Dearden, John Francis (1907-1988), was named a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. He also served as archbishop of Detroit from 1958 to 1981.
Dearden was born in Valley Falls, Rhode Island, on Oct. 15, 1907. He was ordained a priest in 1932. Dearden was a professor of philosophy at St. Mary’s Seminary in Cleveland, Ohio, in the late 1930’s and the 1940’s. He also served as rector of the seminary from 1944 to 1948. Dearden became bishop of Pittsburgh in 1950, and archbishop of Detroit in 1958. In 1966, he was elected the first president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (now the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). Dearden died on Aug. 1, 1988.
