Saturday, January 12, 2013

Pope names third bishop for Atlanta archdiocese

Pope Benedict XVI has named Monsignor David P. Talley auxiliary bishop of Atlanta. 

The appointment was announced in Washington, D.C., Jan. 3 by the apostolic nuncio to the United States and in Atlanta that same day by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory

“Bishop-Elect Talley will join Bishop Luis R. Zarama and me in the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Atlanta,” Gregory said.

Christ Our King and Savior Catholic Church at Lake Oconee, which serves the families of Putnam County, is part of the archdiocese.

Talley will be ordained April 2 at Christ the King Cathedral; Gregory said Talley will continue to serve as pastor of Saint Brigid Catholic Church in Johns Creek until that time.

The 62-year-old native of Columbus, Ga., was raised as a Southern Baptist, converting to Catholicism at the age of 24, according to The Georgia Bulletin, the official newspaper of the archdiocese.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Auburn University, went to the University of Georgia for graduate school, and worked as a caseworker for abused and neglected children in Fulton County before deciding to study for the priesthood at St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana.

He was ordained June 3, 1989, and served in his first assignment as a parochial vicar at St. Jude the Apostle Church, Atlanta, until 1993, when he left to study for his canon law doctorate in Rome.

After completing his studies in 1998, he began serving part time in the Tribunal and in the archdiocesan vocations office. 

He was appointed director of vocations in 1998, also directing Nazareth House, a residence for seminarians preparing for priesthood.

He was named pastor of St. Brigid Feb. 24, 2011. The parish, founded as a mission church in 1998, has more than 3,950 registered families, according to its website.