John Francis Kinney
| Styles of John Kinney | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Monsignor |
| Posthumous style | not applicable |
John Francis Kinney (born June 11, 1937) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the ninth and current Bishop of St. Cloud.
Biography
John Kinney was born in Oelwein, Iowa, to John and Marie (née McCarty) Kinney. He received his primary education at St. Thomas Elementary School in Winona, Minnesota, and Annunciation Elementary School in Minneapolis. He attended DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis before entering Nazareth Hall Seminary in St. Paul. Kinney graduated from St. Paul Seminary in 1963, and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Leo Binz on February 2, 1963, in the Cathedral of Saint Paul.
He then served as assistant pastor of St. Thomas Parish in Minneapolis until 1968, and was named vice-chancellor of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis in 1966. From 1968 to 1971, Kinney completed his graduate studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, from where he obtained his doctorate in canon law. Upon his return to the United States, he resumed his post as vice-chancellor, rising to become full chancellor in 1973. He also served as pastor of St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish in Minneapolis during his tenure as chancellor.
On November 9, 1976, Kinney was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis and Titular Bishop of Caprulae by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on January 25, 1977 from Archbishop John Roach, with Archbishop Binz and Bishop James Ham, MM, serving as co-consecrators, in the Basilica of Saint Mary. He was archdiocesan Vicar for Parishes from 1979 to 1982.
Kinney was later named the fifth Bishop of Bismarck, North Dakota, on June 28, 1982, and was formally installed as such on the following August 23. He sat on the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services from 1993 to 1998. Pope John Paul II appointed him the ninth Bishop of St. Cloud, Minnesota, on May 9, 1995, being installed on July 6 of that same year.
Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Kinney currently sits on the Committee for Priestly Life and Ministry, Committee on Migration, and the USCCB's Administrative Committee. He formerly chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Bishops' Life and Ministry, Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Abuse, and Committee on Permanent Diaconate.