Bishop Thomas A. Daly

Bishop Thomas Anthony Daly is a native of San Francisco, California and is the seventh Bishop of Spokane.

Bishop Daly was born on April 30, 1960, and was baptized at Our Lady of the Visitacion Church where he also attended grade school. 

He graduated from Sacred Heart High School, an Archdiocesan Boys prep school under the direction of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.  He then attended the University of San Francisco. Following graduation from U.S.F., Bishop Daly entered St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California. 

Bishop Daly was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop John Quinn at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco on May 9, 1987. He served five years as a parochial vicar of Our Lady of Loretto in Novato. In July of 1992, Archbishop Quinn appointed Bishop Daly as a teacher and Chaplain at Marin Catholic in Kentfield. 

In 1994, Bishop Daly began summer studies at Boston College. The following year, in October 1995, he was appointed pastor of St. Cecilia in Lagunitas and St. Mary in Nicasio, both in Marin County, while continuing to serve on the faculty of Marin Catholic High School. In 1996, he completed a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Boston College.

In 1999, Archbishop William J. Levada transferred Bishop Daly from parish ministry and appointed him Associate Director of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and Chaplain to St. Vincent’s School for Boys in San Rafael.

In 2001, he was appointed Vocation Director of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and in 2003, he became President of Marin Catholic High School. He served faithfully in both roles until his ordination as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Jose in May 2011. He was ordained by Bishop Patrick J. McGrath, with Archbishop George H. Niederauer and Bishop George Thomas as co-consecrators.

In September 2013, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone named Bishop Daly as the interim President/Rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary and University, a role in which he served for the academic year. 

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Thomas A. Daly to lead the Diocese of Spokane on March 12, 2015, and he was installed on May 20, 2015, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes. Throughout his years as a bishop, he has served on various committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), including Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, and Home Missions. He completed a three-year term as Chair of the Committee on Catholic Education in November 2024 and continues to serve as a member of that committee. Bishop Daly also serves as the Bishop Advisor to Serra International in the United States.