Thomas Anthony Daly

Thomas Anthony Daly (born April 30, 1960) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Spokane in Washington State since May 20, 2015. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of San José in California from 2011 to 2015.

Biography Early life Thomas Daly was born on April 30, 1960, in San Francisco, California. After graduating from high school, Daly entered the University of San Francisco, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in 1982.

Having decided to become a priest, Daly enrolled in St. Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California. In 1987, he received a Master of Divinity degree from St. Patrick. The archdiocese assigned Daly as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Novato, California, and as teacher and campus minister at Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, California.

Daly left Our Lady of Loretto in 1992, but continued working at Marin High School for the next 11 years. Daly left Our Lady in 1992, Daly began serving in 1995 as part-time chaplain to the San Francisco Police Department and as pastor of Saint Cecilia Parish in San Francisco.

Auxiliary Bishop of San Jose Daly was named auxiliary bishop of San Jose and titular bishop of Tabalta by Pope Benedict XVI on March 16, 2011.

On September 16, 2013, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone named Daly as the interim president/rector of the archdiocesan seminary. Daly was the first rector of the seminary who did not belong to Society of St. Sulpice.

Bishop of Spokane On March 12, 2015, Daly was appointed by Pope Francis as bishop of Spokane. Daly was installed on May 20, 2015.

Daly has presided over a rapid increase in the number of diocesan seminarians.

In October 2025, Daly suspended Reverend Miguel Mejia, a priest of the diocese, from active ministry after the latter was accused of mishandling funds and engaging in sexual misconduct towards six women. Daly faced criticism, especially from Mejia's parishioners, for the unusual publicity he had given to the suspension and the evidence against Mejia.

Viewpoints Abortion rights On February 4, 2019, Daly stated that American Catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be denied communion in the diocese until they are "reconciled to Christ and the Church".

Immigration On January 30, 2017, Daly criticized the Trump administration ban on the admission of refugees from the Syrian Civil War into the United States.

LGBTQ+ In a statement on February 19, 2020, Daly wrote that he was concerned by the Gonzaga University School of Law's establishment of an LGBTQ+ Rights Clinic without first consulting him. The clinic's stated aims are: "...to advance the equal rights and dignity of individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ through education, programming, advocacy, research, and legal representation." In his statement, Daly speculated that the clinic might bring the law school "into conflict with the religious freedom of Christian individuals and organizations," and expressed fear that it "will be actively promoting, in the legal arena and on campus, values that are contrary to the Catholic faith and Natural Law."

Daly responded to the video by meeting with McCann, and subsequently posting a statement explaining his disapproval of McCann's words. Daly also condemned the violence at some of the George Floyd protests and said that "BLM is in conflict with Church teaching regarding marriage, family and the sanctity of life." In the same statement, Daly decried the "horrific and unjustified" murder of George Floyd and outlined steps to be taken in conjunction with Catholic Charities towards addressing racism.