Joseph Edward Kurtz

His Excellency, The Most Reverend Joseph Edward Kurtz
Archbishop Emeritus of Louisville
Archbishop Kurtz in 2016
Archdiocese	Louisville
Appointed	June 12, 2007
Installed	August 15, 2007
Retired	February 8, 2022
Predecessor	Thomas C. Kelly, O.P
Successor	Shelton Fabre
Orders
Ordination	March 18, 1972 by Joseph McShea
Consecration	December 8, 1999 by Gabriel Montalvo Higuera, Thomas C. Kelly, and Edward Peter Cullen
Personal details
Born	Joseph Edward Kurtz (1946-08-18) August 18, 1946 (age 77) Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Residence	Louisville, Kentucky
Parents	George and Stella (née Zmijewski) Kurtz
Occupation	Archbishop
Previous post(s)	Bishop of Knoxville (1999–2007) President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2013–2016)
Alma mater	St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Marywood University
Motto	Hope In The Lord

Styles of Joseph Edward Kurtz

Reference style	His Excellency The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Archbishop

Ordination history of
Joseph Edward Kurtz

History
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated by	Gabriel Montalvo Higuera
Date	December 8, 1999

Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Joseph Edward Kurtz as principal consecrator
William Medley	February 10, 2010
Charles C. Thompson	June 29, 2011
John Stowe	May 5, 2015
J. Mark Spalding	February 2 (Candlemas), 2018

Joseph Edward Kurtz (born August 18, 1946) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville in Kentucky from 2007 to 2022. He previously served as the bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville in Tennessee from 1999 to 2007. Kurtz was president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) from 2013 to 2016.

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Biography

Early life

Joseph Kurtz was born on August 18, 1946, 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 Philadelphia in 1964. He obtained a Bachelor of Philosophy degree and a Master of Divinity degree from that school.^[2]

Priesthood

Kurtz was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Allentown by Bishop Joseph McShea on March 18, 1972.^[3] Kurtz completed his post-graduate work at Marywood University in Scranton, earning a Master of Social Work degree.

During his priestly ministry, Kurtz served as high school teacher, college lecturer, administrator, and pastor in Catasauqua and Bethlehem, both in Pennsylvania. He was raised to the rank of Monsignor in 1986.^[2]

Bishop of Knoxville

On October 26, 1999, Kurtz was appointed as the second bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on December 8. 1999. from Archbishop Gabriel Higuera, with Archbishop Thomas Kelly and Bishop Edward Cullen serving as co-consecrators, before an audience of approximately 5,000 at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville.^[3]

Archbishop of Louisville

Kurtz was named archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville on June 12, 2007, by Pope Benedict XVI. His installation took place on August 15, 2007, at Louisville Gardens in Louisville.^[3]

In addition to his diocesan duties, Kurtz served as chair of the USCCB Committee on Marriage and Family Life. He was elected as the vice president of the USCCB in November 2010.^[4] On November 11, 2013, Kurtz was elected USCCB president. On February 19, 2014, Kurtz was appointed a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.^[5] On November 14, 2014, he was elected as a delegate to the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family, pending Vatican approval.^[6]^[2]

On February 1, 2019, Kurtz released a report that named 22 priests from the archdiocese with credible accusations of sexual abuse. The report was prepared by an independent investigator who was not part of the church. None of the 22 men were active priests in 2019.^[7]

In July 2019, Kurtz underwent treatment for urothelial cancer, which required a three-month medical leave of absence from the archdiocese.^[8]

Retirement

On February 8, 2022, Pope Francis accepted Kurtz's letter of resignation as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville.^[9]^[3]

Doctrinal positions

Kurtz is generally seen as a conservative and a firm follower of Vatican directives on doctrine and liturgy. The Rev. Thomas J. Reese indicates that Kurtz is a "smiling conservative" like Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, who is "very gracious but still holds the same positions" as a cleric like Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who has openly criticized Catholic politicians who support abortion rights for women.^[10]

Coat of arms of Joseph Edward Kurtz
	Notes The coat of arms was designed and adopted when Kurtz 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 are also found. Motto Hope in the Lord Symbolism The gold cross on the right side of the shield symbolizes faith. The center white ring is a symbol of Kurtz's native Diocese of Allentown and of its patron saint, St. Catherine of Siena. The white lily is a symbol of St. Joseph, the archbishop's patron saint. The anchor is a traditional symbol of hope and fits with Kurtz's motto, "Hope in the Lord."

References

^ "New Archdiocese/Diocese for Polish-American Ordinaries" (PDF). Polish American Priests Association Bulletin. November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 18, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Archbishop Emeritus - Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D." Archdiocese of Louisville. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^ "Getting to know the new VP". Crisis Magazine. November 16, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
^ "Rinunce e Nomine". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
^ "US bishops elect delegates to synod: Kurtz, Chaput, DiNardo, Gomez". Catholic News Agency. November 14, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
^ Lentes, Morgan (February 8, 2019). "Archdiocese of Louisville releases report on sexual abuse by priests". WLKY. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
^ Kurtz, Joseph E. (July 10, 2019). "Message from the Archbishop to the Catholic People". Archdiocese of Louisville. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
^ "Resignations and Appointments, 08.02.2022" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
^ Louisville Courier Journal: "Archbishop Joseph Kurtz's star is rising: Kurtz's growing prominence stirs speculation about higher posts"^{[permanent dead link]} October 2, 2011

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville Official Site

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Anthony O'Connell	Bishop of Knoxville 1999–2007	Succeeded by Richard Stika
Preceded by Timothy M. Dolan	President of the USCCB November 12, 2013 – November 16, 2016	Succeeded by Daniel DiNardo
Preceded by Thomas C. Kelly	Archbishop of Louisville 2007 – 2022	Succeeded by Shelton Fabre

v t e Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville
Ordinaries	Bishops Benedict Joseph Flaget John Baptist Mary David Benedict Joseph Flaget Martin John Spalding Peter Joseph Lavialle William George McCloskey Denis O'Donaghue John Alexander Floersh Archbishops John Alexander Floersh Thomas Joseph McDonough Thomas Cajetan Kelly Joseph Edward Kurtz Shelton Fabre Affiliated bishops Guy Ignatius Chabrat Michael Heiss Charles Garrett Maloney John McGill James Ryan John Lancaster Spalding J. Mark Spalding James Kendrick Williams
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of the Assumption, Louisville Parishes:
Education	High schools (boys) St. Francis DeSales High School, Louisville St. Xavier High School, Louisville Trinity High School, St. Matthews High schools (girls) Assumption High School, Louisville Mercy Academy, Louisville Presentation Academy, Louisville Sacred Heart Academy, Louisville High schools, coeducational Bethlehem High School, Bardstown Holy Cross High School, Louisville Special needs school Pitt Academy, Louisville
Catholicism portal

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville
Ordinaries	Bishops Anthony Joseph O'Connell Joseph Edward Kurtz Richard Stika
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Knoxville Parishes Saints Peter and Paul Basilica, Chattanooga Church of the Immaculate Conception, Knoxville
Education	High schools Knoxville Catholic High School Notre Dame High School, Chattanooga
Catholicism portal

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown
Ordinaries	Bishops Joseph McShea Thomas Welsh Edward Cullen John Oliver Barres Alfred Andrew Schlert Diocesan priests who became bishops Ronald William Gainer Joseph Edward Kurtz David B. Thompson
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena, Allentown Parishes Mary Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Pottsville St. John the Baptist Church, Pottsville
Education	Universities and colleges DeSales University Alvernia University High schools Allentown Central Catholic High School, Allentown Bethlehem Catholic High School, Bethlehem Berks Catholic High School, Reading Marian Catholic High School, Tamaqua Nativity BVM High School, Pottsville Notre Dame High School, Easton Seminary (closed) Mary Immaculate Seminary, Northampton
Catholicism portal

This page was last edited on 7 November 2023, at 02:54

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