Born May 19, 1950, in Anaconda,
Montana, George Leo Thomas was raised in Butte, the second oldest of five children
born to Mary Cronin Thomas and the late George Thomas.
He attended grade school at St. Ann’s parish school in Butte and graduated
from Christian Brothers High School, Butte, in 1968. The Thomas family moved
to Bellevue, Wash., that same year.
He received his B.A. degree in literature from Carroll College in 1972. He entered
St. Thomas Seminary, in Bothell, Wash., as a student for the Archdiocese of
Seattle, where he received a master of divinity degree. He was ordained to the
priesthood May 22, 1976.
Following ordination, Father Thomas served as associate pastor at Holy Family
Parish, Kirkland, and St. James Cathedral in Seattle. He was parish administrator
at Sacred Heart Parish in Bellevue, and served at Holy Innocents Mission in
Duvall.
Father Thomas was the Catholic chaplain to the King County Jail and the Seattle
City Jail for 12 years and served as chairman of the Board of Directors for
Catholic Community Services and chairman of the Archdiocesan Housing Authority
for 10 years. He also served as chaplain to the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred
Heart in Seattle and the Carmelite Community of Seattle.
In 1981 Father Thomas entered graduate school at the University of Washington
and was awarded a master's degree in counseling and community mental health
in 1983. In 1986 he earned a doctor of philosophy degree with an area of specialty
in Pacific Northwest mission history. Father Thomas’ dissertation, titled
“Catholics and the Missions of the Pacific Northwest,” received the
university’s Gordon C. Lee Award for the distinguished dissertation for
1986.
In 1987 Father Thomas was appointed chancellor and vicar general, positions
he held for 17 years. Following the death of Archbishop Thomas Murphy in 1997,
Father Thomas was elected administrator for the Archdiocese of Seattle until
the appointment of Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett, who re-appointed Father
Thomas as vicar general.
George Leo Thomas was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle by Pope John Paul
II on Nov. 19, 1999, and was ordained Bishop on Jan. 28, 2000. He continued
his service as Vicar General and as chairman of the Board of Directors for Catholic
Community Services and the Archdiocesan Housing Authority.
On March 23, 2004, he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Helena, and was
installed at the Cathedral of St. Helena on June 4, 2004.
As Bishop of Helena, Bishop Thomas is the Chancellor of Carroll College and
a member of the Board of Trustees. He serves on the boards of directors for
the Foundation for the Catholic Diocese of Helena, the Montana Catholic Conference,
Catholic Social Services of Montana, as well as the board of the Montana Association
of Churches.
Bishop Thomas serves on the board of Catholic Relief Services, the USCCB Committee
for the Protection of Children and Youth, the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for Native
American Catholics, and the USCCB Committee of the American College of Louvain.
The Diocese of Helena
was established on March 7, 1884, and initially included the entire state of
Montana. Its present boundaries were established on May 18, 1904, when the Diocese
of Great Falls (now Great Falls-Billings) was formed from its territory.
The diocese covers 51,922 square miles of western and north central Montana,
encompassing 21 counties and parts of two others.
The diocese’s 58 parishes and 38 missions are structured into six deaneries:
Bozeman, Butte, Conrad, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula. Its diocesan church
is St. Helena Cathedral, Helena, which was dedicated in 1914.
Click here to view a map of the diocese.
The nine bishops to serve
the Helena Diocese are:
Bishop John B. Brondel, 1884-1903
Bishop John P. Carroll, 1904-25
Bishop George J. Finnigan, CSC, 1927-32
Bishop Ralph L. Hayes, 1933-35
Bishop Joseph M. Gilmore, 1936-62
Bishop Raymond G. Hunthausen, 1962-75
Bishop Elden F. Curtiss, 1976-93
Bishop Alex J. Brunett, 1994-97
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, 1999-2003
• 51,922 square miles
• 59 parishes, 38 missions
• 19,300 registered
households
• 57,982 Catholics
registered in the parishes
• 87 priests:
• 77 diocesan priests
• 42 priests assigned in the diocese
(2 on leave)
• 28 priests on senior status
(4 remain assigned)
• 6 priests serving outside the diocese
• 3 priests from other dioceses serving here
• 6 Jesuit priests and 1 Missionary Priest of Africa serving in the diocese
• 14 men preparing
for priestly ordination:
• 12 seminarians
• 2 pre-seminary college students
• 31 permanent deacons
• 31 religious sisters
serving in the diocese
• 2 religious brothers
serving in the diocese
• 1,336 children enrolled
in diocesan schools
• 4,849 children and
youth enrolled in
religious education