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Bishop Edmond Carmody

 

Bishop CarmodyBishop Edmond Carmody, the second of a family of thirteen children of Michael Carmody and Mary Stack, was born in Moyvane, County Kerry, Ireland, on January 12, 1934. His father passed away in 1977. His mother passed away in November, 2002. One of his sisters is a member of the Sisters of Mercy. 

Bishop Carmody’s primary education was in the National School and he spent his high school days in St. Brendan’s Seminary, Killarney, County Kerry. In September of 1951, he entered the Major Seminary of St. Patrick in Carlow, where he was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of San Antonio on June 8, 1957. 

Upon arrival in San Antonio in mid-September of 1957, he was assigned as an Associate Pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Victoria, but on November 22nd, he was transferred to a similar post at St. Margaret Mary’s Church in San Antonio. Subsequent to his later appointment as associate at St. Henry’s Church, San Antonio, on September 16, 1960, he became very involved in scouting so that on February 4, 1965, he was named Assistant Archdiocesan Chaplain of Scouts. 

On August 29, 1966, he was appointed Secretary to the Archdiocesan Tribunal and, at the same time, Chaplain of Incarnate Word High School in San Antonio. His service to the Tribunal and to the Sisters continued for 17 years. He also served as Chaplain to the Texas Army National Guard for six years. 

In October of 1967, the late Archbishop Robert Lucey named him his Secretary and in February of 1968 appointed him Archdiocesan moderator of the Catholic Youth Organization. 

Bishop Carmody received his Master’s Degree in Education at Our lady of the Lake University in 1968, and has his Teacher’s and Counselor’s certificate from the State of Texas. 

With the coming of the late Archbishop Francis Furey, Bishop Carmody was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Archdiocese (June 1969) while retaining the post of Tribunal Secretary. In the meantime, after following the required course of studies at the Worden’s School of Social Service of Our Lady of the Lake University, he was awarded the Degree of Master in Social Work in May of 1973. 

In November 1974, he was named Director of the Family Life Program, a work in which he expended an extraordinary amount of zeal which culminated in the archdiocesan celebration of the Family Year in 1980. His national recognition merited his being named a delegate to the White House Conference on families. 

On June 26, 1978, he was appointed Director of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith and of the Holy Childhood Association in the Archdiocese and, following the death of Archbishop Furey, word was received that he had been named a Prelate of Honor to His Holiness by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1979. 

Also, he was a lecturer at the Pastoral Institute at Incarnate Word College and Oblate College of the Southwest. 

With the advent of Archbishop Patrick Flores, Bishop Carmody was given the added responsibility of Director of Pastoral Services for the Archdiocese. 

In 1983, Bishop Carmody went with the St. James Society as a Missionary to Latin America, where he worked for five years as a Missionary in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Only a few days before completing his five-year Missionary assignment there, he was called home by Archbishop Patrick Flores because Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio. He was ordained as a Bishop on December 15, 1988. 

Bishop Carmody served as Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio from 1988 until 1992. On May 25, 1992, he was installed Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. 

On February 3, 2000, Pope John Paul II named Bishop Carmody Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas. He was installed the seventh Bishop on March 17, 2000. 

Since 1992, Bishop Carmody has served as:

  • Member of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for the Church in Latin America
  • Chairman of the Missions Committee for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops
  • State Chaplain, Knights of Columbus
  • Executive Board of the East Texas Area Council, Boy Scouts of America
  • Ex-Officio member of the Board of Directors of The Pines Catholic Camp, Gladewater,Texas
  • Awarded a Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas
  • Member of Marriage and Family Life Committee for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2000
  • On March 17, 2000, Bishop Carmody was installed as the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
  • Bishop Carmody currently serves as a member on the Marriage and Family Life Committee for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops
  • At the November 2000 meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Carmody was elected Chairman of the Church in Latin America Committee
  • Bishop Carmody served on the National Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Adhoc Hoc Committee on Economic Concerns of the Holy See (Jan. 2001) and the USCC Bishops’ Committee on World Mission (Nov. 2001)
 

As Bishop of Corpus Christi, Bishop Carmody was concerned with three major issues of the city – school dropout, diabetes and the homeless.  In December 2005, it was announced that John Paul II High School would open August 1, 2006 beginning with the 9th grade and adding a grade each year, the first graduating class being on May 29, 2010. The creation of John Paul II High School was the vision of Bishop Edmond Carmody to provide an opportunity for parents to give their children a Catholic education while experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is working with the Diabetes Association to help people become aware and educated on the causes of the disease. He is also working with the Association’s Walk for Diabetes fund raiser. In October, 2003, he was instrumental in building a day shelter for the homeless called Mother Teresa Day Shelter where the homeless go for showers and get clean clothes. It also serves as an address for the homeless as they seek jobs. 

Bishop Carmody had seven goals for the Diocese of Corpus Christi which derived from the diocesan synod of 1988 and diocesan self-study of 1998. They are: Evangelization, Catechesis, Worship, Vocations, Family Life, Youth, and Stewardship. 

Bishop Carmody reached the age of 75 in 2009 and in 2010 became bishop emeritus after Pope Benedict XVI named William Michael Mulvey Bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi on January 18, 2010.  Currently, Bishop Emeritus Edmond Carmody continues to serve the students at St. John Paul II HS through retirement.