Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.

Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz is the fourth and current Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, having previously served as Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1999 to 2007.
He served as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on 2013—2016 and remains active on various committees of that body. He is the vice chancellor of the board of the Catholic Extension Society and serves on the boards of numerous organizations, including: Catholic University of America, the National Catholic Bioethics Center, St. Charles Seminary, Leadership Louis-ville, and the Advisory Board to the Cause for Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification.

Archbishop Kurtz was born in Mahanoy City, Pa., earned bachelor and master of divinity degrees from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and a master’s degree in social work from Marywood University. Before becoming Bishop of Knoxville, he served for 27 years in the Diocese of Allentown, PA.