George Lucas was born in on June 12, 1949, in St. Louis, Missouri,[2] as the eldest of the four children of George and Mary (née Kelly) Lucas; he has one sister, Catherine, and two brothers, James and John.[3] He attended St. Louis Preparatory Seminary South in Florissant, Missouri, from 1963 to 1967. He studied at Cardinal Glennon College in Shrewsbury, Missouri, obtaining his Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1971. Lucas then studied theology at Kenrick Seminary in Shrewsbury from 1971 to 1975.[2]
While part-time associate pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in St. Louis (1981–1984) and of Ascension Parish in Normandy, Missouri, (1984–1986), Lucas furthered his studies at St. Louis University from 1982 to 1986, earning his Master's degree in history. In 1981, he became a professor, then one year later vice-principal of St. Louis Preparatory Seminary North in Florissant, Missouri, serving there in both roles until the seminary closed in 1987. (1981–1987).[2]
Lucas was part-time associate pastor at St. Ann Parish in Normandy (1986–1989) and St. Peter Parish in Kirkwood, Missouri (1989–1990). In 1987, he began teaching at what was now St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in Shrewsbury, becoming its dean of students that same year.[2]
From 1990 to 1994, Lucas served as chancellor and private secretary to Archbishop John May.[2] Lucas was raised by the Vatican to the rank of honorary prelate on September 5, 1994, and appointed by the archbishop as vicar general of St. Louis for a year before becoming rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in 1995. He was a member of the Priests' Personnel Board of St. Louis from 1987 to 1990, being named its secretary in 1988. He also sat on the editorial board of the archdiocesannewspaperThe St. Louis Review (1988–1999), the board of directors (1990–1995), and board of trustees (1990–1999) of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, and the Council of Priests of St. Louis (1994–1999).
In 2001, Lucas established a diaconate formation program for the diocese. The five-year program prepared men to become deacons was run by the diocesan Office for the Diaconate, in cooperation with Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. On June 24, 2007, Lucas ordained the first class of eighteen men.[4] In January 2002, Lucas launched an endowment/capital campaign called Harvest of Thanks, Springtime of Hope, the first campaign of its kind in the history of the diocese. The program raised over $22.1 million, used to support Catholic education, Catholic Charities, the formation of seminarians and deacon candidates, and the care of retired priests.[4]
In a video interview taped in 2004, Thomas Munoz accused Lucas, when he was a priest, of having sex with several priests and seminarians in a so-called orgy. Lucas denied all the allegations. The Diocese of Springfield investigated the allegations and in 2006 declared them to be totally false.[5] The same allegations were raised again in 2021 in a lawsuit by Anthony J. Gorgia, a former seminarian, against the Pontifical North American College in Rome and the Archdiocese of New York.[5]
In July 2004, Lucas approved a $1.2 million settlement to eight men who had been sexually abused as minors by Walter Weerts, a diocese priest at Sacred Heart Parish in Villa Grove, Illinois between 1973 and 1980. Convicted of sexual abuse crimes in 1986, Weerts spent three years in prison and was removed from the priesthood in March 1989.[6]
In October 2010, Lucas suppressed Intercessors of the Lamb, a hermit religious community, removing it from any association with the Catholic Church. Intercessors was founded in 1980 near Omaha, Nebraska, by Nadine Mae Brown, a member of the Sisters of the Cross. In early 2010, Brown had requested that Lucas elevate Intercessors to the status of a religious institute. As part of the approval process, Lucas sent James Conn, a canon lawyer, on a canonical visitation to the community. In his report to Lucas, Conn noted many serious discrepancies and issues in the Intercessors' current operation. Luca denied the application to become a religious institute was denied and sent the community a list of mandatory reforms to continue as a Catholic organization. Brown resigned from the community and the Intercessors leadership refused to enact the reforms. Lucas then stripped the Intercessors from the church. The community dissolved soon after.[9][10]
At the end of the 2010s, Lucas signed norms stronger than the 2002 Essential Norms (so called Zero Tolerance norms related to sexual abuse of parishioners). In 2018, the archdiocese published a list of 38 priests and deacons with credible claims of sexual abuse against minors.[11] In August 2020, Lucas and the archdiocese were sued for $2.1 million by Andrew Syring, a priest in the archdiocese. He claimed defamation of character by being removed from public ministry and being placed on a list of accused priests. Syring said he was accused of sexual abuse in 2013, but had been cleared by an archdiocesan investigation and returned to ministry. In 2018, Lucas removed him again from ministry, saying that Syring's record was clean, but the standards had changed.[12]
In October 2018, Lucas removed Francis Nigli, pastor of St. Wenceslas Parish in Omaha, from public ministry due to inappropriate sexual advances to an adult. A 21-year-old man had accused Nigli of kissing and groping him on church grounds. In 2013, Nigli had been sent away for mental health treatment after making advances to an 18-year-old man.[13]
In July 2024, Lucas was accused of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of St. Louis dating back to 1988, against a student at St. Louis Preparatory Seminary. Lucas denied the accusation.[14] On July 31, 2024, Lucas announced that he gave his resignation to Pope Francis on June 12, 2024, as normally required when a bishop turns 75 years old, insisted he stay on until a successor is named.[15]
Apostolic Administrator of Lincoln
Pope Francis appointed Lucas to also serve as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Lincoln on December 13, 2019, when Bishop James D. Conley took a temporary leave of absence. Lucas' term as apostolic administrator ended when Conley returned to active ministry on November 13, 2020.[1]
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Warren, and Washington. It is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province containing three suffragan sees: Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, the Diocese of Jefferson City, and the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph. It is led by Archbishop, Mitchell Thomas Rozanski, formerly the Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts. The archdiocesan cathedral is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.
The Diocese of Joliet in Illinois is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in Illinois in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Chicago.
The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in south central Illinois in the United States. The mother church is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield.
The Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northwestern Missouri in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis.
Robert William Finn is an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph from 2005 until his forced resignation in 2015.
Jerome Edward Listecki is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has served as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since 2010.
The Archdiocese of Omaha is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern Nebraska in the United States. Its current archbishop, George Joseph Lucas, was installed in Omaha on July 22, 2009.
The Diocese of Lincoln is a Latin Church diocese in Nebraska, United States, and comprises the majority of the eastern and central portions of the state south of the Platte River. It is a suffragan see to the archdiocese of Omaha. The episcopal see is in Lincoln, Nebraska. Bishop James D. Conley is the current ordinary of the Diocese. The Cathedral of the Risen Christ is the cathedral parish of the diocese.
The Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southern Missouri in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis.
Elden Francis Curtiss is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1976 to 1993, and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha in Nebraska from 1993 to 2009.
Robert James Carlson is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the ninth archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis in Missouri from 2009 to 2020.
Joseph Fred Naumann is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas since 2004. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis from 1997 to 2004.
Kenrick–Glennon Seminary is a Catholic seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri that is operated by the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Founded in 1818, the seminary is named for Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick and Cardinal John J. Glennon, two former archbishops of Saint Louis.
John Raymond Gaydos is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Jefferson City in Missouri from 1997 to 2017.
Richard Frank Stika is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville in Tennessee from 2009.
John Joseph Leibrecht is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri from 1984 to 2008.
Mitchell Thomas Rozanski is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of St. Louis since 2020. He previously served as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts from 2014 to 2020 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore from 2004 to 2014.
John Robert Gorman is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Gorman served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois from 1988 to 2003. During his tenure as auxiliary bishop, Gorman was instrumental in the creation of the first internal review panel for sexual abuse allegations in an American archdiocese.
Carl Alan Kemme is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Since 2014, he has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Wichita in Kansas.
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