Stritch, Samuel Alphonsus (1887-1958), was named a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. In 1958, he was named pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (now the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples).
Cardinal Stritch was born on Aug. 17, 1887, in Nashville. He was an excellent student and graduated from high school when he was 14 years old. At age 17, he received a B.A. degree, and after two years at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, he received a Ph.D. degree. A special dispensation was secured to permit him to be ordained when he was 22.
Stritch first served as a priest in Tennessee. He became bishop of Toledo, Ohio, in 1921. He was the youngest American ever to become a bishop. In 1930, Stritch was named archbishop of Milwaukee, and in 1939, archbishop of Chicago. Stritch died on May 27, 1958.
See also Cardinal Stritch University .
