See Louisville Ordination June 5, 1958 Successor Joseph Edward Kurtz | Installed February 18, 1982 Appointed December 28, 1981 Name Thomas Kelly | |
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Predecessor Thomas Joseph McDonough | ||
Thomas Cajetan Kelly (July 14, 1931 – December 14, 2011) was Archbishop of Louisville.
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Education
Born in 1931 in Rochester, New York, Archbishop Kelly attended Regis High School in New York City. He 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 earned a Licentiate in Theology from the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C., in 1959 and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas Angelicum in Rome in 1962.
Posts
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 Roman Catholic 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 Kelly auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, and titular bishop of Tusuro. He was consecrated a bishop two months later by Archbishop Joseph Bernardin at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. On December 21, 1981, Pope John Paul II appointed Kelly Archbishop of Louisville. He succeeded Archbishop Thomas J. McDonough (1967–1981). Archbishop Kelly was the tenth Bishop and third Archbishop of Louisville.
On June 12, 2007, Archbishop Kelly's retirement was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI in accord with Canon 401 of the Code of Canon Law. Pope Benedict simultaneously appointed Bishop Joseph Kurtz of Knoxville, as Archbishop Kelly's successor.
Death
Kelly died at the age of 80, of as yet unknown causes, in his sleep during the night on Wednesday, December 14, 2011, at Holy Trinity Church (where he had been residing since his retirement, in active ministry) in Louisville, Kentucky. In separate statements, the Archdiocese, the incumbent Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer paid tribute to the late Archbishop. On Sunday, December 18, 2011, the Rite of Reception took place at 7:30 PM at the Cathedral, and from 8:00-9:00 PM there was a public visitation. On Monday, December 19, 2011, there was another public visitation at the Cathedral from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, after which there was a Vigil Service. On Tuesday, December 20, 2011, at the Cathedral, the Funeral Mass was conducted, at which many bishops from the area were in attendance.