LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's archbishop was celebrated during mass at the Cathedral in downtown on Friday.
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz was ordained as a priest 50 years ago.
"There has never been a day that I have served as a priest or as a bishop that I have anything but gratitude for the gift of vocation," Kurtz said.
Kurtz, 75, submitted his resignation to Pope Francis last August.
Kurtz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Allentown on March 18, 1972. He served there for 27 years before becoming the Bishop of Knoxville in 1999.
Pope Benedict appointed Kurtz as the fourth archbishop and ninth bishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville on June 12, 2007. He was installed as archbishop of Louisville on Aug. 15, 2007.
Kurtz was diagnosed with prostate and bladder cancer in 2019 and underwent several rounds of treatment at Duke Cancer Center in North Carolina. Kurtz has been in remission since January 2020.
After retiring, Kurtz plans to remain active in the church and will continue to be a priest.
Shelton Fabre is set to take over for Kurtz on March 30. He led the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in southern Louisiana for nine years.
Before taking over the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans for seven years.
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