Thomas Wenski

Thomas Gerard Wenski (born October 18, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Miami since 2010. He previously served as Bishop of Orlando from 2004 to 2010, coadjutor bishop of Orlando from 2003 to 2004, and as Auxiliary Bishop of Miami from 1997 to 2003.

Early life and education Wenski was born on October 18, 1950, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Chester and Louise (née Zawacki) Wenski. His father was born in Poland with the last name "Wiśniewski", and came to the United States with his parents in 1910 at age 2. The family eventually adopted the Anglicized version, "Wenski". He decided to become a priest in the third grade, later recalling, "I never imagined myself as anything else; it was what God wanted me to do, although I sometimes vacillated on whether I wanted to do it." At age 13, he entered Saint John Vianney Seminary in Miami. During his twelve years at the seminary, he was a self-described "very liberal seminarian," questioning Catholic teaching on clerical celibacy and the ordination of women.

Wenski then began his studies in philosophy and theology at St. Vincent de Paul Minor Seminary in Boynton Beach. He earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree (1972) and a Master of Divinity degree (1975). and took summer courses at the Catholic University of Lublin in Lublin, Poland. His first assignment was as an associate pastor at Corpus Christi Parish in Miami, where he remained for three years. Divine Mercy in Fort Lauderdale, and St. Joseph in Pompano Beach.

Wenski celebrated weekly Mass for shut-ins in English at WPLG, the local ABC affiliate, from 1992 to 1997, and directed the Ministry to Non-Hispanic Ethnic Groups. In January 1996, Wenski was named director of the archdiocesan Catholic Charities. As an auxiliary bishop, he served as episcopal vicar for Broward and Monroe Counties. and of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration (2001–2004). He also served on the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust and the Coordinating Council of Broward, and was appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Council on Homelessness, in 2001, and the Task Force on Haiti in 2004.

Wenski convoked the first synod for the diocese in 2004.

In October 2007, Wenski was selected to serve on the board of directors of the Florida Specialty Crop Foundation, a non-profit public charity that assists specialty crop producers and their stakeholders. In March 2009, he joined the conservative Catholic Leadership Institute's national advisory board for their "Good Leaders, Good Shepherds" program. At the Mass, he denounced Obama for his "rather extremist views on abortion" and said that Notre Dame's "actions suggest that, unlike a Carrie Prejean, it lacks the courage of its convictions."

In June 2009, Wenski was elected to a four-year term on the board of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Committee for International Justice and Peace, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

During his tenure, Wenski created six new parishes and two missions. His capital and endowment campaign raised $100 million. He petitioned and was granted that two diocesan churches be raised to the status of minor basilicas. He started the Spanish language radio station, Buena Nueva FM. along with the Spanish language newspaper, El Clarin.

Archbishop of Miami On April 20, 2010, Wenski was appointed the fourth Archbishop of Miami by Pope Benedict XVI. Following his appointment, he said he was "humbled by the Holy Father's confidence in me and aware of my own limitations and shortcomings..." He succeeded Archbishop Favalora. He became the first native of the archdiocese to become its archbishop. Wenski has created the annual Archbishop's Motorcycle Ride, in part due to his enjoying of motorcycles, to raise money for St. Luke's Patient Addiction Recovery Center.

In June 2015, Wenski reacted to the US Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same sex marriage, by comparing it to the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision. The latter decision, handed down in 1857, effectively classified enslaved African Americans as property rather than people. On August 7, 2016, Wenski and two other Catholic prelates issued a statement condemning Catholic politicians who officiate at same sex weddings. This came a week after then-Vice President Joe Biden officiated a wedding for two male White House staff members.