Adam Joseph Maida (born March 18, 1930) is an American

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Maida served as the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

in Michigan from 1990 to 2009, and was elevated to cardinal in 1994. Maida previously served as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Diocese of Green Bay The Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay ( la, Diocesis Sinus Viridis) was established on March 3, 1868, by Pope Pius IX. It covers the city of Green Bay, as well as Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Forest, Kewaunee, Langlade, Manitowoc, Mar ...

in Wisconsin from 1984 to 1990.

Biography

Early life and education

Maida was born in East Vandergrift,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, to Adam and Sophie (née Cieslak) Maida. The oldest of three children, he has two brothers, Thaddeus (who also became a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

) and Daniel. His father immigrated from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

at age 16, while his mother was the daughter of Polish immigrants. He and his brothers attended

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

s in East Vandergrift since there were no local

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

s. Maida attended Vandergrift High School and Scott Township High School, each for one year. During his sophomore year of high school, Maida decided to enter the priesthood. He entered St. Mary's Preparatory School in Orchard Lake Village, Michigan, graduating from there in 1948. He then entered St. Mary's College, also in Orchard Lake Village. In 1950, Maida transferred to

Saint Vincent College Saint Vincent College is a private Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, it is operated by the Benedictine monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Benedictine monastery in the ...

in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he earned a

Bachelor of Philosophy Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; la, Baccalaureus Philosophiae or ) is the title of an academic degree that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's ...

degree in 1952. He received a

Licentiate of Sacred Theology Licentiate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Licentiatus; abbreviated STL) is the second of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the first being the Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theol ...

from St. Mary's University in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1956.

Ordination and ministry

On May 26, 1956, Maida was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh by Bishop John Dearden at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Pittsburgh. After his ordination, Maida's first assignment was as assistant

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania. He later served at Holy Innocents Parish in Sheraden, Pennsylvania. In 1958, Bishop Dearden sent Maida to Rome to study at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...

, where he earned a

Licentiate of Canon Law Licentiate of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Licentiatus; JCL) is the title of an advanced graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of canon law. Licentiate ...

in 1960. He received his Juris Doctor from

Duquesne University School of Law The Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University is a private Catholic university law school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is approved by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. ...

in 1964; he was admitted to practice law for the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, the Federal Bar in Western Pennsylvania, and the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Maida served as vice-

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and general counsel (1965–83) of the diocese. In 1968, he was elected president of the

Canon Law Society of America The Canon Law Society of America or CLSA is a professional association dedicated to the promotion of both the study and the application of canon law in the Catholic Church. The Society's membership includes over fifteen hundred men and women who ...

. He served on a papal commission to draft a due process procedure giving the laity

legal recourse A legal recourse is an action that can be taken by an individual or a corporation to attempt to remedy a legal difficulty. * A lawsuit if the issue is a matter of civil law * Contracts that require mediation or arbitration before a dispute can go ...

within the church, and participated in the revision of the

Code of Canon Law Code of Canon Law () may refer to: * ''Corpus Juris Canonici'' ('Body of Canon Law'), a collection of sources of canon law of the Catholic Church applicable to the Latin Church until 1918 * 1917 Code of Canon Law, code of canon law for the Catholi ...

; for the

National Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

, he worked on the adoption of a due process procedure and chaired the bishops' Canonical Affairs Committee. Maida served as a member of the diocesan tribunal, assistant professor of theology at

La Roche College La Roche University is a private university in McCandless, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1963 by the Sisters of Divine Providence as a Roman Catholic college and now sits on an campus in McCandless within the Diocese of Pittsburgh. History ...

in McCandless, Pennsylvania, and adjunct professor of law at Duquesne University Law School (1971–83). He was also

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

of the St. Thomas More Society.

Bishop of Green Bay

On November 8, 1983,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed Maida as the ninth bishop of the

. He received his episcopal

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on January 25, 1984, from Archbishop Pio Laghi, with Bishops Aloysius Wycisło and

Vincent Leonard Vincent Martin Leonard (December 11, 1908 – August 28, 1994) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania from 1969 to 1983. Biography Early life Vincent Leonard was bo ...

serving as co-consecrators, at the Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier in Green Bay. During his tenure in Green Bay, Maida appointed the diocese's first female chancellor and first female parish director. He also established a diocesan planning council and ministry formation program, initiated a diocesan census, implemented the

RCIA The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), or ''Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum'', is a process developed by the Catholic Church for its catechumenate for prospective converts to the Catholic faith above the age of infant bapt ...

process, and raised $9 million through Lumen Christi education endowment campaign.

Archbishop of Detroit

On April 28, 1990, John Paul II appointed Maida as the fourth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit. He was installed on June 12, 1990. On November 26, 1994, John Paul II elevated Maida to the

Sacred College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of ''Ss. Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio''. In 2000, Maida was appointed the first superior of the Mission ''Sui Iuris'' of Cayman Islands. In April 2005, following the death of John Paul II, Maida traveled to the Vatican as a cardinal elector to participate in the

conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Co ...

that selected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

. Maida is no longer eligible to vote in any future conclaves as he reached his 80th birthday. On March 18, 2005, Maida sent his letter of resignation to Pope Benedict XVI, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 75. The Vatican asked Maida to remain archbishop until further notice. On June 8, 2006, Maida celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. In January 2007, Maida relieved Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus

Thomas Gumbleton Thomas John Gumbleton (born January 26, 1930) is an American social activist and retired prelate of the Catholic Church. Gumbleton served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit from 1968 to 2006. According to Gumbleton, the Vatic ...

of his pastoral duties at St. Leo Parish in Detroit. Gumbleton claimed he was being punished by Maida for his outspoken views on sexual abuse crimes by clergy. Maida claimed that he was following church rules on retirement of bishops.

Retirement

On January 5, 2009, the Holy See announced acceptance of Maida's resignation and the appointment of Bishop

Allen Vigneron Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands, serving since 2009. V ...

, from the

Diocese of Oakland The Diocese of Oakland ( la, Diœcesis Quercopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern California. The diocese comprises Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Th ...

, as his successor. Vigneron was installed on January 28, 2009, at the

Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament The Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament is a Neo-Gothic style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States. It is the seat of the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit. The metropolitan archdiocese for the Roman C ...

in Detroit Maida became

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Archdiocese of Detroit and assisted Vigneron with the transition. Maida celebrated his final mass at the cathedral on January 25, 2009. This was also held in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his consecration as a bishop.

References

External links

*
Biography from the Archdiocese of Detroit (in PDF format)
* ttp://www.aod.org/ Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit {{DEFAULTSORT:Maida, Adam 1930 births Living people 21st-century American cardinals 20th-century American cardinals American people of Polish descent American theologians Catholics from Michigan Catholics from Wisconsin Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Duquesne University alumni Duquesne University faculty People from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Religious leaders from Wisconsin Roman Catholic archbishops of Detroit Roman Catholic bishops of Green Bay Saint Vincent College alumni Catholic University of America trustees People from Orchard Lake, Michigan Catholics from Pennsylvania St. Mary's Preparatory alumni

Biography

Early life and education

Ordination and ministry

Bishop of Green Bay

Archbishop of Detroit

Retirement

See also

References

External links