George Leo Thomas is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelateA prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Catholic Church who has served as
Bishop of HelenaThe Diocese of Helena is the Catholic diocese for western Montana. It was erected from the year-old Vicarate of Montana on March 7, 1884, while Montana was still a territory. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Portland, which encompasses Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.For its first...
since 2004.
Biography
George Thomas was born in
Anaconda, MontanaAnaconda, county seat of Anaconda City/Deer Lodge County, is located in mountainous southwestern Montana. The Continental Divide passes within 8 miles of the community with the local Pintler Mountain range reaching 10,379 feet...
, as the second of the five children of George and Mary (née Cronin) Thomas. Raised in
ButteButte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
, he graduated from
Butte Central Catholic High SchoolButte Central Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Butte, Montana. It is one of two high schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, the other being Loyola Sacred Heart in Missoula...
there in 1968, also when his family moved to
BellevueBellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, across Lake Washington from Seattle. Long known as a suburb or satellite city of Seattle, it is now categorized as an edge city or a boomburb. The population was 122,363 at the 2010 census.Downtown Bellevue is...
, Washington. Thomas studied at
Carroll CollegeCarroll College is a private Catholic liberal arts college in Helena, Montana, USA. Carroll College has earned national and regional awards for its academic programs. Carroll's colors are purple and gold...
in
HelenaHelena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
, from where he obtained his
Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in
literatureLiterature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
in 1972; and St. Thomas Seminary in
BothellBothell is a city located in King and Snohomish Counties in the state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 33,505 as of the 2010 census...
, earning his
master's in DivinityIn the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
.
OrdainedThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the
priesthoodThe ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by
Archbishop Raymond HunthausenRaymond Gerhardt Hunthausen is a retired American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Helena from 1962 to 1975 and as Archbishop of Seattle from 1975 to 1991.-Early life and education:...
on May 22, 1976, he then served served as associate
pastorA curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at a
KirklandKirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Seattle on the Eastside . The population was 48,787 at the 2010 census makes it the 9th largest city in King County and the 20th largest city in the state...
parishIn the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
and St. James Cathedral. He was also a parish administrator at Sacred Heart Church in Bellevue and
DuvallDuvall is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on SR 203, halfway between Monroe and Carnation. The population was 6,695 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.
Thomas did
chaplainTraditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
work for the King County Jail, Seattle City Jail, and
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred HeartThe Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic order, founded on 25 March 1900 in Germany by a Dutch MSC, Fr. Hubert Linckens. It is a member of the Chevalier Family....
in Seattle, and also served as chairman of the
Board of DirectorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
for
Catholic Community ServicesThe National Catholic Community Service was formed in the United States in 1940 and ceased operations in 1980. Its purpose was to serve the spiritual, social, educational, and recreational needs of Catholic military personnel and civilian defense workers and their families...
. After entering
graduate schoolA graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
at the
University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, he received a
master's degreeA master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in counseling and
communityThe term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
mental healthMental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
two years later in 1983. In 1986 he earned a
doctorate in philosophyDoctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
with specialization in
Pacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
mission historyThis timeline of Christian missions chronicles the global expansion of Christianity through a listing of the most important missionary outreach events.-Apostolic Age:.Earliest dates must all be considered approximate...
; his dissertation,
"Catholics and the Missions of the Pacific Northwest, was given the Gordon C. Lee Award. Thomas became
chancellorTwo quite distinct officials of some Christian churches have the title Chancellor.*In some churches, the Chancellor of a diocese is a lawyer who represents the church in legal matters....
and
vicar generalA vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
of SeattleThe Archdiocese of Seattle is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of Washington. Headquartered in Seattle, the archdiocese encompasses all counties in the state west of the Cascade Range. Its cathedral is St. James Cathedral, and its present archbishop is J...
in 1987, and its
Apostolic AdministratorAn apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...
following the death of Archbishop
Thomas MurphyThomas Joseph Murphy was an American bishop in the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Great Falls from 1978–1987, Coadjutor Archbishop of Seattle from 1987–1991, and Archbishop of Seattle from 1991 until his death....
in 1997.
On November 19, 1999, Thomas was appointed
Auxiliary BishopAn auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Seattle and
Titular BishopA titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of
Vagrauta by
Pope John Paul IIBlessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. He received his
episcopal consecrationIn the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on January 28, 2000 from Archbishop
Alexander BrunettAlexander Joseph Brunett is a retired American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Helena from 1994–1997 and as the immediate past Archbishop of Seattle from 1997–2010....
, with Bishops
William S. SkylstadWilliam Stephen Skylstad is an American Roman Catholic Bishop. He is Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane in Washington retiring June 30, 2010...
and
Carlos SevillaCarlos Arthur Sevilla, SJ is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the sixth and current Bishop of Yakima.-Biography:...
,
SJThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, serving as
co-consecratorsConsecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
.
Thomas was later named the tenth
Bishop of HelenaThe Diocese of Helena is the Catholic diocese for western Montana. It was erected from the year-old Vicarate of Montana on March 7, 1884, while Montana was still a territory. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Portland, which encompasses Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.For its first...
on March 23, 2004, being installed as such on June 4, 2004. As Bishop of Helena, he is also
ChancellorChancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...
of Carroll College and sits on its
Board of TrusteesTrustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
. He currently serves on the boards of directors for the Foundation for the Diocese of Helena, Montana Catholic Conference, Catholic Social Services of Montana, Montana Association of Churches, and
Catholic Relief ServicesCatholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the U.S. bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and...
, for which he serves as chair of the U.S. Operations Committee. Within the
United States Conference of Catholic BishopsThe United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops and United States Catholic Conference, it is composed of all active and retired members of the Catholic...
, Thomas is a member of the Board of Bishops for the American College of Louvain and
Ad hocAd hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
Committee for
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Catholics.
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