Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic (born Alojzij Matej Ambrožič; January 27, 1930 – August 26, 2011) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

and

Archbishop of Toronto The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, ...

. He was made a cardinal on 21 February 1998.

Biography

Ambrozic was born near Gabrje in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

(modern-day

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

) as Alojzij Matej Ambrožič, one of seven children of Alojzij (or "Lojze") Ambrožič and Helena Pečar. In May 1945, he and his family fled to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, after which he completed high school in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

and various

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

s (Vetrinj, Peggez and Spittal an der Drau). The family went to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in September 1948, where he studied at St. Augustine's Seminary and was ordained a priest in Toronto on 4 June 1955.Archdiocese of Toronto
retrieved 12 July 2013 He served first in

Port Colborne, Ontario Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed after ...

, and later taught at St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto.Biography of Cardinal Ambrožič
/ref> He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and he earned a degree in theology from the ''Angelicum''. On his return to Canada, he taught Scripture at St Augustine's Seminary from 1960 to 1967. He then studied at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in theology there in 1970. He taught

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

at the Toronto School of Theology from 1970 to 1976, when he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto on 27 May 1976. On 22 May 1986, he became Coadjutor Archbishop of Toronto, and he duly succeeded to the position of Archbishop of Toronto on 17 March 1990. In 1998, he was created cardinal by

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 ...

and assigned the titular church of Santi Marcellino e Pietro. He became a member of the

Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Spirituali Migrantium atque Itinerantium Cura) was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia. The council, established by Pope John Paul I ...

in 1990, the

Congregation for the Clergy The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

in 1991, the

Pontifical Council for Culture The Pontifical Council for Culture ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May ...

in 1993, and the

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...

in 1999. He was one of the

cardinal electors 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 ...

who participated in the 2005 papal conclave 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 ...

. He retired on 16 December 2006. During his archiepiscopate, Toronto hosted World Youth Day in 2002. He was a vocal opponent of

same-sex marriage in Canada Same-sex marriage in Canada was progressively introduced in several provinces by court decisions beginning in 2003 before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the ''Civil Marriage Act'' on July 20, 2005. On June 10, 2003, th ...

. On his retirement for reasons of age, he was succeeded as Archbishop of Toronto by

Thomas Christopher Collins Thomas Christopher Collins (born January 16, 1947) is a Canadian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He has been the Archbishop of Toronto since 2007. He was previously Bishop of Saint Paul in Alberta from 1997 to 1999 and Archbishop of Edmo ...

on 30 January 2007. Ambrozic died on 26 August 2011 after a lengthy illness. His funeral Mass was held on 31 August 2011 at Saint Michael's Cathedral in Toronto, with Archbishop Thomas Collins presiding. More than 1000 people attended the Mass, including Canadian federal finance minister

Jim Flaherty James Michael Flaherty (December 30, 1949 – April 10, 2014) was a Canadian politician who served as the federal minister of finance from 2006 to 2014 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. First elected to the Legislative Assembly ...

and local mayors

Rob Ford Robert Bruce Ford (May 28, 1969 – March 22, 2016) was a Canadian politician and businessman who served as the 64th mayor of Toronto from 2010 to 2014. Before and after his term as mayor, Ford was a city councillor representing Ward 2 Etobi ...

of Toronto and

Hazel McCallion Hazel McCallion, (; born February 14, 1921) is a Canadian businesswoman and retired politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, from 1978 until 2014. She is the first and current chancellor of Sheridan College. McCalli ...

of Mississauga.

Views

Ambrozic was a somewhat contentious figure in Canadian Catholicism, and he was the subject of vocal opposition from some liberal or progressive Catholics and ex-Catholics for his conservative stands. At the same time, he rejected a request from the Toronto Traditional Mass Society (the local chapter of

Una Voce The ''Fœderatio Internationalis Una Voce'' or simply ''Una Voce'' (Latin for "With One Voice"; from the preface to the Roman Canon) is an international federation of Catholic lay organizations attached to the Tridentine Mass. History The ''Foede ...

) to invite the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter to offer

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

es in the archdiocese.Ambrozic Letter
from ''Unavocetoront.com'' retrieved 12 July 2013

References

External links

from th
Archdiocese of Toronto

Cardinal Ambrozic
o
catholic-pages.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrozic, Aloysius 1930 births 2011 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of Toronto Almo Collegio Capranica alumni Canadian cardinals Yugoslav emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Slovenian descent Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada Canadian expatriates in Italy 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada