Cardinal Joseph Bernadin

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin 1928 - 1996      Joseph Bernardin was born in Columbia, South Carolina to hard working Italian immigrants who were born in what was then the last remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  When his father died, young Joseph stepped in to help his mother support the family that included a younger sister. His original desire to be a physician was abandoned to a response to the priestly vocation. He was ordained a priest in Columbia in 1952 and after serving in various capacities both ministerial and administrative, was named Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta in 1966. Bernardin was 38 and the youngest bishop in the United States. In 1972, he was named Archbishop of Cincinnati where he worked closely with non-Catholics and non-Christians to better relationships and understanding. In 1982, Bernardin was named Archbishop of Chicago and named Cardinal the year after. In Chicago, Bernardin found an archdiocese beset by financial and legal woes, a disgruntled clergy and faith