Cardinal marks his 50th year in priesthood

6/9/2006

Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of the Detroit Catholic Archdiocese, celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving Thursday in honor of his 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood.

The archdiocese includes parishes in Monroe, Temperance, and other areas near Toledo.

Born March 18, 1930, in East Vandergrift, Penn., the son of a coal miner, Cardinal Maida earned a bachelor s degree in philosophy from St. Vincent s College in Latrobe, Penn., and a licentiate in theology from St. Mary s College, Baltimore.

He was ordained May 26, 1956, by Bishop John Deardon of the Pittsburgh Diocese, and went on to earn a canon law degree from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome and a doctorate in civil law from Duquesne University in 1964. Cardinal Maida was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, although he never argued a case before that court.

Named archbishop of Detroit in 1990, Cardinal Maida was elevated to cardinal in October, 1994. He said Pope Benedict XVI recently asked him to continue serving as Detroit s archbishop until you hear otherwise.