Thomas Arthur Connolly

Who was Thomas Arthur Connolly?

Thomas Arthur Connolly was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fifth bishop and first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle from 1950–1975.

Born in San Francisco, California, Connolly was ordained to the priesthood in San Francisco in 1926. As a priest, he held several posts in the San Francisco area before being appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1939. In 1948, Connolly was named coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Seattle with right of succession to Bishop Gerald Shaughnessy, who had been in poor health for several years. Connolly became bishop upon Shaughnessy's death in 1950. The following year, the Diocese of Seattle was elevated to an archdiocese, and Connolly became the first Archbishop of Seattle.