(This is reprinted from the 25th anniversary issue of the
Arlington Diocese in August 1999.)
Arlington’s second bishop, the Most Rev. John R. Keating,
served Catholics in Northern Virginia from Aug. 4, 1983,
until his death on March 22, 1998. Pope Paul VI established
the Arlington Diocese on Aug. 13, 1974. Bishop Keating
succeeded Bishop Thomas J. Welsh, who retired as bishop of
Allentown in December 1997.
At the time of Bishop Keating’s installation in 1983, the
diocese had 188,000 Catholics in 57 parishes. In 1999, at the
time of the 25th anniversary of the diocese, it had over
336,000 Catholics in 65 parishes and five missions. Bishop
Keating dedicated more than 20 new churches and seven new
schools during his tenure. The last, Holy Cross Academy in
Stafford, opened in the fall of 1998. The number of Catholic
school students in the diocese has increased from 12,818 to
16,632 since 1983.
Bishop Keating issued six pastoral letters as head of the
Arlington Diocese: Consultation in the Parish in September
1984; On Reverence for the Eucharist in December 1988; On
Catholic Schools in September 1990; On Handing on the Faith
in October 1992; On Morality and Conscience in September
1994; and Courage in September 1996.
During Bishop Keating’s tenure, he ordained 84 men to the
priesthood, including 13 men in May 1996, the largest
ordination class in diocesan history.
John Richard Keating was born July 20, 1934, in Chicago, Ill.
He attended Queen of All Saints School, Quigley Preparatory
Seminary – both in Chicago – and St. Mary of the Lake
Seminary, Mundelein, Ill.
He studied theology at the Gregorian University in Rome while
attending the North American College from 1955 59. He was
ordained a priest by Bishop Martin O’Connor, rector of the
North American College, on Dec. 20, 1958, in Rome.
He received his licentiate in sacred theology in 1959 from
the Gregorian University. Cardinal Albert Meyer, Archbishop
of Chicago, sent Father Keating back to Rome in 1960 to study
for an advanced degree in canon law. He received his
doctorate in canon law in 1963 from the Gregorian University.
He was vicar general and chancellor of the archdiocese from
December 1979 until his appointment to Arlington. Upon the
death of Cardinal Cody in April 1982, Father Keating was
elected archdiocesan administrator, a post he filled until
August 1982 when Cardinal Joseph Bernardin was named
archbishop of Chicago.
As bishop of Arlington, Bishop Keating gained unwanted
national notoriety in November 1994 when he became one of
only two U.S. prelates to maintain diocesan policies of
allowing only male altar servers, except under extreme
circumstances. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb., was
the other.
Despite the controversy that this policy generated, Bishop
Keating’s lasting legacy in Arlington will be his tremendous
success in attracting young men to the priesthood.
One of his first official acts in Arlington was the
appointment of Father James R. Gould as diocesan vocations
director. Together they developed a program that was unique
among U.S. dioceses and has changed the face of Arlington
clergy well into the next century.
