Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin (1928-1996)

Born to Italian immigrants in South Carolina, he attended the University of South Carolina as a pre-med major before entering the seminary system. Ordained in 1952, he served as chancellor and Vicar General of the Charleston Diocese. He attended Vatican II as a theological adviser (peritus) to his bishop. In 1966, he was named an Auxiliary Bishop in Atlanta. At 38, he was the youngest bishop in the country. In 1968 he was elected general secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB). In 1972 he was named Archbishop of Cincinnati. In 1974 he was elected President of the NCCB. He chaired the committee that produced the Bishops’ 1980 pastoral letter on peace. In 1982, he was named Archbishop of Chicago and Cardinal a year later. Cardinal Bernardin is perhaps most famous e=for his speech on what he called a “consistent ethic of life” in approaching the various life issues from cradle to grave. Before his death of cancer in 1996, he announced the establishment of the Catholic Common Ground project to promote dialogue within the Church.