Bishop George Leo Thomas (2004-2018)
George Leo Thomas was born May 19, 1950, in Anaconda, Mont., George Leo Thomas was raised in Butte, the second oldest of five children born to the late Mary Cronin Thomas and George Thomas. He graduated from Christian Brothers High School in Butte, Mont. and received his B.A. degree in literature from Carroll College in 1972… [read full bio]
Bishop Robert C. Morlino (1999-2003)
Robert C. Morlino was born December 31, 1946, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Morlino. His father died while he was in high school, his mother in 1980. He was raised in northeastern Pennsylvania, graduating from Jesuit High School in Scranton… [read full bio]
Bishop Alex J. Brunett (1994-1997)
Alex J. Brunett, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit, was named the eighth Bishop of Helena in 1994 and served for three and a half years. Shortly after his arrival in Helena, Bishop Brunett began a series of ambitious tours of the diocese, attending welcoming ceremonies and visiting parishes… [read full bio]
Bishop Elden F. Curtiss (1976-1993)
On March 4, 1976, Elden F. Curtiss was appointed the seventh Bishop of Helena. Bishop Curtiss made it his goal to try and unify and reconcile a sometimes divided and pluralistic church that culminated in his hosting a Diocesan Synod in 1988, the first in the diocese to involve the laity… [read full bio]
Bishop Raymond G. Hunthausen (1962-1975)
Bishop Hunthausen was a Montana native and president of Carroll College. His episcopacy coincided with Vatican Council II and was marked with great change both within the diocese and within the Church itself. The greatest change came with the increased participation and involvement by the laity… [read full bio]
Bishop Joseph M. Gilmore (1936-1962)
During this period of fear and confusion in the aftermath of the earthquake, the people of the diocese received good news. Joseph M. Gilmore, Chancellor of the diocese, had been named its fifth bishop. Although born in New York, Bishop Gilmore had been raised in Anaconda, and had served as a priest… [read full bio]
Bishop Ralph Leo Hayes (1933-1935)
The fourth Bishop of Helena, Bishop Hayes also served only a short time. His episcopacy ran from June 1933 until September 1935, when he was appointed rector of the North American College in Rome. In the interim between the fourth and fifth bishops’ tenures, the city of Helena was struck by a series of devastating earthquakes… [read full bio]
Bishop George J. Finnigan, CSC (1927-1932)
The third Bishop of Helena was George Finnigan, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross who came to Montana from Notre Dame. He was the first member of the Holy Cross order to be chosen bishop of a diocese in the United States. He decided on several objectives for his episcopate… [read full bio]
Bishop John Patrick Carroll (1904-1925)
Bishop Carroll came from Dubuque, Iowa, where he served as president of St. Joseph’s College (now Loras College). Bishop Carroll was a builder and an educator. He vastly increased the number of Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the diocese. In addition he built Mount St. Charles College (now Carroll College)… [read full bio]