Thomas Andrew Donnellan

Thomas Andrew Donnellan (January 24, 1914 – October 15, 1987) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in New York State from 1964 to 1968, and as the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta in Georgia from 1968 until his death in 1987.

Biography Early life

The eldest of two children, Thomas Donnellan was born on January 24, 1914, in Bronx, New York, to Andrew and Margaret (née Egan) Donnellan. After graduating from Regis High School in the Bronx in 1931, Donnellan entered St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, in 1933.

Priesthood Donnellan was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan by Archbishop Francis Spellman on June 3, 1939. In 1962, Donnellan became the rector of St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York.

In June 1954, Pope Pius XII named Donnellan as papal chamberlain and in 1958 as domestic prelate. In 1962, Pope John XXIII elevated Donnellan to the rank of prothonotary apostolic.

Bishop of Ogdensburg On February 28, 1964, Pope Paul VI appointed Donnellan as bishop of Ogdensburg. He was consecrated on April 9, 1964, by Cardinal Francis Spellman in St. Patrick's Cathedral and installed in Ogdensburg, New York, on April 13.

Archbishop of Atlanta

On May 29, 1968, following the death of Archbishop Paul Hallinan, Donnellan was appointed by Paul VI as the second archbishop of Atlanta; he was installed in Atlanta on July 16, 1968. During his 19-year tenure, Donnellan guided the archdiocese through extensive growth, with the number of Catholics in North Georgia nearly tripling from 50,000 in 1968 to over 133,000.

In 1970, Donnellan barred new enrollments in the archdiocese's Catholic schools as a gesture of support to the racial integration of local public school systems.

Death and legacy In May 1987, Donnellan suffered a stroke.

Donnellan is buried at Arlington Cemetery in Sandy Springs, Georgia. The Archbishop Donnellan School in Atlanta, now known as Holy Spirit Preparatory School, opened in 1996.

Viewpoints

Poverty In 1984, Donnellan was a co-author of Economic Justice For All: Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy, presented at a meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The document urged a moral perspective in viewing the economy from the vantage point of the nation's poor.