ARCHBISHOP THOMAS CAJETAN KELLY, OP, served as the Archbishop of Louisville from 1982 to 2007. Pope John Paul II appointed him to this position in December 1981.

Prior to his appointment as Archbishop, Kelly served in key administrative positions within the Catholic church. He was elected in March 1977 to a five-year term as chief administrative officer and general secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) in Washington, D.C. In July 1977, Pope Paul VI named Kelly auxiliary to the Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and titular bishop of Tusuro, Africa. In August 1977, he was ordained a bishop at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

In 1971, Archbishop Kelly joined the NCCB and USCC as associate general secretary. Kelly had moved to Washington in 1965 as a secretary and archivist for the Apostolic Delegation, a position he held until joining the Bishops’ conference. Archbishop Kelly began his ministry in New York City in 1962 as secretary in the Dominican provincial office of St. Joseph Province. He also worked with the Legion of Decency and the Archdiocese of New York tribunal.

Born in 1931 in Rochester, New York, Archbishop Kelly entered the Dominican order in 1951 after studying for two years at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island. He pursued philosophical studies at St. Rose Priory, Springfield, Kentucky, and St. Joseph's Priory, Somerset, Ohio. Ordained a priest in 1958, Kelly received a Licentiate in Theology degree from the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C., in 1959 and a doctorate in canon law from the University of St. Thomas in Rome in 1962. He also studied at the University of Vienna and at Cambridge University.

During his years as Archbishop, Archbishop Kelly initiated a systematic approach to planning, resulting in the first long-range strategic plan in 1989. This plan has since been updated three times. He launched a major project to restore the Cathedral of the Assumption. As a result of this innovative, interfaith project, the Cathedral has become nationally known as a public sanctuary and as a center of the arts and of compassionate service to those in need. In November 1994 Kelly held both archdiocesan and community interfaith services to dedicate the renovated cathedral, and in 2002 he was present as the 150th anniversary of the Cathedral was celebrated. In 1996 he spearheaded the Endowment for Excellence, a campaign for Catholic education. This capital campaign exceeded its $15 million goal by more than $5 million.

Archbishop Kelly accompanied Mayor Jerry Abramson and advisers to Biloxi, Mississippi, in June 1987 in a successful effort to persuade the Presbyterian Church (USA) to move its headquarters to Louisville. He also was involved in the planning for the first two papal visits to the United States.

Active in national, regional and local organizations, Archbishop Kelly has served as chancellor and trustee, Bellarmine College, Louisville, Kentucky; chairman, Catholic Conference of Kentucky; member, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; and member, International Dominican Foundation Executive Committee. In addition, he is one of the founding members of the Cathedral Heritage Foundation and was vice chairman of the Catholic Education Foundation, both in Louisville. Previously he served as chair of the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Educational Association and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Health Association. He was a member of the Statutes and Bylaws Committee, the National Advisory Council, and the Canonical Affairs Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and has served as national episcopal liaison (1995-2000) for the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. He also served as the chair of the bishops’ advisory committee of the Catholic Committee of the South. Past memberships include: board of directors, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kentucky; Pontifical Commission for Religious in the United States; Seminary Board, Archdiocese of Chicago; Providence College Corporation; and board of trustees, St. Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore, Maryland.

Archbishop Kelly is a recipient of the following honorary doctoral degrees: Sacred Theology – Providence College; Laws – Assumption College, Worcester, Massachusetts; Human Sciences – Caldwell College, Caldwell, New Jersey; Human Letters – Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky; Humane Letters – Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, Connecticut; Sacred Theology – Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, California; Theology – Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, Missouri.

The oldest Roman Catholic Archdiocese west of the Appalachians, the Archdiocese of Louisville was founded as the Diocese of Bardstown in 1808, transferred to Louisville in 1841, and elevated to Archdiocese in 1937. The Archdiocese covers 24 counties and hosts a Catholic population of more than 200,000 individuals.

In 2007, Archbishop Kelly celebrates 25 years as Archbishop of Louisville, 30 years as a bishop, and 55 years as a Dominican. In his retirement, he will be in residence at Holy Trinity Parish in Louisville, Kentucky.

Archbishop Kelly is the third Archbishop and first member of the Dominican order to head the Archdiocese of Louisville. He succeeds Archbishops Thomas J. McDonough, 1967-1981, and John A. Floersh, 1937-1967.

August 2007