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WASHINGTON (October 18, 1999) -- Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Bishop Daniel L. Ryan as Bishop of Springfield in Illinois and appointed Monsignor George Lucas, Rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, St. Louis, as his successor.
Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, made the announcement.
George Lucas was born in St. Louis on June 12, 1949.
He completed his theological studies at the Major Seminary of St. Louis and earned a Master's in History from the University of St. Louis. He was ordained on May 24, 1975.
Following ordination, Msgr. Lucas held pastoral assignments in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. He served from 1981 to 1990 as instructor and spiritual director of St. Louis Preparatory Seminary.
From 1990 to 1994 Bishop-elect Lucas was chancellor of the archdiocese and secretary to Archbishop John May.
He was named Rector of Kenrick-Glennon in 1995.
Daniel L. Ryan was born September 28, 1930 in Mankato, Minnesota. He studied at St. Procopius Seminary in Lisle, Illinois and was ordained for the diocese of Joliet on May 3, 1956. In 1960 he received a degree in Canon Law from the Lateran University in Rome.
Bishop Ryan was named Auxiliary Bishop of Joliet on August 14, 1981, and appointed Bishop of Springfield on November 22, 1983.
Originally established as the Diocese of Quincy in 1853, the Diocese of Springfield comprises 28 counties in the State of Illinois. It has a Catholic population of 163,713 in a total population of 1,106,124.