| Type: | priest |
| Kevin Thomas Kenney | |
| Auxiliary Bishop-Elect of Saint Paul and Minneapolis | |
| Archdiocese: | Saint Paul and Minneapolis |
| Appointed: | July 25, 2024 |
| Ordination: | May 28, 1994 |
| Ordained By: | John Roach |
| Consecration: | October 28, 2024 |
| Consecrated By: | Bernard Hebda, 2, and 3 --> |
| Birth Date: | 29 December 1959 |
| Birth Place: | Minneapolis, Minnesota, US |
Kevin Thomas Kenney (born December 29, 1959) is an American bishop-elect of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis by Pope Francis on July 25, 2024, and will be consecrated a bishop on October 28, 2024.[1] [2] He is fluent in Spanish.[2]
Kenney was born as the fifth of eight children of William and Dorothy Kenney.[2] He attended DeLaSalle High School in Minneapolis, where he graduated from in 1978.[2]
After receiving a bachelor's degree in business administration and Spanish from the College of Saint Thomas in St. Paul, he moved to Chicago to work with the Claretians as a lay volunteer.[2] After two years, he was hired as the program director.[2] After another two years, he entered formation with the Claretians and began to attend Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he received a Master of Divinity.[2] After five years of formation with the Claretians, he left the community and applied as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, where he attended Saint Paul Seminary.[2] He was ordained a priest by Archbishop John Roach on May 28, 1994.
As a priest, Kenney served as parochial vicar at Saint Olaf in Minneapolis from 1994 to 1998, as pastor of Our Lady of Peace in Minneapolis from 1998 to 2004, as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Saint Paul from 2004 to 2015, and as pastor of both Saint Michael in Kenyon and Divine Mercy in Faribault from 2015 to 2019, before his assignment as pastor of Saint Olaf in Minneapolis in 2019. During the trial of Derek Chauvin, Kenney led a prayer service each morning calling for healing and peace.[3]
He has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Saint Thomas and in the Office of Latino Ministry of the archdiocese.[2]
On July 25, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Kenney as Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and Titular Bishop of Cunavia. He will be consecrated a bishop on October 28, 2024.