Our Ecclesiastical Protector

Cardinal Adam Maida

Adam Joseph Maida was born on March 18, 1930, in East Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. He was the first of three sons born to Adam Maida and Sophie Cieslak Maida.

Cardinal Maida's father, now deceased, came to the United States from a rural area near Warsaw, Poland. His mother was born in the United States and presently resides in Scott Township, Pennsylvania.

One brother, Thaddeus, is a priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and the pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Perrysville. His other brother, Daniel, lives in Scott Township and is married to the former Patricia Hurley. Daniel is in private business and he and Patricia have three sons, Timothy, Joseph and Robert.

Cardinal Maida attended East Vandergrift Public Schools; Vandergrift Public High School for one year, and Scott Township High School for one year. He then completed high school and graduated from St. Mary's High School, Orchard Lake, Michigan, in 1948.

Following graduation from St. Mary's, Cardinal Maida entered St. Mary's College, Orchard Lake. In 1950, he transferred to St. Vincent's College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.

In 1956, Cardinal Maida graduated with a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from St. Mary's University, Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1960, Cardinal Maida received a Licentiate in Canon Law (J.C.L.) from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. In 1964, he was awarded a Doctorate in Civil Law ( J.D.) from Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh.

Cardinal Maida was admitted to practice law before the Bar for the State of Pennsylvania, the Federal Bar in Western Pennsylvania, and the United States Supreme Court.

On May 26, 1956, Cardinal Maida was ordained a priest in St. Paul Cathedral, Pittsburgh, by then Bishop John Dearden (deceased Cardinal Archbishop of Detroit).

Following his ordination, Cardinal Maida served in the Diocese of Pittsburgh as an associate pastor, Vice Chancellor and General Counsel of the Diocese, in the Diocesan Tribunal, and as Assistant Professor of Theology at La Roche College, and Adjunct Professor of Law at Duquesne University Law School.

On January 25, 1984, he was ordained and installed as the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

On May 7, 1990, Pope John Paul II named Bishop Maida Archbishop of Detroit. He was installed as Archbishop of Detroit on June 12, 1990.

On October 30, 1994, Pope John Paul II named Archbishop Maida a Cardinal. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals at a Consistory held on November 26, 1994 at the Paul VI Auditorium in the Vatican.

In May of 1996, Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Maida as Papal Legate (the Pope's personal representative) to the 19th International Marian Congress, which was held in Czestochowa, Poland, from August 24 to 26, 1996.

Appointments:

Roman Curia:
Member Congregation for Catholic Education
Member Congregation for the Clergy
Member Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples

National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB)
Chairman Ad Hoc Committee for Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe
Member Bishops' Welfare Emergency Relief Committee
Member Committee on Migration
Member Committee on Pro-Life Activities
Member Ad Hoc Committee - Ex Corde Ecclesiae
Episcopal Liaison Committee for the Polish Apostolate

Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)
Member Board of Directors

Catholic University of America
Member Board of Trustees

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
Member Board of Trustees

Pope John XXIII Medical-Moral Research and Education Center, Braintree, Massachusetts
Member Board of Directors

Michigan Catholic Conference (MCC)
Chairman Board of Trustees

Pope John Paul II Cultural Foundation, Rome
Member

Pope John Paul II Cultural Foundation, United States
Episcopal Moderator and President

Publications:

The Tribunal Reporter-A Casebook and Commentary on the Grounds for Annulment in the Catholic Church, Vol. 1 (1970) Editor
Ownership, Control and Sponsorship of Catholic Institutions (1975) Author
Issues in the Labor-Management Dialogue: Church Perspectives (1982) Editor
Church Property, Church Finances and Church-Related Corporations, A Canon Law Handbook (1983) Author

Languages:
Polish, Latin, Italian