Thomas Kiely Gorman
The Most Reverend Thomas Kiely Gorman | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Dallas | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| See | Diocese of Dallas |
| Predecessor | Joseph Patrick Lynch |
| Successor | Thomas Ambrose Tschoepe |
| Other post(s) | Bishop of Reno 1931 to 1952 Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas 1952 to 1954 |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 23, 1917 |
| Consecration | July 22, 1931 by John Joseph Cantwell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 30, 1892 |
| Died | August 16, 1980 (aged 87) Dallas, Texas, US |
| Education | St. Patrick's Seminary St. Mary's Seminary and University Catholic University of America University of Louvain |
Thomas Kiely Gorman (August 30, 1892 – August 16, 1980) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Reno in Nevada from 1931 to 1952 and as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Dallas in Texas from 1954 to 1969.
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Thomas Gorman was born on August 30, 1892, in Pasadena, California, to John Joseph and Mary Elizabeth (née Kiely) Gorman.[1] He entered St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park in 1910, shortly before his father's death. He was transferred to St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, Maryland in 1914.[citation needed]
Priesthood[edit]
Gorman was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles on June 23, 1917.[1] After his ordination, he went to Washington, D.C. to study at Catholic University of America for a year. Gorman returned to California to perform and did pastoral work in the diocese until 1922. Gorman then traveled to Leuven, Belgium to attend the University of Louvain, graduating in 1925 with a Doctor of History degree. He returned to Los Angeles to become editor of Tidings, a diocesan newspaper in 1926.[2]
Bishop of Reno[edit]
On April 24, 1931, Gorman was appointed the first bishop of the new Diocese of Reno by Pope Pius XI.[3] He received his episcopal consecration on July 22, 1931, from Archbishop John Cantwell, with Bishops John Mitty and Robert Armstrong serving as co-consecrators.[1][4]
Under Gorman, the diocese opened soup kitchens and homeless shelters in Reno in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression.[5] During World War II, he created USO centers for soldiers on leave, African-American wartime workers and residents in Boulder City, Nevada.[5]
Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Dallas[edit]
Gorman was named coadjutor bishop by Pope Pius XII of the Diocese of Dallas and titular bishop of Rhasus on February 8, 1952. He automatically succeeded Bishop Joseph Lynch as the fourth Bishop of Dallas upon the latter's death on August 29, 1954.[2] John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic to serve as President of the United States, was shot and killed in Dallas during Gorman's tenure. Gorman attended the Second Vatican Council in Rome from 1962 to 1965.
Despite his original support for their ecumenical work, Gorman relieved four Texan Paulist priests of their duties in 1967 for purportedly neglecting their responsibility of servicing the Newman Clubs at local colleges.[3] His decision met widespread opposition, but he refused to reverse it.[3]
Retirement and legacy[edit]
On August 22, 1969, Pope Paul VI accepted Gorman's resignation as bishop of Dallas and named him titular bishop of Pinhel; he resigned from that title on January 21, 1971.[6]
Thomas Gorman died in Dallas on August 16, 1980, at age 88.[1][2]Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School in Tyler, Texas, is named after him.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Bishop Thomas Kiely Gorman [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
- ^ a b c "Thomas Gorman Dead; Retired Bishop of Dallas". The New York Times. 1980-08-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
- ^ a b c "A Punt on the Five-Yard Line". TIME Magazine. 1967-06-16. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007.
- ^ Survey (Nev.), Historical Records; Project, Nevada Historical Records Survey (1939). Inventory of the Church Archives of Nevada. Historical Records Survey.
- ^ a b Simich, Jerry L.; Wright, Thomas C. (2010-03-15). More Peoples of Las Vegas: One City, Many Faces. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0-87417-818-0.
- ^ "Bishop Thomas Kiely Gorman". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
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- 1892 births
- 1980 deaths
- 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
- Saint Patrick's Seminary and University alumni
- St. Mary's Seminary and University alumni
- Catholic University of America alumni
- Participants in the Second Vatican Council
- Roman Catholic bishops of Reno
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles
- Roman Catholic bishops of Dallas