David Prescott Talley (born September 11, 1950) is an

American Catholic The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the cou ...

prelate who has served as Bishop of Memphis since 2019. Talley previously served as coadjutor bishop and bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana (2016 to 2019) and as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Archdiocese of Atlanta The Archdiocese of Atlanta () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in northern Georgia in United States. The archdiocese is led by a prelate archbishop, who also serves as pastor of the mother chu ...

(2013 to 2016).

Biography

Early life

David Talley was born in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

, on September 11, 1950. Raised as a

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

, Talley converted to Catholicism in 1974 while in college. After graduating from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

in Auburn, Alabama, he entered the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

in Athens, Georgia, receiving a

Master of Social Work The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...

degree. Talley then served as a children's caseworker in

Fulton County, Georgia Fulton County is a county in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most populous county. Its county seat and most ...

. After deciding to enter the priesthood, Talley began his studies at St. Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana. He received a

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

degree from St. Meinrad in 1989.

Priesthood

Talley was ordained into the priesthood by Archbishop

Eugene Marino Eugene Antonio Marino, SSJ (May 29, 1934 – November 12, 2000) was an American Catholic prelate who served as archbishop of Atlanta from 1988 until 1990. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington from 19 ...

on June 3, 1989, for the

at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta. After his 1989 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Talley as parochial vicar at St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Atlanta. In 1993, the archdiocese sent Talley to Rome to study at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

, where he earned his

Doctorate in Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law (, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD or dr.iur.can. (''Iuris Can ...

in 1998. After Talley returned to Atlanta, he was named as an officer of the archdiocesan tribunal and as director of vocations. Archbishop John Donoghue appointed Talley as chancellor of the archdiocese in October 1999. He also served as chaplain to the disabilities ministry. Talley continued his studies in spiritual direction and spirituality at

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Bishop Michael Portier of Mobile. Along with being the oldest private college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college ...

in Mobile, Alabama. The Vatican in 2001 elevated Talley to the rank of chaplain to his holiness with the title of

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta

On January 3, 2013,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

appointed Talley as an auxiliary bishop of Atlanta and titular bishop of

Lambaesis Lambaesis (Lambæsis), Lambaisis or Lambaesa (''Lambèse'' in colonial French), is a Roman archaeological site in Algeria, southeast of Batna and west of Timgad, located next to the modern village of Tazoult. The former bishopric is also ...

. He was consecrated at the Cathedral of Christ the King on April 2, 2013, by Archbishop Wilton Gregory, with Bishops Luis Zarama and Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer serving as co-consecrators. Talley became the first native-born Georgian to serve as a bishop in the archdiocese.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Alexandria in Louisiana

On September 21, 2016, Talley was appointed as

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of Alexandria in Louisiana by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

to assist Bishop Ronald Herzog. He was installed on November 7, 2016. When Herzog retired on February 2, 2017, Talley automatically succeeded him as bishop of Alexandria.

Bishop of Memphis

On March 5, 2019, Francis appointed Talley as bishop of Memphis. He was installed on April 2, 2019. After his installation as bishop, Talley ordered a comprehensive review of prior

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

allegations by the diocese and by an outside firm. On February 28, 2020, the diocese released a list of 20 diocesan priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. Talley has served as chair of the

US Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Co ...

Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development He has also been a member of the Committee on National Collections and the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis Official Site

Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talley, David Prescott Roman Catholic bishops of Alexandria Living people 1950 births Converts to Roman Catholicism from Baptist denominations People from Columbus, Georgia Clergy from Atlanta Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta Roman Catholic bishops of Atlanta 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Knights of Peter Claver & Ladies Auxiliary Roman Catholic bishops of Memphis