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Joseph Ritter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the German historian, seeJoseph Ignatius Ritter.
"Cardinal Ritter" redirects here. For the high school in Indianapolis, seeCardinal Ritter High School.For the high school in St. Louis, seeCardinal Ritter College Prep High School.
His Eminence

Joseph Elmer Ritter
Cardinal,Archbishop of St. Louis
SeeSt. Louis
AppointedJuly 20, 1946
Term endedJune 10, 1967
PredecessorJohn J. Glennon
SuccessorJohn Carberry
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of Santissimo Redentore e Sant'Alfonso in Via Merulan
Orders
OrdinationMay 30, 1917
byJoseph Chartrand
ConsecrationMarch 28, 1933
by Joseph Chartrand
Created cardinalJanuary 16, 1961
byJohn XXIII
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born(1892-07-20)July 20, 1892
New Albany, Indiana,US
DiedJune 10, 1967(1967-06-10)(aged 74)
St. Louis, Missouri,US
Previous post(s)
MottoIpsa duce non fatigaris
(The leader has not wearied)
Miles es Christi sum
(I am a soldier of Christ)
Ordination history of
Joseph Ritter
History
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated byJoseph Chartrand(Indianapolis)
DateMarch 28, 1933
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Joseph Ritter as principal consecrator
Mark Kenny CarrollApril 23, 1947
John CodyJuly 2, 1947
Leo John SteckMay 20, 1948
David Hickey,S.J.September 21, 1948
Charles HelmsingApril 19, 1949
Leo Christopher ByrneJune 29, 1954
Glennon Patrick FlavinMay 30, 1957
George Joseph GottwaldAugust 8, 1961

Joseph Elmer Ritter(July 20, 1892 – June 10, 1967) was an Americanprelateof theCatholic Church.He served asArchbishop of St. Louisfrom 1946 until his death in 1967, and was created acardinalin 1961. He previously served asauxiliary bishop(1933–1934) and bishop (laterarchbishop) (1934–1946) of theArchdiocese of Indianapolis.Ritter was one of the cardinals elector who participated at thepapal conclave in 1963.

Ritter is noted for endingracial discriminationin church schools in both of his archdioceses long before it became mandatory in theUnited States.He also ended hospitalsegregationin the Archdiocese of St. Louis and supported the education ofAfrican-Americanstudents.

Early life and education

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Born July 20, 1892, inNew Albany, Indiana,Elmer Joseph Ritter was the fourth of Nicholas (1859–1944) and Bertha (née Luette) (1865–1941) Ritter's six children.[1]His father owned and operated the Ritter Bakery (where the family also lived). Both of Ritter's parents were ofGermandescent.[2]As a 1946 newspaper article said "It was one of those shops, now rare, in which the whole family, the mother, father and the whole family had to help, either in the store part, which was in the front, or in the bakery which was in the rear."[3]

Ritter said his father had a great reverence of education, saying, "Dad gave us all a chance to go to college, but only if we applied ourselves."[3]Ritter received his early education at theparochial schoolof St. Mary of the Annunciation Church in New Albany where he was called "Apple-Pie Ritter".[4]

Religious calling

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During the seventh grade, Ritter decided to enter thepriesthood.Ritter said "There was no vision, no voice from heaven. I simply wanted to be a priest."[5]In 1907, he enrolled atSt. Meinrad's Seminaryin Saint Meinrad, Indiana, where he completed his studies in 1917.[1]

Priesthood

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Ritter was ordained to the priesthood at the St. Meinrad Seminary'sAbbey Churchon May 30, 1917, by BishopJoseph Chartrand.[6]His first assignment was as acurateat St. Patrick's Parish inIndianapolis.[4]Shortly afterwards, he was transferred toSaints Peter and Paul Cathedral Parish,also in Indianapolis[5]where he served as assistant to the bishop in 1920 andrectorof the cathedral in 1925 to 1933.[3][1]In 1922, Ritter received an honorarydoctorate of theologyfromPope Pius XI.[1]

Indianapolis years

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On February 3, 1933, Ritter was appointed asauxiliary bishopof what was then theDiocese of Indianapolisandtitular bishopofHipposby Pius XI.[6]He received hisepiscopalconsecrationon March 28, 1933, from Bishop Chartrand, with BishopsAlphonse SmithandEmmanuel Ledvinaserving asco-consecrators.[6]As an auxiliary bishop, he also served asvicar generalof the diocese from 1933 to 1934.[2]At age 40, Ritter was one of the youngest Catholic bishops in the United States.[5]

Following the death of Bishop Chartrand, Ritter was appointed the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis on March 24, 1934.[6]In 1938, he directed an end toracial segregationin all Catholic schools in the diocese.[7]His decision, made 16 years beforeBrown v. Board of Education,was met with opposition by theKu Klux Klan,whose members protested outside of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral, and even by his fellow members of the clergy.[8]Ritter also reorganized the diocesanCatholic Charities,introduced theCatholic Youth Organization,and completed the construction of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral.[9]He reduced the diocese's debt by $3 million, equivalent to $50,772,643 in 2023[10].[4]Ritter also reorganized the Catholic Charities in the diocese.[4]

In 1941, Ritter opened St. John's Parish inEvansville, Indiana,the firstBlack Catholicparish in the city.[11]The Diocese of Indianapolis was elevated to the status of anarchdiocesebyPope Pius XIIon October 21, 1944, and Ritter was installed as its first archbishop on December 19, 1944.[12]

St. Louis years

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Ritter was appointed the fourth archbishop of theArchdiocese of St. Louisby Pius XII on July 20, 1946, succeeding the late CardinalJohn J. Glennon.[6]

St. Louis grew quickly during thepost-World War IIeconomic boom. Ritter opened an average of three parishes per year in St. Louis city and county.[13]An able administrator, without the authority to tax or compel, Ritter nevertheless raised more than $125,000,000 (equivalent to $1,244,021,739 in 2023[10]) to build sixty new parishes, sixteen high schools, and theCardinal Glennon Memorial Hospital for Childrenin St. Louis during his tenure there.[14]

Desegregation efforts

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As one of his first acts as archbishop, Ritter announced thatWebster Collegewould accept black students, endorsing theSisters of Loretto's wish to enroll black women (which Ritter's predecessor, Archbishop Glennon, had ruled impossible).[15]He also allowed the senior class of St. Joseph's High School, then the city's only black Catholic high school, to graduate for the first time at the Cathedral alongside white Catholic high school students.[16]

Desegregated diocesan schools and hospitals

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On August 9, 1947, Ritter announced an end toracial segregationin all five St. Louis diocesan high schools before the fall term.[17][9]He declared, "The cross on top of our schools must mean something," and expressed his belief in "the equality of every soul before Almighty God".[18]Ritter sent a memo to all parish school superintendents, saying they must begin to "accept all children into parish schools without regard to race". In one stroke, Ritter had desegregated the Catholic St. Louis area schools, seven years before the 1954 US Supreme Court'sBrown vs Board of Educationdecision. The parochial schools represented one-quarter of all St. Louis area students.[16]

In response to Ritter's desegregation order, a group of over 700 white Catholics from 49 St. Louis area parishes,[19]calling themselves the "Catholic Parents Association of Saint Louis and Saint Louis County",[20]threatened to sue him. The association claimed that his order violated Missouri state law.[21]Association Co-Chair William T. Rone said "We do not want Negro children alongside our children in the schools." Ritter refused to meet with the association leaders, his spokesman saying, "He is the father of the whole flock and must care for all, regardless of race."[22]Ritter then issued apastoral letterin which he warned of possibleexcommunicationfor "interfering with ecclesiastical office authority by having recourse to authority outside of the church".[23]

While the association rejected any civil action, it did send a letter of protest to theapostolic delegateto the United States,Amleto Giovanni Cicognani.[21][24]Cicognani responded to the letter by saying "I am confident that everyone will readily comply with what has been so clearly proposed by the ecclesiastical authority of the Archdiocese".[16]Ritter also desegregated all Catholic hospitals in the St. Louis archdiocese.[5]

Fundraising

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Ritter also developed what is now known as the Annual Catholic Appeal, which remains a primary source of financial support for many archdiocesan educational and charitable activities.[13]

Ecumenism

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On August 24, 1964, atKiel Auditoriumin St. Louis, Ritter celebrated the world's first authorized Mass in English.[13]

Ritter also forbade Catholics to see the 1954 filmThe French Lineunder danger ofserious sin.The film featured actorJane Russelldancing in a scanty outfit in what was then considered a sexually-suggestive scene.[25]He declared that Catholic students must get written permission from the archdiocese to attendsecularor non-Catholiccolleges.[26]Ritter was one of the first bishops to create a diocesan mission, specifically inLa Paz, Bolivia.Until that time, most Catholic missions had been run byreligious institutesorsocieties of apostolic life.Parishioners in St. Louis regularly contributed more money to these foreign missions than any archdiocese of its size. Ritter served as president of theNational Catholic Educational Associationfrom 1955 to 1956, and was named anassistant at the pontifical throneon October 5, 1956.[1]

Cardinal

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Ritter was createdcardinal priestofSS. Redentore e S. Alfonso in Via MerulanabyPope John XXIIIin theconsistoryof January 16, 1961.[6]Between 1962 and 1965, he participated in all four sessions of theSecond Vatican Councilin Rome.[2]Ritter was viewed as aliberal.[27][28]He also protested against theRoman Curia's oppressive actions[28]and CardinalAlfredo Ottaviani's draft on the sources ofrevelationat the Council.[29]

Death, funeral and burial

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Ritter died on June 10, 1967, at DePaul Hospital in St. Louis after suffering twoheart attacksearlier in the week.[30]His body lay in state at the Cathedral.

Funeral

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Ritter's requiem mass was celebrated on June 15, 1967, at St. Louis cathedral. At his request, it was a "Low Funeral Mass". Cardinal-designateJohn Patrick Cody,archbishop of Chicago, formerly an auxiliary bishop under the late cardinal in St. Louis, was the main celebrant. CardinalsRichard Cushing,James Francis McIntyre,Lawrence Shehan,and Francis Spellman attended, together with cardinals-designateJohn KrolandPatrick O'Boyle.Ten archbishops, forty-eight bishops, and four abbots were also in attendance. Some fifty Protestant, Jewish, and Orthodox Christina leaders were present, representing theEpiscopal Church,Missouri-Synod Lutheran,United Church of Christ,Greek Orthodox, Baptist,Disciples of Christ,Methodists, Presbyterians, andSalvation Army.In his sermon, Kansas City BishopCharles Helmsing,another auxiliary bishop who had served under Ritter, spoke of Ritter's liturgical leadership, particularly "his concern for a liturgy of the Word that would truly inform and enlighten the people of God."

Burial and re-interment

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Ritter was buried in the priest's lot atCalvary Cemeteryin St. Louis. He had said he did not want to be buried in the cathedral.On November 2, 1994, ArchbishopJustin Rigaliof St. Louis had Ritter's remains removed from Calvary Cemetery and re-interred in the crypt of the new cathedral, now the cathedral basilica of St. Louis.[31]

Legacy

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Mosaic depicting Joseph Cardinal Ritter.
  • Ritter is commemorated by a mosaic tile depiction in theCathedral Basilica of Saint Louisshowing him reaching out toward a group of people from other faiths on one side, and also an integrated group of school children on the other.
  • Ritter was a friend ofLionel Hampton[32]and Cardinal Ottaviani.[29]
  • In a gesture ofecumenism,Ritter granted his approval to themixed marriageof a Catholic and anEpiscopalianin 1964.[33]He also authorized the firstEnglishMassin the United States.[30]
  • Ritter, intensely dedicated to racial equality, even withheldcommunionfrom Catholics who practiceddiscrimination.[34]
  • Ritter was "dismayed" and "indignant" after the rector ofCatholic University of America,MonsignorWilliam McDonald, refused to allow certain liberaltheologiansto speak at the university.[35]
  • His birthplace and childhood home inNew Albany, Indiana,was to be turned into a museum about Ritter's life (he remains the only Indiana-born Cardinal in the Catholic Church's history, and up until October 2016, when Pope Francis named Indianapolis's incumbent Archbishop,Joseph William Tobin,to the cardinalate [effective in November 2016], Indianapolis- or any other Indiana diocese- was not a cardinalatial see) in three stages. The Cardinal Ritter Birthplace Foundation is promoting this project. The museum will occupy the Ritter family's bakery—its storefront was part of the 1874 Queen Anne-style home.[36]
  • A one-hour documentary of Ritter's life was filmed.[37]
  • Cardinal Ritter High Schoolin Indianapolis is named in his honor.
  • Cardinal Ritter College Prep High Schoolin St. Louis is named in his honor.

Honors

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  • Ritter received an honorary Doctorate of Theology from Pope Pius XI in 1922.[14]
  • In 1961,Saint Louis Universitynamed Ritter an honorary “Founder of Saint Louis University" "in honor of his leadership and influence in the cause of education".[14]
  • Ritter was unanimously chosen 1965 "Ecumenical Man of the Year" by the Metropolitan St. Louis Church Federation. Ritter declined the award, saying "Grateful for the honor, I am united with you in efforts for Christian unity. But it is my practice to decline citations in line with what is obviously my duty".[38]
  • Ritter was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree byEden Theological Seminary,St. Louis, Missouri, 1965.[39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdeCurtis, Georgina Pell (1961).The American Catholic Who's Who.Vol. XIV. Grosse Pointe, Michigan: Walter Romig.
  2. ^abcMiranda, Salvador."RITTER, Joseph Elmer (1892-1967)".The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.
  3. ^abc"A Deep Sense of Humility".The St. Louis Star and Times.St. Louis, Missouri. July 29, 1946.RetrievedAugust 28,2020.
  4. ^abcd"The Cardinal – Cardinal Ritter Birthplace Foundation Inc".Retrieved2023-10-09.
  5. ^abcd"Joseph Cardinal Ritter, 74, Dies; Liberal Archbishop of St. Louis".The New York Times.June 11, 1967.
  6. ^abcdef"Joseph Elmer Cardinal Ritter".Catholic-Hierarchy.org.David M. Cheney.Retrieved21 January2015.[self-published source]
  7. ^"Cardinal Joseph E. Ritter".Marian University.Archived fromthe originalon 2010-05-27.Retrieved2010-05-17.
  8. ^"Cardinal Joseph Ritter: A trailblazer for desegregation in Indianapolis Catholic schools".WISH-TV 8.2010-02-12. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-09-27.
  9. ^abChristensen, Lawrence O. (1999).Dictionary of Missouri Biography.Columbia: University of Missouri Press.
  10. ^ab1634–1699:McCusker, J. J.(1997).How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda(PDF).American Antiquarian Society.1700–1799:McCusker, J. J.(1992).How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States(PDF).American Antiquarian Society.1800–present:Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis."Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–".RetrievedFebruary 29,2024.
  11. ^"Bishop Officiate at Opening of St. John's Catholic Church".Evansville Argus.1941-05-09.Retrieved2021-03-12.
  12. ^"General history".Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
  13. ^abcFausz, Ph.D., J. Frederick (2014)."HISTORIC ST. LOUIS 250 Years Exploring New Frontiers".University of Missouri St. Louis:187–188.RetrievedAugust 31,2020.
  14. ^abc"Joseph Cardinal Ritter".Arch City Religion.RetrievedAugust 29,2020.
  15. ^"100 People Who Shaped St. Louis".St. Louis Magazine.December 27, 2007.RetrievedAugust 29,2020.
  16. ^abcShinkle, Florence (June 22, 1997)."Go Write Your Little Letters".St. Louis Post-Dispatch.St. Louis, Missouri.RetrievedAugust 28,2020.
  17. ^"5 Catholic High Schools Open to Negro Students".St. Louis Post-Dispatch.St. Louis, Missouri. August 10, 1947.RetrievedAugust 28,2020.
  18. ^"Religion: Four New Hats".TIME Magazine.1960-12-26. Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2010.
  19. ^"Pope's Aide to get Negro Question".Tampa Times.Tampa, Florida. September 22, 1947.RetrievedAugust 28,2020.
  20. ^Landers, Misty (January 2017).Just Discrimination: Arkansas Parochial Schools and the Defense of Segregation(Thesis). University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
  21. ^ab"RACES: Caution!".TIME Magazine.1947-09-29. Archived fromthe originalon June 21, 2007.
  22. ^"Parents protest after St. Louis Catholic schools are integrated".St. Louis Post-Dispatch.St. Louis, Missouri. September 21, 2019.RetrievedAugust 31,2020.
  23. ^"Joseph Cardinal Ritter".Arch City Religion.Retrieved2023-10-09.
  24. ^"In Church Row".Clarion-Ledger.Jackson, Mississippi. September 26, 1947.RetrievedAugust 28,2020.
  25. ^TIME Magazine.The CensorsJanuary 11, 1954
  26. ^TIME Magazine.The LetterJune 20, 1960
  27. ^TIME Magazine.Cum Magno DoloreOctober 23, 1964
  28. ^abTIME Magazine.The Unlikely CardinalAugust 21, 1964
  29. ^abTIME Magazine.The Cardinal's SetbackNovember 23, 1962
  30. ^abTIME MagazineMilestones
  31. ^"Ritter, Joseph Elmer".The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.RetrievedAugust 29,2020.
  32. ^TIME Magazine.[1]January 27, 1961
  33. ^TIME Magazine. Toward Easier Mixed MarriageJuly 17, 1964
  34. ^TIME Magazine.Waking Up to RaceOctober 4, 1963
  35. ^TIME Magazine.Crisis at Catholic U.March 29, 1963
  36. ^[2][dead link]
  37. ^Plaque marks Cardinal Ritter's birthplace in New AlbanyArchived2007-09-28 at theWayback MachineNewsandtribune
  38. ^"Cardinal Ritter Declines Award for Ecumenism".The Courier-Journal.Louisville, Kentucky. January 24, 1965.RetrievedAugust 31,2020.
  39. ^"Cardinal Ritter to get Eden Degree Tonight".St. Louis Post-Dispatch.St. Louis, Missouri. June 4, 1965.RetrievedAugust 28,2020.
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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Archbishop of Indianapolis
1934–1946 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Archbishop of Saint Louis
1946–1967 		Succeeded by
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