Thomas Joseph Murphy


Thomas Joseph Murphy was an American bishop in the Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Great Falls from 1978–1987, Coadjutor Archbishop of Seattle from 1987–1991, and Archbishop of Seattle from 1991 until his death.

Life

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Murphy attended Mundelein Seminary and was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago by Cardinal Samuel Stritch in 1958. In 1973, John Cardinal Cody, Archbishop of Chicago, appointed Father Murphy rector of the seminary.

Episcopal career

In 1978, he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings and was consecrated bishop later that year. In 1979, he addressed the National Catholic Education Association vocations to the priesthood and their on the importance for the local church.
On May 26, 1987, Murphy was appointed coadjutor archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle with immediate right of succession to Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen. Murphy's appointment came after a series of controversies surrounding Hunthausen which included an apostolic visitation to the archdiocese ordered by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 1985, the Vatican appointed Donald Wuerl as auxiliary bishop of Seattle, with authority to overrule Archbishop Hunthausen in several important areas. The Vatican eventually removed Wuerl from his post and installed Murphy as a coadjutor with less immediate authority.
Murphy became Archbishop of Seattle upon Hunthausen's retirement on August 21, 1991. As archbishop, he traveled extensively to parishes around the archdiocese and was an advocate for the poor and disenfranchised in the archdiocese. He oversaw an extensive renovation of St. James Cathedral, which was completed in 1994. Under Murphy's administration the archdiocese saw an increase in registered Catholics, and an increase in outreach and ministries for women, various ethnic groups, and homosexuals.

Death and legacy

Archbishop Murphy was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in December 1996 and had been undergoing chemotherapy when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died at Providence Medical Center on June 26, 1997. He is interred in the Episcopal Crypt beneath the main altar of St. James Cathedral in Seattle.
In 1999, Holy Cross High School, a Catholic school in Everett, Washington, was renamed Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy High School in his honor. In 2000, a new organ built in the apse of St. James Cathedral was named the Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Millennium Organ.
The "Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Memorial Parish Stewardship Award" is named in his honor.