Former Detroit Archbishop Cardinal Szoka has died

With sadness and great hope in the Resurrection we share news of the death of Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka, who served as Archbishop of Detroit from 1981 until 1990 and went on to oversee the government of the Vatican City State under Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI.

“We mourn the loss of a dedicated shepherd,” said current Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, who had served as a priest under Cardinal Szoka in the 1980s. “For sixty years Cardinal Szoka gave himself totally to his priestly service of Christ and his Church.  He has gone home to the Heavenly Father with our prayers. May the Lord give him the reward of his labors.”

BIOGRAPHICAL TIMELINE

Born: Sep. 14, 1927 (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Ordained Priest (Marquette): June 5, 1954

Appointed First Bishop of Gaylord: June 11, 1971

Ordained and Installed Bishop of Gaylord: July 20, 1971

Appointed Eighth Ordinary and Third Archbishop of Detroit: March 21, 1981

Installed Archbishop of Detroit: May 17, 1981

Created Cardinal Priest of SS. Andrea e Gregorio al Monte Cielo, Roma: June 28, 1988

Appointed President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See: April 28, 1990

Appointed President of the Governatorate of Vatican City State: Oct. 15, 1997

Appointed President of Vatican City State: Feb. 22, 2001

Resigned: Sept. 15, 2006