Joseph Cardinal Bernardin
Joseph Louis Bernardin (originally
Bernardini), later
Joseph Louis Cardinal Bernardin, (
April 2,
1928–
November 14,
1996) was an American clergyman, the twelfth bishop (seventh archbishop) of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, serving from
1982 to
1996 (succeeded
John Cardinal Cody).
He was born on
April 2,
1928 in
Columbia, South Carolina to a family of
Italian immigrants, and ordained a priest on
april 26,
1952, serving in the Diocese of
Charleston, which is co-extensive with the State of
South Carolina. On
March 9,
1966 he was appointed Titular Bishop of Ligura and Auxiliary Bishop of the archdiocese of
Atlanta, Georgia, and became the youngest bishop in the nation at the age of 38 when he was ordained a bishop on
April 26,
1966. In 1968, he resigned as auxiliary bishop of Atlanta to become General Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, a post he held until 1972. He was appointed Archbishop of
Cincinnati, Ohio on
November 21,
1972, where he was installed
December 19,
1972. He was appointed Archbishop of Chicago on
July 10,
1982 and installed
August 25,
1982. He was created a
Cardinal on
February 2,
1983, and served as archbishop until his death from pancreatic cancer at the age of 68. Until the early 1990s he was considered a
possible candidate to become the first
American Pope. He also served as President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was interred in the Bishops' Mausoleum at
Mt. Carmel Cemetery,
Hillside, Illinois, following a Funeral Mass celebrated by his good friend,
Roger Cardinal Mahony.
Bernardin is best known for being the father of the
Seamless Garment of Life philosophy, which combined activism against abortion with activism against the death penalty. The phrase is a somewhat arcane reference from
John 19:23 to the robe worn by Jesus on the day of his execution. Since Bernardin's death, the "seamless garment" identification has been largely replaced by the phrase
Consistent Ethic of Life, which views opposition to capital punishment, militarism, euthanasia, social injustice, economic injustice, and abortion as being interrelated.
A few years before his death, Bernardin was accused of sexual abuse by Stephen Cook, a former seminarian who claimed to have been abused by Bernardin and another priest in the 1970s. However, Cook recanted and before he died in 1995 from
AIDS, he and Bernardin reconciled beginning in a meeting at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in suburban Philadelphia.Bernardin surrendered control of the day-to-day care of the Archdiocese to his vicar general and auxiliary bishop, Raymond Goedert, after his doctors at Loyola University Medical Center'sCancer Center told him the pancreatic cancer that had metastasized to the liver was not responding to experimental and palliative treatments, which were discontinued. In his last public appearance as Archbishop, that cancer center was renamed for him during a violent storm.He bade an emotional farewell to the clergy of the Archdiocese at Holy Name Cathedral weeks before his death. Even today, pancreatic cancer is not amenable to treatment. Bernardin wasalso lauded for his anti-pornography work, his leadership of the U.S. bishops, and thepresidency of the Catholic Extension Society. He relied in the last few years on the assistanceof his adviser Monsignor Kenneth Velo, director of Catholic Extension. He wrote a best-selling book about the end of life called
The Gift Of Peace, with the help of his good friend EugeneKennedy. The process for his sainthood cause is reputedly underway.
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Cardinal Bernardin's Final Resting Place |
See also
List of Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops of Chicago.
