholic" for the National Catholic Reporter speculates, "The fact that Kurtz's name tops the list delivered by the Conference of Bishops tells you how well-respected he is...he'll be in line for future appointments. The Chicago Archdiocese will probably be open next year."^[4]

Coat of Arms

Arms of Joseph Edward Kurtz Notes The coat of arms was designed and adopted when he was installed as the Archbishop of Louisville Adopted 2007 Escutcheon The arms of his jurisdiction, the Archdiocese of Louisville, is seen in the dexter impalement (left side) of the design. On the right side of the shield is a gold cross, surrounded at the center by a white ring. A white lily on the top left of the cross and an anchor at the bottom left is also found. Motto Hope in the Lord Symbolism The gold cross on the right side of the shield symbolizes faith. The center white ring. That’s a symbol of Kurtz’s native Diocese of Allentown, which is inturn a tribute to its patroness, St. Catherine of Siena, who is said to have been wedded to Christ. The white lily is a symbol of St. Joseph, the archbishop’s patron saint, for whom he was named. The anchor is a traditional symbol of hope and fits with Kurtz’s motto, "Hope in the Lord."

References

External links

• Catholic-Hierarchy