Bishop Kurtz of Knoxville has been appointed the new Archbishop of Louisville.

Bishop Kurtz was the second bishop of Knoxville (the diocese was created from the Diocese of Nashville in 1988), having served for almost ten years now.  I had never met Bishop Kurtz, but never heard anything but wonderful things about him. When he was first appointed to Knoxville, he came with a family member – his older brother who had Downs’ Syndrome. His brother died in 2002. I was still writing for the East Tennessee Catholic when he was appointed, I think, but had stopped by the time my mother died in 2001. Even though I’d never met him and really did have close ties with the diocese, Bishop Kurtz took the time to write me an email offering his sympathy.

The Diocese of Knoxville seems to have done well under Bishop Kurtz and it will be interesting to see what happens in Louisville under his pastoral care.