Gerald Andrew Gettelfinger

Gettelfinger was born in Ramsey, Indiana in 1935. [1] He was the fourth of eight children of Gerald and Mary Gettelfinger. He attended St. Meinrad High School in St. Meinrad, Indiana, graduating in 1953. Gettelfinger then went to Saint Meinrad School of Theology where he graduated in 1957.

On May 7, 1961, Gettelfinger was ordained a priest in St. Meinrad. [1] In 1069, Gettelfinger earned a MS Ed from Butler University.

Gettelfinger served as Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis from 1980 to 1988 and Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis from 1988 to 1989.

On March 11, 1989, Pope John Paul II appointed Gettelfinger Bishop of Evansville. He was consecrated on April 11, 1989.[1]

On April 27, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI accepted Gettelfinger's resignation as Bishop, replacing him with Bishop Charles C. Thompson.[2]

On June 10, 2021, a special mass was celebrated at St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville to honor Gettelfinger.[3]

Since 1998, Gettelfinger has served as bishop liaison to the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS). He was a chaplain at the 2001 National Scout Jamboree and has trekked at the Philmont Scout Ranch as part of the NCCS Saint George Trek. Gettelfinger received the Silver Buffalo Award in 2005.[4]

At the May 2002 meeting, he was an opponent of the one-strike policy in the USCCB adopted Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. At the November 2002 bishops' meeting, he was one of seven bishops who voted against the new policies the US bishops voted upon to prevent sexual abuse of minors. He has admitted to allowing at least one convicted child molester serve as a priest in the diocese, as well as other known molesters. [5]

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Evansville Home Page
• Bishop Gettelfinger's Biography
• Page from Catholic Hierarchy