| Type: | Archbishop |
| Honorific Prefix: | His Excellency, The Most Reverend |
| David Bernard Thompson | |
| Archbishop of Atlanta Titular Bishop of xxx | |
| Church: | Roman Catholic Church |
| See: | Archdiocese of Atlanta |
| Appointed: | --> |
| Term: | 1990 to 1999 |
| Predecessor: | Ernest Leo Unterkoefler |
| Ordination: | May 27, 1950 |
| Ordained By: | Joseph McCormick |
| Consecration: | May 24, 1989 |
| Birth Date: | May 29, 1923 |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Tomb: | --> |
| Education: | St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Catholic University of America |
| Motto: | Christi impetus pacis (Working for the peace of Christ) |
| David Thompson | |
| Dipstyle: | The Most Reverend |
| Offstyle: | Your Excellency |
| Relstyle: | Bishop |
David Bernard Thompson (May 29, 1923 − November 24, 2013) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina from 1990 to 1999.
Thompson was born on May 29, 1923, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His twin brother, Edward Thompson, became a priest also. He attended West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys in Philadelphia. After graduating in 1941, Thompson entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, to prepare for the priesthood. He finished at St. Charles with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in history.[1]
Thompson was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on May 27, 1950 by Bishop Joseph McCormick.[2] That same year, he moved to Washington D.C. to study at the Catholic University of America (CUA). He received a Licentiate of Canon Law from the CUA School of Canon Law.
After returning to Philadelphia in 1952, the archdiocese assigned him as a teacher and guidance counselor at St. Thomas More High School. He also took coursework at Villanova University in Philadelphia at that time. In 1957, he was named as the founding principal for Notre Dame High School in Easton, Pennsylvania.
That same year Thompson established a dance show at Notre Dame based on the popular television show American Bandstand. The Notre Dame Bandstand show featured performers such as Paul Anka, Fabian, Connie Francis and Herman's Hermits. Thompson gained the name of "Father Bandstand".[3]
When the Vatican erected the Diocese of Allentown in 1961, Thompson was incardinated, or transferred, to the new diocese. He was named as the first chancellor of Allentown. The Vatican in 1963 elevated Thompson to the rank of domestic prelate and in 1966 Bishop Joseph McShea appointed him as vicar general.[4]
On April 22, 1989, Thompson was appointed coadjutor bishop of Charleston by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on May 24, 1989, from Archbishop Pio Laghi, with Bishop Norbert Gaughan and Archbishop Eugene Marino serving as co-consecrators. Thompson assumed as his episcopal motto: Christi Impetus Pacis, meaning, "Working for the Peace of Christ."
Thompson automatically succeeded Bishop Ernest Unterkoefler as the eleventh bishop of Charleston upon the latter's resignation on February 22, 1990. Thompson's tenure was marked by the Synod of Charleston, which lasted from 1992 to 1995;[5] it was the first diocesan synod held there since 1958.
Thompson resigned as bishop of Charleston on July 12, 1999. He died in Charleston on November 24, 2013, at the age of 90.[6]