Background
Francis Hurley was born in San Francisco, California, one of five children of Mark Joseph and Josephine (née Keohane) Hurley.
archbishop bishop theologian Catholic priest
Francis Hurley was born in San Francisco, California, one of five children of Mark Joseph and Josephine (née Keohane) Hurley.
Graduate, St. Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park, California. Graduate, Catholic University America.
He was ordained to the priesthood on June 16, 1951. On February 4, 1970, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Juneau in Juneau, Alaska, and Titular Bishop of Daimlaig by Pope Paul VI. He was later named the second Bishop of Juneau on July 20, 1971, being formally installed as such on the following September 8. During his tenure, Hurley expanded Catholic ministry in the smaller and more remote communities of the diocese, and helped implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, such as promoting more active roles for the laity.
Pope Paul appointed him the second Archbishop of Anchorage on May 4, 1976.
Hurley was installed on July 8 of that same year, and remained in that position for twenty-four years, finally resigning on March 3, 2001. Hurley was also an airplane pilot.
After his retirement, Hurley stayed active in the church. He presided over the funerals of former Alaskan Governor Wally Hickel, and former United States Senator Ted Stevens, after their 2010 deaths.
Hurley died on January 10, 2016, at the age of 88, after suffering from heart disease since at least 2010.