Death of His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago, died on April 17, 2015. He was 78 years old. A member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Cardinal George studied as a seminarian at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, where he received a master’s degree in theology. He later earned a doctorate in philosophy from Tulane University, New Orleans, and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Urban University, Rome. Although physically marked by polio which he had contracted when 13 years old, he went on to serve 12 years in Rome as the Vicar General of the Oblates, and then was named Bishop of Yakima, Washington, in 1990, before becoming Archbishop of Portland in 1996 and then the eighth Archbishop of Chicago, 1997 to 2014. He was made Cardinal by Saint John Paul II at the Consistory of February 21, 1998, and elected by the Bishops of the United States as the President of their Conference, 2007 to 2010. Saint Paul University named him Alumnus of the Year in 2008. In his message of condolences, Pope Francis described him as a “wise and gentle pastor”, singling out Cardinal George’s “witness of consecrated life …, his service to the Church’s educational apostolate and his years of episcopal ministry.” The funeral Mass will be on April 23, 2015, at 12:00 p.m., at the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Chicago.