Biography

The Most Reverend George J. Lucas is the fifth archbishop and tenth to lead the Archdiocese of Omaha. He comes to Omaha after serving nearly 10 years in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, where he was ordained a bishop on December 14, 1999. He was named Archbishop of Omaha on June 3, 2009, and was installed on July 22, 2009.

Personal History

Archbishop Lucas, born June 12, 1949 in Saint Louis, Missouri, is the eldest son of George J. Lucas and Mary Catherine Kelly, now deceased. He has one sister and two brothers. He completed studies at Cardinal Glennon College and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Saint Louis. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis on May 24, 1975, by Cardinal John Joseph Carberry. As a priest, he served as associate pastor in parishes in Sunset Hills, Florissant, St. Louis, Normandy and Kirkwood, Missouri.

Archbishop Lucas took advanced studies at Saint Louis University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and Master of Arts degree in history.

In the years leading to his ordination as a bishop in Springfield, he served on the faculty of St. Louis Preparatory Seminary-North and St. Louis Preparatory Seminary, the chancellor and vicar general of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. He was named Honorary Prelate of His Holiness in 1994.

Archbishop Lucas is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee on the Catechism.

Motto

For his motto Archbishop Lucas has retained the phrase "GRACE AND MERCY." This phrase, which is taken from the Book of Wisdom (Wis. 3:9), is part of the passage that reads: "Because grace and mercy are with His holy ones, and His care is with His elect." By the use of this phrase, therefore, His Excellency expresses the deep and profound Christian belief that in and through Jesus Christ, God gives to all of His Children all that they will need to sustain them on their life's journey and to bring them to full life in heaven.