New Auxiliary Bishop For Diocese Of Dallas

Washington, D.C. (USCCB)—Pope Francis has named Monsignor Gregory Kelly, a priest of the Diocese of Dallas as an auxiliary bishop of the diocese. Bishop-elect Kelly 59, currently serves as Vicar for Clergy.

The appointment was publicized Dec. 16 in Washington by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States. Bishop-elect Kelly will be ordained as bishop on Thursday, Feb. 11 during a 2:00pm Mass at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, 2215 Ross Avenue in downtown Dallas by Bishop Kevin J. Farrell.

Gregory Kelly was born Feb. 15, 1956 in Le Mars, Iowa. He attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., before entering the seminary.

Bishop-elect Kelly pursued seminary studies at Holy Trinity Seminary, Irving, from 1976 to 1982. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy (1978), and a master’s degree in theology (1982) from the University of Dallas.

He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Dallas on May 5, 1982. Pope Benedict XVI named him a Monsignor in 2013.

Assignments after ordination included Chaplain, University of Dallas, 1986-1996 and Vicar for Clergy for the diocese, 2008-present. Bishop-elect Kelly has also served in the Diocese of Dallas as vocation director, member of the Presbyteral Council, member of the College of Consultors and Interim Rector at Holy Trinity Seminary.

The Diocese of Dallas comprises 7,523 square miles. It has a total population of 3,975,996 people of which 1,258,656, or 32%, are Catholic.