1. Thomas Wenski was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami by Pope Benedict XVI on April 20,2010, and was installed on June 1,2010.
31 Facts About Thomas Wenski
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Thomas Wenski previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Orlando, coadjutor bishop of Orlando, and auxiliary bishop of Miami.
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Thomas Wenski was born on October 18,1950, in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Chester and Louise Wenski.
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Thomas Wenski's father was born in Poland with the last name "Wisniewski", and came to the United States with his parents in 1910 at age 2.
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Thomas Wenski graduated from St John Vianney, in 1970 with an associate's degree.
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Thomas Wenski then began his studies in philosophy and theology at St Vincent de Paul Minor Seminary in Boynton Beach.
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Thomas Wenski earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree and a Master of Divinity degree.
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Thomas Wenski later received a Master of Arts degree from the School of Sociology of Fordham University in New York City in 1993, and took summer courses at the Catholic University of Lublin in Lublin, Poland.
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Thomas Wenski was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Miami by Archbishop Coleman Carroll on May 15,1976.
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Thomas Wenski then served as associate director and later director of the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center in Miami until 1997.
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Thomas Wenski served concurrently as pastor of three Haitian parishes in the archdiocese: Notre-Dame d'Haiti in Miami, Divine Mercy in Fort Lauderdale, and St Joseph in Pompano Beach.
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Thomas Wenski befriended Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a now laicized priest who later became the first democratically elected President of Haiti,.
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Thomas Wenski celebrated the weekly Mass in English for shut-ins at WPLG, the local ABC affiliate, from 1992 to 1997, and directed the Ministry to Non-Hispanic Ethnic Groups.
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Thomas Wenski became an adjunct professor at St Vincent de Paul Seminary in 1994.
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In January 1996, Thomas Wenski was named director of the archdiocesan Catholic Charities.
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On June 24,1997, Thomas Wenski was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami and titular bishop of Kearney by Pope John Paul II.
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Thomas Wenski received his episcopal consecration on September 3,1997, from Archbishop John Favalora, with Archbishop Edward A McCarthy and Bishop Agustin Roman serving as co-consecrators, at the Miami Arena.
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Thomas Wenski selected as his episcopal motto: "All Things to All Men".
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Thomas Wenski served as chair of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc, and of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration.
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Thomas Wenski served on the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust and the Coordinating Council of Broward, and was appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Council on Homelessness, in 2001, and the Task Force on Haiti in 2004.
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Thomas Wenski was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Orlando on July 1,2003, by John Paul II.
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Thomas Wenski convoked the first synod for the diocese in 2004.
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Thomas Wenski held listening sessions with a diverse group of Catholics to hear about their concerns.
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Thomas Wenski designated 2008 as the "Year of Evangelization," putting a greater emphasis on deepening the faith of all people.
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In October 2007, Thomas Wenski was selected to serve on the board of directors of the Florida Specialty Crop Foundation, a non-profit public charity that assists specialty crop producers and their stakeholders.
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Thomas Wenski petitioned and was granted that two diocesan churches be raised to the status of minor basilicas.
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Thomas Wenski started the Spanish language radio station, Buena Nueva FM.
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Thomas Wenski became the first native of the archdiocese to become its archbishop.
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Thomas Wenski was installed at the Cathedral of Saint Mary on June 1,2010.
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On February 2,2012, Thomas Wenski celebrated a Pontifical High Mass, a solemn form of Tridentine Mass, the first such celebration in the state of Florida in more than 40 years.
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Thomas Wenski has created the annual Archbishop's Motorcycle Ride, in part due to his enjoying of motorcycles, to raise money for St Luke's Patient Addiction Recovery Center.