Francis Joseph Kane (born October 30, 1942) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Kane served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

in Illinois from 2003 to 2018.

Biography

Early life and education

Born on October 30, 1942, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, Francis Kane attended Our Lady of Peace Elementary School and graduated from

Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was an American seminary preparatory school administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for young men considering the priesthood. Located in downtown Chicago at 103 East Chestnut Street, a ...

in Chicago in 1961. He then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Niles College in Chicago in 1963, and a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred ...

degree from

St. Mary of the Lake Seminary The University of Saint Mary of the Lake (USML) is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. It is the principal seminary and school of theology for the formation of priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois. It was ...

in Mundelein, Illinois, in 1969.

Ordination and ministry

Kane was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood by Cardinal

John Cody John Patrick Cody (December 24, 1907 – April 25, 1982) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. A native of St. Louis, he served as Bishop of Kansas City–Saint Joseph (1956–1961), Archbishop of New Orleans (1964� ...

at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary on May 14, 1969. He then served as

associate pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at St. John Fisher Parish in Chicago until 1975, and was also named associate director of the Center for Pastoral Ministry in 1973. Kane served as associate pastor at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish in Chicago from 1975 to 1979, and director of the Office for the Ministry of Peace and Justice (1979-1985) and director of the Office of Evangelization and Christian Life (1983-1993). Kane was director of

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

from 1982 to 1987. From 1993 to his appointment as auxiliary bishop in 2003, Kane served as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Joseph Parish in

Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The ...

. He also became

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of Deanery A in 1999, serving until 2003.

Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago

On January 24, 2003,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Kane as an auxiliary bishop of Chicago and titular bishop of Sault Sainte Marie. He was consecrated on March 19, 2003, by Cardinal

Francis George Francis Eugene George (January 16, 1937 – April 17, 2015) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the eighth Archbishop of Chicago in Illinois (1997–2014) and previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Yakima and ...

, with Bishops Raymond Goedert and Ricardo Urquidi serving as co-consecrators, at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. As an auxiliary bishop, Kane also served as

episcopal vicar Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

for Vicariate II and the cardinal's liaison for the Annual Catholic Appeal and for the Office for Lay Ecclesial Ministry. Kan was also a member of Aid for Women and the Parish Evaluation Project (PEP), and served on the board of directors of St. Joseph College Seminary in Chicago. Within the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

, Kane was a member of the Committee on Catholic Education and the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. He is a member of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...

and

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

. On January 16, 2014, Kane made a public apology to victims of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

by priests in the archdiocese. He said that the archdiocese had operated on the mistaken belief that abusive priests could be rehabilitated and safely returned to parish assignments with monitoring. He said:

We found out that isn't true, that was a mistake. We didn't realize the depth of this terrible, terrible sin and crime . . . child sex abuse.

On July 3, 2018,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted Kane's resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago after he'd reached the retirement age of 75.

References

External links