The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix ::

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 dgree 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–present; Consecrated Life, 2000–2003; Administrative Committee, 2002-2003
2000–2003: Board of Directors, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

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