Baum, William Wakefield (1926-2015), was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed a cardinal in 1976 by Pope Paul VI. In 1980, Pope John Paul II appointed him head of the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education.
Baum was born on Nov. 21, 1926, in Dallas. He studied for the priesthood at the Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, and was ordained in 1951. In 1958, he earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. In the 1960’s, Baum became a leader in the ecumenical movement, an effort to unite all Christians. In 1970, Baum was ordained a bishop and became bishop of Springfield–Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Baum served as archbishop of Washington, D.C., from 1973 until his Vatican appointment. Baum died on July 23, 2015. At the time of his death, he was the longest-serving American cardinal in history.
