Archbishop Lucas, who will turn 60 on June 12, will succeed Archbishop Elden Curtiss, 76, who submitted his resignation for reasons of age. Archbishop Curtiss will act as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese until the July 22 installation.
George Lucas was born in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1949, the eldest son of George J. Lucas and Mary Catherine Kelly, now deceased.
He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1975, and named bishop of Springfield in 1999.
As a member of the U.S. episcopal conference, he holds appointments on the Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, Subcommittee on the Catechism, and Task Force for the 2010 Special Assembly.
The Omaha Archdiocese — one of three dioceses in Nebraska — serves 221,000 Catholics in Northeast region of the state. The archdiocese is composed of 148 parishes and missions, 2 Catholic universities, 58 elementary schools and 18 high schools.
