LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville’s Archbishop has submitted his resignation to Pope Francis.
Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz turns 75 on Aug. 18, and spokeswoman Cecelia Price tells WDRB that the resignation is protocol in the Code of Canon Law within the Roman Catholic Church. In the past, bishops had to retire at 75, but Pope Francis changed that rule in 2018. Now, bishops tender a resignation, but the Pope can decide whether it is accepted at the Vatican.
“A diocesan bishop…is requested to present his resignation from office to the Supreme Pontiff who will make provisions after he has examined all of the circumstances,” said Price in a statement.
Kurtz will retain the title of Archbishop even after leaving the Archdiocese, according to Price. It is customary for an Archbishop to stay “until a successor is appointed by the Holy Father,” she said. Any possible replacement appointed by Pope Francis could take months.
Born on Aug. 18, 1946, in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown on March 18, 1972. He served there for 27 years before becoming the Bishop of Knoxville in 1999.
Pope Benedict appointed Kurtz as the fourth Archbishop and ninth bishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville on June 12, 2007. He was installed as Archbishop of Louisville on Aug. 15, 2007.
Kurtz was diagnosed with prostate and bladder cancer in 2019 and underwent several rounds of treatment at Duke Cancer Center in North Carolina. Kurtz has been in remission since Jan. 2020.
The Archdiocese of Louisville was founded as the Diocese of Bardstown in 1808, transferred to Louisville in 1841, and elevated to Archdiocese in 1937. It is the oldest Roman Catholic Archdiocese west of the Appalachians. The Archdiocese covers 24 counties and with more than 200,000 Catholics.
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