Archdiocese of Philadelphia Cathedral

UPDATE: It’s almost official, guys and gals. Tomorrow, Pope Benedict XVI is expected to name Archbishop Charles Chaput as the ninth archbishop of Philadelphia. I’ll have more later. Stay tuned.

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Sometime this week, possibly as early as tomorrow, Pope Benedict XVI is expected to name a successor to Cardinal Rigali in Philadelphia. Over the last several weeks, as news of a possible replacement began to reach fever pitch, many media outlets began offering some interesting speculation as to who the Pope will appoint. Allow me to throw some names in the hat.

• Archbishop Charles Chaput (Denver): Archbishop Chaput, a Capuchin friar and the only Native American to be ordained an archbishop in the United States, has served the people of the Archdiocese of Denver since 1997. Since his appointment to the Mile High City, Chaput has become one of the most outspoken critics of Catholic politicians who support legislation which the church strongly opposes. Previous to Denver, Chaput served as bishop to Catholics in Rapid City, SD.
• Archbishop Joseph Kurtz (Louisville): Archbishop Kurtz, current Vice-President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, was named archbishop of Louisville on June 12, 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI. Prior to his appointment, Kurtz served as bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville. Kurtz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 18, 1972 upon graduating from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. As the current Vice-President of the USCCB, Kurtz is poised to become president of the conference once Archbishop Dolan’s tenure comes to an end in a few years. Philadelphia would give him a rather large platform in that endeavor.
• Archbishop Wilton Gregory (Atlanta): Since being appointed to shepherd the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Archbishop Gregory has welcomed literally thousands of people to the Catholic Church. Shortly after becoming president of the USCCB in 2001, Gregory was instrumental in crafting the conference’s “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” which followed the eruption of allegations of sexual abuse on minors by Catholic priests. Following the recent mishandling of cases in the Philadelphia church, Archbishop Gregory would be the logical choice for this appointment. However, being a native of Chicago and the pending change of leadership there, I would not be surprised to see Archbishop Gregory return home as Archbishop of Chicago in the coming months.

During the last few days, I have also heard some people suggest the following bishops for the Philadelphia appointment: Bishop William Lori (Bridgeport), Bishop Michael Burbidge (Raleigh), Bishop Joseph Pepe (Las Vegas), and Bishop Michael Bransfield (Wheeling-Charleston). The last three names on that list are all natives of Philadelphia and, judging by the Holy Father’s tendency to send native sons home, I would not be surprised if one of them were not at least on the short list.

There you have it, my speculation. Feel free to critique. The comment box is open.