See Seattle Name Thomas Murphy Predecessor Raymond Hunthausen | Term ended June 26, 1997 Installed August 21, 1991 | |
Successor Alexander Joseph Brunett Other posts Bishop of Great Falls-Billings (1978–1987)
Coadjutor Archbishop of Seattle (1987–1991) | ||
Thomas Joseph Murphy (October 3, 1932 – June 26, 1997) was an American bishop in the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Great Falls from 1978–1987, Coadjutor Archbishop of Seattle from 1987–1991, and Archbishop of Seattle from 1991 until his death.
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Born in Chicago, Illinois, Murphy was ordained to the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1958. In 1978, he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings and was consecrated bishop later that year.
Episcopal career
On May 26, 1987, Murphy was appointed coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle with immediate right of succession to Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen. Murphy's appointment came after a series of controversies surrounding Hunthausen which included an apostolic visitation to the archdiocese ordered by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 1985, the Vatican appointed Donald Wuerl as auxiliary bishop of Seattle, with authority to overrule Archbishop Hunthausen in several important areas. This appointment proved controversial among American Catholics, and as a result the Vatican removed Wuerl from his post and installed Murphy as a coadjutor with far less immediate authority.
Murphy became Archbishop of Seattle upon Hunthausen's retirement on August 21, 1991. As archbishop, he traveled extensively to parishes around the archdiocese and was an advocate for the poor and disenfranchised in the archdiocese. He oversaw an extensive renovation of St. James Cathedral, which was completed in 1994. Under Murphy's administration the archdiocese saw an increase in registered Catholics, and an increase in outreach and ministries for women, various ethnic groups, and homosexuals.
Death and legacy
Archbishop Murphy was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December 1996 and had been undergoing chemotherapy when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died on June 26, 1997. He is interred in the crypt at St. James Cathedral.
In 1999, Holy Cross High School, a Catholic school in Everett, Washington, was renamed Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy High School in Murphy's honor. In 2000, a new organ built in the apse of St. James Cathedral was named the Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Millennium Organ.