Edmund Szoka Cardinal Priest Date of Birth: 14.09.1927 Country: Italy

1. Biography of Edmund Szoka
2. Early Years as a Priest
3. Educational Pursuits and Pastoral Work
4. Archbishop of Detroit and Later Years
5. Later Positions and Retirement

Biography of Edmund Szoka

Edmund Casimir Szoka was born on September 14, 1927, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was the son of Kazimierz and Maria (née Wolgat) Szoka, Polish immigrants. He had an older sister, Irene, and moved with his family to Muskegon in the early 1930s, where he received his primary education at St. Michael's School. At a young age, Szoka was drawn to the priesthood and attended St. Joseph's Seminary in Grand Rapids, the Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit during his junior and senior years, and then the Provincial Seminary of St. John in Plymouth, Michigan, to study theology.

Early Years as a Priest

On June 5, 1954, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas Noa at St. Peter's Cathedral in Marquette, on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He served as a pastor in Manistique before becoming Bishop Noa's secretary, accompanying him to the first session of the Second Vatican Council in 1962. During this time, he also served as a chaplain at St. Mary's Hospital and K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base.

Educational Pursuits and Pastoral Work

From 1957 to 1959, he studied canon law at the Pontifical Urban University or Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. After returning to the United States, Szoka engaged in pastoral and curial work, including serving as an official in the marriage tribunal in Marquette until 1971. On November 14, 1963, he was elevated to the rank of Honorary Prelate of His Holiness by Pope Paul VI. Szoka was appointed the first Bishop of Gaylord on June 11, 1971. He received his episcopal ordination on July 20 from Cardinal John Dearden, with the assistance of Bishops Charles Salatka and Joseph McKinney. A year later, the bishops of the Fourth Pastoral Region of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) elected him president for the term 1972-1977. At the same time, he served as treasurer and secretary of the Michigan Catholic Conference.

Archbishop of Detroit and Later Years

On March 21, 1981, Szoka was appointed the third Metropolitan Archbishop of Detroit (eighth bishop) by Pope John Paul II. Since 1981, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Administration of the Provincial Seminary of St. John in Plymouth, Michigan, and the Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius near Orchard Lake, Michigan. He was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Catholic Conference, a member of the Executive Committee of the Catholic University, Chairman of the Committee on University Relations, Administrator of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Treasurer of the NCCB, and served on committees in the Conference on Human Values, Bishops, Dioceses and Provinces, and Economic Affairs. As the Archbishop of Detroit, Szoka improved the process of marriage annulments, drawing from his experience in the marriage tribunal in Marquette. On April 28, 1990, he retired from his position as Archbishop of Detroit and was named the President of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from January 22, 1990, to October 14, 1997. In this role, he assisted in managing the Vatican's financial matters.

Later Positions and Retirement

On October 14, 1997, Cardinal Szoka was appointed the Governor of Vatican City, and on February 22, 2001, he became the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State. Within the Roman Curia, his memberships included the State Secretariat (Second Section) and the Congregations for the Causes of Saints, Bishops, Evangelization of Peoples (Congregatio de Propaganda Fide), Clergy, and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

In 2002, Szoka submitted his resignation to Pope John Paul II upon reaching the retirement age of 75 in the Church, but the Pope demanded that he continue working. During his rare free time, Szoka enjoyed strolling through the Vatican Gardens. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the Papal Conclave of 2005, which elected Pope Benedict XVI. As the Governor of Vatican City, Szoka, along with Secretary of State Angelo Sodano and Camerlengo Eduardo Martínez Somalo, was responsible for preparing the accommodations for the cardinal electors at the Domus Sanctae Marthae. On June 22, 2006, it was announced that his resignation had been accepted by Pope Benedict XVI and that he would officially step down on September 15, 2006. He retained all his curial memberships until the age of 80. Regarding his plans after retirement, Szoka stated that he would be interested in traveling, writing, studying the Church Fathers, and continuing to provide priestly assistance to Detroit. He was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2005.