John Francis Kinney


John Francis Kinney was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the fifth Bishop of Bismarck from 1982 to 1995 and the ninth Bishop of St. Cloud from 1995 to 2013.

Biography

John Kinney was born in Oelwein, Iowa, to John and Marie Kinney. He received his primary education at St. Thomas Elementary School in Winona, Minnesota, and in Minneapolis. He attended DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis before entering Nazareth Hall Seminary in St. Paul. Kinney graduated from St. Paul Seminary in 1963, and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Leo Binz on February 2, 1963, in the Cathedral of Saint Paul.
He then served as assistant pastor of St. Thomas Parish in Minneapolis until 1968, and was named vice-chancellor of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis in 1966. From 1968 to 1971, Kinney completed his graduate studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, from where he obtained his doctorate in canon law. Upon his return to the United States, he resumed his post as vice-chancellor, rising to become full chancellor in 1973. He also served as pastor of in Minneapolis during his tenure as chancellor.
On November 9, 1976, Kinney was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis and Titular Bishop of Caprulae by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on January 25, 1977 from Archbishop John Roach, with Archbishop Binz and Bishop James Ham, MM, serving as co-consecrators, in the Basilica of Saint Mary. He was archdiocesan Vicar for Parishes from 1979 to 1982.
Kinney was later named the fifth Bishop of Bismarck, North Dakota, on June 28, 1982, and was formally installed as such on the following August 23. He sat on the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services from 1993 to 1998. Pope John Paul II appointed him the ninth Bishop of St. Cloud, Minnesota, on May 9, 1995, being installed on July 6 of that same year.
Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Kinney sat on the , , and the USCCB's Administrative Committee. He chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Bishops' Life and Ministry, , and .
On September 20, 2013 Pope Francis accepted Bishop Kinney's resignation as Bishop of St. Cloud. Bishop Donald Joseph Kettler of Fairbanks was appointed as his successor on the same day.

Episcopal succession