Concept

Joseph Bernardin

Summary
Joseph Louis Bernardin (April 2, 1928 – November 14, 1996) was an American Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1972 until 1982, and as Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death in 1996 from pancreatic cancer. Bernardin was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983 by Pope John Paul II. Joseph Bernardin was born on April 2, 1928, in Columbia, South Carolina, to Joseph Bernardin and Maria Maddalena Simion, an Austro-Hungarian born immigrant couple, from the village of Fiera di Primiero, now located in the Northern Italian region of Trentino. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Columbia. His father died of cancer when Bernardin was six. He took responsibility for his younger sister, Elaine, while his widowed mother worked as a seamstress. Bernardin's original academic ambition was to become a physician, inspiring him to enroll in the pre-medical program at the University of South Carolina. He then transferred to Saint Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1948, and subsequently enrolled in The Catholic University of America to complete his theological studies. On April 26, 1952, Bernardin was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Charleston by John J. Russell at St. Joseph Church. This diocese covers the entire state of South Carolina. During his 14-year tenure at the Diocese of Charleston, Father Bernardin served under four bishops in capacities including chancellor, vicar general, diocesan counselor, and, when the See was vacant, diocesan administrator. In 1959, Pope John XXIII named Bernardin a Papal Chamberlain with the title Very Reverend Monsignor. On March 9, 1966, Pope Paul VI appointed Bernardin titular Bishop of Liguria and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. His episcopal consecration took place on April 26, 1966, at the hands of his mentor, the Archbishop of Atlanta, Paul Hallinan. Bernardin, only 38 years old, thus became the youngest bishop in America.
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