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. Archbishop Connolly, who selected the episcopal motto Justitia et Pax, took bold steps in supporting the civil rights movement, ecumenical programs, and labor issues. He attended the Second Vatican Council and helped guide the archdiocese through the tumultuous era of the 1960s.