2016 Statements, Messages, and Letters of USCCB President Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz
Invitation To Pray A Rosary For Lives Lost In Italian Earthquakes (August 24, 2016)
USCCB President Calls For Emergency Collection To Assist Louisiana Flood Victims (August 24, 2016)
USCCB President Offers Prayers, Support After Church Attack, Killing Of Priest In France (July 26, 2016)
A Statement From Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, USCCB President (July 23, 2016)
USCCB President Calls for National Day of Prayer and Appoints Special Task Force to Promote Peace and Unity (July 21, 2016)
USCCB President Calls For Dialogue, Peace In The Midst of Violence (July 18, 2016)
USCCB President Sends Prayers And Support To People of France (July 15, 2016)
USCCB President Calls For Prayers, Reflection, Civility and Dialogue (July 8, 2016)
USCCB President Responds To Istanbul Attacks (June 29, 2016)
Archbishop Kurtz Sends Prayers And Support To People And Bishop Of West Virginia (June 27, 2016)
USCCB President Archbishop Kurtz Sends Letter To Ecumenical Patriarch On Eve Of Historic Council (June 17, 2016)
USCCB President Reacts To Supreme Court HHS Mandate Decision (May 16, 2016)
Archbishop Kurtz Welcomes Appointment Of Archbishop Pierre As Apostolic Nuncio To The United States (April 12, 2016)
Pope Francis's Love Letter Invites Deeper Reflection On The Beauty Of Marriage And Christ's Teaching, USCCB President Says (April 8, 2016)
USCCB President Sends Prayers And Support To President Of Catholic Bishops' Conference Of Pakistan (March 28, 2016)
Archbishop Kurtz Lauds 'Devout Believer, Media Pioneer' Mother Angelica (March 28, 2016)
Archbishop Kurtz Sends Prayers And Support To Archbishop Of Mechelen-Brussel (March 22, 2016)
USCCB President Urges Support For Petition To Stop Christian Genocide (March 16, 2016)
USCCB President Sends Message To Faithful On Pope Francis' Visit To Mexico (February 15, 2016)About USCCB President Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. as the fourth Archbishop and ninth bishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville on June 12, 2007. He was installed as Archbishop of Louisville on August 15, 2007. Before coming to Louisville, Archbishop Kurtz served as Bishop of Knoxville from 1999 to 2007.
Born on August 18, 1946 in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz earned bachelor (1968) and master of divinity (1972) degrees from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and a master's degree in social work from the Marywood School of Social Work in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1976. Archbishop Kurtz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown on March 18, 1972.
Before becoming Bishop of Knoxville, Archbishop Kurtz served for 27 years in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in charge of social services, diocesan administration, and parish ministry. He was pastor of Notre Dame of Bethlehem Parish in Bethlehem, PA, from 1996 to 1999, and St. Mary Parish in Catasauqua, PA from 1988 to 1996, associate director and later executive director of the Catholic Social Agency and Family Life Bureau from 1976 to 1994, and diocesan coordinator for health affairs from 1991 to 1998. He also served in formation at St. Pius X Seminary, as an instructor at Mary Immaculate Seminary, and as the assistant director and promoter of vocations for the Diocese of Allentown. Archbishop Kurtz received the distinguished title of monsignor in 1986.
Archbishop Kurtz has served on numerous boards, including service on the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference from 1977 to 1998, as the president of the board of directors of the Catholic Social Agency from 1988 to 1999, and in Knoxville, as a member of the Association of Christian Denominational Leaders from 2000 to 2007. He was a member of the 2002 class of Leadership Knoxville, and he served as Vice President of the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2010 to 2013. Archbishop Kurtz served on the board of Leadership Louisville from 2008 to 2014 and on the board of St. Charles Seminary (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) from 2007 to 2014.
Elected President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on November 12, 2013, Archbishop Kurtz serves on the executive and administrative committees of that body. He is the vice chancellor of the board of the Catholic Extension Society. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University of America and on the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Bioethics Center. He also serves on the Advisory Board to the Cause for Archbishop Fulton Sheen's beatification. In February of 2014, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Kurtz to the Holy See's Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
Archbishop Kurtz is the son of the (late) George and Stella (Zmijewski) Kurtz and the brother of (the late) Rosemarie Quinn, Patricia Cameli, Theresa Bakos, and (the late) George S. Kurtz.
The oldest Roman Catholic Archdiocese west of the Appalachians, the Archdiocese of Louisville was founded as the Diocese of Bardstown in 1808, transferred to Louisville in 1841, and elevated to Archdiocese in 1937. The Archdiocese covers 24 counties and hosts a Catholic population of more than 200,000 individuals.