Joseph Spalding was born on January 13, 1965, in Lebanon, Kentucky and grew up on the family farm in Washington County, Kentucky. His family has roots in the earliest Catholic presence west of the Appalachian Mountains.[1] His ancestors include Archbishop Martin Spalding, John Lancaster Spalding and Mother Catherine Spalding. Joseph Spalding graduated from Bethlehem High School in Bardstown, Kentucky in 1983.[2]
After Spalding came back to Louisville in 1992, the archdiocese assigned him as associate pastor at the Basilica. He also became chaplain at Bethlehem High School, The next year, he was also named as a part-time judge for the metropolitan tribunal and in 1995 as adjutant judicial vicar.[2] In 1996, the archdiocese transferred Spalding from the Basilica to St. Augustine Parish in Lebanon to serve as associate pastor.[2]
In 1998, Archbishop Thomas Kelly appointed Spalding to additional positions judicial vicar and director of the metropolitan tribunal. He was also moved from St. Augustine to a part-time position as associate pastor at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Louisville. In 1999, Spalding became pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in La Grange, Kentucky. He would remain at Immaculate Conception for the next 12 years.[2]
Bishop Joseph Kurtz in 2011 appointed Spalding as vicar general and pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Louisville that year. Spalding gave up his roles as judicial vicar and pastor of Immaculate Conception. In 2016, the archdiocese additionally assigned him as pastor of Holy Name Parish in Louisville.[2]
In November 2018, Spalding released a list of 13 diocesan clerics with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors who served in Tennessee from the 1940s through the 1990s.[5]
Spalding in January 2024 removed Reverend Juan Carlos Garcia from his position at St. Philip Parish in Franklin, Tennessee, pending investigation. A teenager in November 2023 had accused Garcia of inappropriate touching.[6]
