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Thomas Kiely Gorman

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The Most Reverend

Thomas Kiely Gorman
Bishop of Dallas
Church
ProvinceSan Antonio
DioceseDallas
InstalledAugust 19, 1954
RetiredAugust 22, 1969
PredecessorJoseph Patrick Lynch
SuccessorThomas Ambrose Tschoepe
Other post(s)
Previous post(s)
Orders
OrdinationJune 23, 1917
ConsecrationJuly 22, 1931
by John Joseph Cantwell
Personal details
Born(1892-08-30)August 30, 1892
Pasadena, California, US
DiedAugust 16, 1980(1980-08-16) (aged 87)
Dallas, Texas, US
Education
Ordination history
History
Priestly ordination
Ordained byDaniel Francis Feehan
DateJune 23, 1917
Episcopal consecration
Principal consecratorJohn Joseph Cantwell
Co-consecrators
DateJuly 22, 1931
PlaceLos Angeles
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Thomas Kiely Gorman as principal consecrator
Lawrence Michael De Falco1963
Thomas Ambrose Tschoepe1966
John Joseph Cassata1968
Source(s):

Thomas Kiely Gorman (August 30, 1892 – August 16, 1980) was an American prelate of the 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.

Early life

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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

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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 Catholic 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.[3]

Bishop of Reno

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On April 24, 1931, Gorman was appointed the first bishop of the new Diocese of Reno by Pope Pius XI.[4] He received his episcopal consecration on July 22, 1931, in Los Angeles,[5] from Archbishop John Cantwell, with Bishops John Mitty and Robert Armstrong serving as co-consecrators.[1] The new diocese was erected and Gorman installed as bishop on August 19, 1931, at Saint Thomas Aquinas Cathedral in Reno, Nevada.[2]

Under Gorman, the diocese opened soup kitchens and homeless shelters in Reno in the 1930s as a response to the Great Depression.[6] During World War II, he created USO centers for soldiers on leave, African-American wartime workers and residents in Boulder City, Nevada.[6]

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Dallas

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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.[3] John F. Kennedy, the first 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.[4] His decision met widespread opposition, but he refused to reverse it.[4]

Retirement and legacy

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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.[1]

Thomas Gorman died in Dallas on August 16, 1980, at age 87.[1][3] Bishop Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School in Tyler, Texas, is named for him.

Published works

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  • Gorman, Thomas K. (1925). America and Belgium, a Study of the Influence of the United States Upon the Belgian Revolution of 1789–90. London: T. Fisher Unwin, Ltd., Adelphi Terrace.[5]
  • Gorman, Most Rev. Thomas K. (1935). Seventy-Five Years of Catholic Life in Nevada. Reno, Nev.: Journal Press.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Bishop Thomas Kiely Gorman". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. February 25, 2024. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Nevada Historical Records Survey Project 1939, p. 6.
  3. ^ a b c "Thomas Gorman Dead; Retired Bishop of Dallas". The New York Times. August 17, 1980. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "A Punt on the Five-Yard Line". TIME Magazine. June 16, 1967. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Nevada Historical Records Survey Project 1939, p. 9.
  6. ^ a b Simich, Jerry L.; Wright, Thomas C. (March 15, 2010). More Peoples of Las Vegas: One City, Many Faces. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0-87417-818-0.
  7. ^ Nevada Historical Records Survey Project 1939, p. 44.

Sources

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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Dallas
1954–1969 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
None
 Bishop of Reno
1931–1952 		Succeeded by
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