President of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, OMI, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will speak at a Brigham Young University forum Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 11:05 a.m. in the Marriott Center.
The BYU Broadcasting channels will air the forum live. Rebroadcasts and archive information will be available at byub.org/devotionals or speeches.byu.edu.
George has served as president of the UCCB since 2007 and is in charge of one of the largest Catholic administrative units in the United States. He has previously served as Archbishop of Chicago, Bishop of Yakima and Archbishop of Portland. He was elevated to Cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
A native of Chicago, George studied theology and was ordained to the priesthood in 1963. While teaching at local seminaries, he earned his master’s degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., a master’s degree in theology from the University of Ottawa and a doctorate in American philosophy from Tulane University.
He was elected Vicar General of the Oblates in Rome and served there for a number of years. While in Rome he obtained his doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical Urban University.
After serving as Bishop of Yakima in Washington, he was appointed Archbishop of Chicago in 1997. In 1998, then-Archbishop George was named Cardinal Priest by the Vatican. He participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.
For more information about the forum, contact Kirsten Thompson at (801) 422-4331.
Writer: Brandon Garrett
