Gerald Frederick Kicanas

infobox bishopstyles
name=Gerald Kicanas
dipstyle=The Most Reverend
offstyle=Your Excellency
relstyle=Monsignor
deathstyle=not applicable |

Gerald Frederick Kicanas (born August 18, 1941) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the seventh and current Bishop of Tucson.

Biography

Gerald Kicanas was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Frederick and Eva Kicanas, his parents being of Lebanese heritage. He attended Immaculate Heart Elementary School and Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, and the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, from where he obtained his licentiate in Sacred Theology. He was ordained to the priesthood on April 27, 1967, and then earned a PhD in Educational Psychology and an MEd in Guidance and Counseling from Loyola University in Chicago.

After working as an associate pastor until 1978, Kicanas held various offices within the archdiocesan seminary for over twenty-five years. After serving as rector, principal, and Dean of Formation at Quigley Preparatory Seminary South, he was appointed rector of Mundelein Seminary at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 1984. Whilst rector, he concurrently served as a lecturer in Community and Organization Development at Loyola University.

On January 24, 1995, Kicanas was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago and Titular Bishop of "Bela" by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 20 from Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, with Bishop Alfred Abramowicz and Timothy Lyne serving as co-consecrators. Kicanas selected as his episcopal motto: "La Justicia Promueve La Paz", meaning "Justice begets peace" ( [http://www.drbo.org/chapter/27032.htm Isaiah 32:17] ).

During his tenure as an auxiliary, he served as Episcopal Vicar for Vicariate I in the Archdiocese, which includes Lake and Cook Counties. He also became highly involved with vocations, the permanent diaconate, and encouragement of lay ministry.

Kicanas was named Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson, Arizona on October 30, 2001, being formally installed as such on January 15, 2002. He later succeeded Manuel Moreno as the seventh Bishop of Tucson on March 7, 2003. Kicanas has been praised for his handling of the sexual abuse crisis in his diocese, which had declared bankruptcy due to settlement costs [Whispers in the Loggia. [http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2007/11/cardinal-francis-george-omi-of-chicago.html Chicago on Top: Windy City Sweeps Bishops' Posts] November 13, 2007] .

On November 13, 2007, he was elected Vice-President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, beating Archbishop Timothy Dolan by a margin of twenty-two votes. On February 28, 2008, Kicanas was chosen by the USCCB, and confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI, to become a member of the American delegation to the twelfth World Synod of Bishops, which is scheduled to be held in the Vatican from October 5 to October 26 of this year [USCCB Office of Media Relations. [http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2008/08-025.shtml Vatican Appoints U.S. Delegates To October Synod On Scripture ] February 28, 2008] .

References

External links

* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bkicanas.html Catholic-Hierarchy]
* [http://www.diocesetucson.org/BishopKicanas.html Diocese of Tucson]
* [http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2001/01-185.shtml USCCB Office of Media Relations]