Thomas Andrew Donnellan
Archbishop of Atlanta
SeeArchdiocese of Atlanta
InstalledJuly 16, 1968
Term endedOctober 15, 1987
PredecessorPaul John Hallinan
SuccessorEugene Antonio Marino
Other post(s)Bishop of Ogdensburg (1964–1968)
Orders
OrdinationJune 3, 1939
by Francis Spellman
ConsecrationApril 9, 1964
by Francis Spellman
Personal details
Born(1914-01-24)January 24, 1914
DiedOctober 15, 1987(1987-10-15) (aged 73)
Atlanta, Georgia, US
EducationSt. Joseph's Seminary
The Catholic University of America

Thomas Andrew Donnellan (January 24, 1914 October 15, 1987) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in New York from 1964 to 1968, and as the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta in Georgia from 1968 until his death in 1987.

Biography

Early life and ministry

The eldest of two children, Thomas Donnellan was born on January 24, 1914, in Bronx, New York, to Andrew and Margaret (née Egan) Donnellan. After graduating from Regis High School in the Bronx in 1931, Donnellan entered St. Joseph's Seminary in 1933.

Donnellan was ordained to the priesthood by then-Archbishop Francis Spellman on June 3, 1939. In 1942, Donnellan received a doctorate in Canon Law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Upon graduation, Donnellan was appointed as assistant pastor of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, eventually becoming Cardinal Spellman's secretary in 1954. In 1962, Donnellan became the rector of St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York.

In June 1954, Pope Pius XII named Donnellan as papal chamberlain in March 1958 and later to domestic prelate. In December 1962, Pope John XXIII elevated Donnellan to the rank of prothonotary apostolic.

Bishop of Ogdensburg

On February 28,1964, Pope Paul VI appointed Donnellan as bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg. He was consecrated on April 9, 1964, by Cardinal Francis Spellman in St. Patrick's Cathedral, and installed on April 13.[1][2]

Archbishop of Atlanta

Styles of
Thomas Andrew Donnellan
Reference styleThe Most Reverend
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleArchbishop
Posthumous stylenot applicable

On May 29, 1968, following the death of Archbishop Paul Hallinan, Bishop Donnellan was appointed by Paul VI as the second archbishop of Atlanta; he was installed on July 16, 1968.. During his 19-year tenure, Donnellan guided the archdiocese through extensive growth, with the number of Catholics in North Georgia nearly tripling from 50,000 in 1968 to over 133,000.

With his tenure as head of a Southern archdiocese beginning in the wake of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., Donnellan dealt with many issues regarding the civil rights movement In January 1970, he barred new enrollments in the archdiocese's Catholic schools as a gesture of support to the integration of local public school systems.

In 1984, Donnellan was one of the co-authors of Economic Justice For All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy, which was unveiled at a meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The document urged a moral perspective in viewing the economy from the vantage point of the nation's poor.[3]

Death and legacy

In May 1987, Donnellan suffered a stroke. Thomas Donnellan died on October 15, 1987, in Talantia. His funeral was held at the archdiocese's mother church, Cathedral of Christ the King, and was attended by over 1,000 mourners, with then-Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in the U.S. Archbishop Pio Laghi as principal celebrant.[4]

Archbishop Donnellan is buried at Arlington Cemetery in Sandy Springs, Georgia. The Archbishop Donnellan School opened in 1996.[5] It is now known as Holy Spirit Preparatory School.

See also

Footnotes

  1. "Archbishop's Biography", Georgia Bulletin, July 16, 1968.
  2. "Archbishop Thomas Andrew Donnellan [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
  3. "Archbishop Guided Extraordinary Church Growth", Georgia Bulletin, October 22, 1987
  4. "Archbishop Thomas A Donnellan -- 1914 - 1987", Georgia Bulletin, October 22, 1987
  5. "The Archbishop Donnellan School". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. 1996-10-29. Archived from the original on 1996-10-29. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.