Pope Francis has named Msgr. Gregory Kelly, a priest of the Diocese of Dallas, Texas, as an auxiliary bishop of the diocese. Msgr. Kelly, 59, currently serves as vicar for clergy.
The appointment was publicized in Washington today by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Gregory Kelly was born February 15, 1956, in Le Mars, Iowa. He attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, before entering the seminary.
Msgr. Kelly pursued seminary studies at Holy Trinity Seminary, Irving, from 1976-1982. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy (1978), and a master’s degree in theology (1982) from the University of Dallas.
He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Dallas on May 5, 1982. Pope Benedict XVI named him monsignor in 2013.
Assignments after ordination included: assistant pastor, All Saints Church, 1982-1986; chaplain, University of Dallas, 1986-1996; pastor, St. Gabriel Church, 1996-2008; vicar for clergy for the diocese, 2008-present. He has also served in the diocese of Dallas as vocation director, member of the presbyteral council, member of the college of consultors, and interim rector at Holy Trinity seminary.
The Diocese of Dallas comprises 7,523 square miles in the state of Texas. It has a total population of 3,975,996 people of which 1,258,656, or 32%, are Catholic. The bishop of Dallas since 2007 is Bishop Kevin Farrell.
