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Highlights in the life of Bishop Olmsted
Since 1974, Bishop Thomas James Olmsted has been a member of the Jesus Caritas fraternity of priests, and thus has been deeply influenced by the witness and wisdom of Charles de Foucauld and by the prayers and encouragement of many brother priests.
For 16 years, Bishop Olmsted lived in Rome, Italy, where he obtained a master’s degree in theology, a doctorate in Canon Law, and worked more than nine years in the Secretariat of State of the Holy See. During the nine years of serving in the Holy See, he resided at the Pontifical North American College and assisted seminarians with spiritual direction.
Having been reared on a family farm on the Kansas-Nebraska border, he attended a single-room grade school near Oketo, Kan., and a small rural high school in Summerfield, Kan. His first contact with Catholic schools came when he entered St. Thomas Seminary College in Denver, Colo., from which he graduated in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
- Born: January 21, 1947
- Ordination to the priesthood: July 2, 1973
- Ordained a bishop: April 20, 1999.
- 1973–1976: First assignment as a priest: associate pastor, Cathedral of the Risen Christ, Lincoln, Nebraska
- 1976–1979: Doctoral Studies at the Gregorian University, Rome
- 1979–1988: Assistant at the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, and assistant spiritual director at Pontifical North American College, Rome
- 1989–1993: Pastor, St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Seward, Nebraska
- 1993–1997: Dean of Personal Formation at the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio
- 1997–1999: Rector/President of the Pontifical College Josephinum
- 1999–2001: Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas
- 2001–2003: Bishop of the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committees: Priestly Formation, 1999–2007; Consecrated Life, 2000–2003; Administrative Committee, 2002-2003
- 2000–2003: Board of Directors, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
- 2003 - present: Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, AZ
- 2005-2007: Chair of USCCB Committee on Priestly Formation
- 2005-2008: Member, USCCB National Advisory Council
- 2008-2009: Apostolic Administrator of Diocese of Gallup
- 2008-2011: Member, USCCB Committee on Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Affairs
- 2009-Present: Member, Catholic Association of Latino Leaders
- 2010-Present: Member, USCCB Missions Committee