Early life Michael Sheehan was born on July 9, 1939, in
Wichita, Kansas, to John and Mildred (née Jarboe) Sheehan, and raised in
Texarkana, Texas. He attended St. John's High School Seminary and
Assumption Seminary in
San Antonio, Texas. He then furthered his studies in Rome at the
Pontifical Gregorian University, where he obtained a
Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1965.
Priesthood Sheehan was
ordained to the priesthood for the
Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth in Rome on July 12, 1964. After his ordination, the diocese assigned Sheehan as
parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Parish in
Tyler, Texas. Returning to Rome in 1968, he earned a
doctorate in canon law from the
Pontifical Lateran University in 1971. Sheehan served as assistant general secretary of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference from 1971 to 1976, and as rector of
Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas, Texas from 1976 to 1982. In 1982, he was named
pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in
Grand Prairie, Texas.
Bishop of Lubbock On March 25, 1983, Sheehan was appointed the founding bishop of the Diocese of Lubbock by
Pope John Paul II. He received his
episcopal consecration at the
Lubbock Memorial Civic Center in Lubbock on June 17, 1983, from Archbishop
Patrick Flores, with Bishops
Leroy Matthiesen and
Thomas Tschoepe serving as
co-consecrators. He selected as his episcopal
motto: "Love One Another Constantly." Following the resignation of Bishop
Robert Sanchez, Sheehan became
apostolic administrator of Santa Fe on April 6, 1993.
Archbishop of Santa Fe Sheehan was named by John Paul II as the eleventh archbishop of Santa Fe on August 17, 1993. He was
installed as archbishop on September 21, 1993. Sheehan became apostolic administrator of the
Diocese of Phoenix on June 18, 2003, after Bishop
Thomas J. O'Brien resigned. Sheehan resigned as apostolic administrator upon the installation of Bishop
Thomas J. Olmsted on December 20, 2003. In addition to his native
English, Sheehan spoke
Italian and
Spanish. On April 27, 2015,
Pope Francis accepted Sheehan's resignation as archbishop of Santa Fe. ==Views==