Joseph Ritter

Joseph Elmer Ritter (July 20, 1892&mdash;June 10, 1967), was an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Saint Louis from 1946 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1961.

Biography
Joseph Ritter was born in New Albany, Indiana, to Nicholas and Bertha (née Luette) Ritter. Entering St. Meinrad's Seminary in 1907, he once said, "There was no vision, no voice from Heaven. I simply wanted to be a priest." He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Joseph Chartrand on May 30, 1917. He then did pastoral work in Indianapolis until 1933, also serving as rector of the unfinished Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

On February 3, 1933, Ritter was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Indianapolis and Titular Bishop of Hippos. He received his episcopal consecration on the following March 28 from Bishop Chartrand, with Bishops Alphonse Smith and Emmanuel Ledvina serving as co-consecrators. Ritter succeeded Chartrand as Bishop of Indianapolis on March 24, 1934. In Indianapolis, he reorganized the local Catholic Charities organization, introduced the Catholic Youth Organization, and completed the construction of the cathedral. In Indianapolis during the 1930s, Ritter directed the racial integration of a parish school despite a revolt by white parishioners. On November 11, 1944, he became an Metropolitan Archbishop when Indianapolis was elevated to the rank of an archdiocese.

Pope Pius XII named Ritter as the fourth Archbishop of Saint Louis, replacing the late John Cardinal Glennon, on July 20, 1946. Although he did not possess Glennon's flair for oratory, Ritter was very good at administration and addressed some issues his predecessor had not. Key among these was Racial integration. In 1947, he announced that all segregation in Saint Louis' parochial schools would end before the beginning of the fall term that year. Some Catholics were considering bringing charges against Ritter, on the basis that state segregation laws would apply also to parochial schools, but when Ritter pointed out to them that Church law clearly stated that anyone who brought charges against a bishop in a secular court was automatically excommunicated, the threat of lawsuits disappeared. Also during his tenure as Saint Louis' archbishop, he forbade Catholics to see The French Line under pain of Mortal sin, and declared that Catholics must have written permission from the archdiocese to attend secular or non-Catholic colleges.

He also was one of the first bishops to create a diocesan mission, specifically in La Paz, Bolivia. Until that time, most missions had been conducted by religious orders. The people of Saint Louis regularly contributed more money to these foreign missions than any archdiocese of its size.

He was created Cardinal Priest of Ss. Redentore e S. Alfonso in Via Merluana by Pope John XXIII in the consistory of January 16, 1961. From 1962 1965, Ritter actively participated in the proceedings of the Second Vatican Council, during and after which he was viewed as a liberal. He also protested against the Roman Curia's oppressive actions and Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani's draft on the sources of Revelation at the Council. On his return to Saint Louis, many Catholics expected him to make several changes to the existing administrative structure to give priests and laity a greater role in Church governance, as recommended by the Council. However, before he could implement such reforms, Ritter died from a heart attack at age 74, ten days short of his next birthday.

A one-hour documentary of Ritter's life was filmed.

Legacy

 * Ritter was a friend of Lionel Hampton and Cardinal Ottaviani.
 * In a gesture of ecumenism, Ritter granted his approval to the mixed marriage of a Catholic and an Episcopalian in 1964 . He also authorized the first English Mass in the United States.
 * Ritter, intensely dedicated to racial equality, even withheld Communion from Catholics who practiced discrimination.
 * He was "dismayed" and "indignant" after the rector of Catholic University of America, Monsignor William McDonald, refused to allow certain liberal theologians to speak at the university.