| Type: | Bishop |
| Honorific-Prefix: | His Excellency, The Most Reverend |
| Walter Allison Hurley | |
| Bishop Emeritus of Grand Rapids | |
| See: | Diocese of Grand Rapids |
| Appointed: | June 21, 2005 |
| Enthroned: | August 4, 2005 |
| Retired: | April 18, 2013 |
| Predecessor: | Kevin Michael Britt |
| Successor: | David John Walkowiak |
| Ordination: | June 5, 1965 |
| Ordained By: | John Francis Dearden |
| Consecration: | August 12, 2003 |
| Consecrated By: | Adam Maida, Edmund Szoka, and Walter Joseph Schoenherr |
| Birth Date: | 30 May 1937 |
| Birth Place: | Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic |
| Previous Post: | Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit 2003 - 2005 Apostolic Administrator of Gaylord (2020) |
| Motto: | "Serve with gladness" (Psalm 100:2) |
| Education: | St. John's Provincial Seminary Catholic University of America |
| Walter Allison Hurley | |
| Dipstyle: | |
Walter Allison Hurley (born May 30, 1937) is a Canadian-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.
Hurley served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan from 2003 to 2005 and as bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan from 2005 to 2018. Hurley served as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Gaylord and the Diocese of Saginaw, both in Michigan.
Walter Hurley was born on May 30, 1937, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, to Charles and Anne (née Ball) Hurley.[1] One of six children, he has four sisters, Elizabeth, Eileen, Charlene, and Annette; and one brother, Gerald. He attended St. Dunstan Grade School in Fredericton, and St. Anne High School in Church Point, Nova Scotia.
In 1955, Hurley immigrated to the United States, settling in Detroit. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit in 1961, and a Master of Divinity degree from St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan, in 1965.
Hurley was ordained to the priesthood of the Archdiocese of Detroit by then Archbishop John Dearden on June 5, 1965,[2] serving the following parish appointments in the archdiocese:
Cardinal Edmund Szoka then sent Hurley to further his studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he obtained a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1984. Upon returning to Detroit, Hurley served in three more appointments:
In 1994, Pope John Paul II named Hurley an honorary prelate, giving him the title of monsignor. That year, he also became a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Hurley served as Cardinal Adam Maida's delegate for clergy misconduct from 1988 to 1995 and again from 2002 to 2005. Hurley also served as Maida's delegate and project manager for the construction of the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C., from 1995 to 2001.
On July 7, 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed Hurley as the 22nd auxiliary bishop of Detroit and titular bishop of Chunavia.[2] Maida performed Hurley's episcopal consecration on August 12, 2003, with Szoka and Bishop Walter Schoenherr serving as co-consecrators. At that time, Hurley selected "Serve With Gladness" (from Psalm 100:2) as his episcopal motto.[3] As an auxiliary bishop, he was responsible for the Northwest Region of the archdiocese, which encompasses Oakland and Lapeer Counties.
On June 21, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI named Hurley as the 11th bishop of Grand Rapids. He was installed on August 4, 2005.
As required, Hurley submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI on his 75th birthday, May 30, 2012. However, Pope Francis only accepted the resignation on April 18, 2013, when he appointed Reverend David Walkowiak as the new bishop of Grand Rapids. During the period between his resignation and Walkowiak's installation, Hurley served as apostolic administrator of the diocese
On October 17, 2018, following the sudden death of Bishop Joseph Cistone on October 16, Pope Francis named Hurley as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Saginaw. Hurley served in Saginaw until July 2019. On June 23, 2020, Pope Francis chose Hurley as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Gaylord. Hurley held this position until the consecration of Reverend Jeffrey Walsh as bishop on March 4, 2022.[4]