200px|right

Joseph Elmer Ritter (July 20, 1892 – June 10, 1967) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1946 until his death in 1967. He was created a cardinal in 1961. He previously served as auxiliary bishop (1933–1934), bishop and later Archbishop of Indianapolis (1934–1946). Ritter was one of the cardinals elector who participated at the papal conclave in 1963.

Ritter is noted for ending racial discrimination in church schools in both of his archdioceses long before it became mandatory in the United States. He also ended hospital segregation in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and supported the education of African-American students.

Early life and education

Elmer Ritter was born on July 20, 1892, in New Albany, Indiana. He was the fourth of six children of Nicholas Ritter (1859–1944) and Bertha (née Luette) (1865–1941). His father owned the Ritter Bakery in New Albany (where the family also lived). Both parents were of German descent. According to a 1946 article in the St. Louis Star and Times.;<blockquote>"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."</blockquote>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."

Religious calling

During the seventh grade, Ritter decided to enter the priesthood. Ritter said "There was no vision, no voice from heaven. I simply wanted to be a priest." In 1907, he enrolled at St. Meinrad's Seminary in Saint Meinrad, Indiana, where he completed his studies in 1917.

After his 1917 ordination, the diocese assigned Ritter as a curate at St. Patrick Parish in Indianapolis. Some community leaders threatened to sue the diocese; his decision was opposed by some clergy. The Klan paraded outside SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in protest. In 1941, Ritter opened St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Evansville, Indiana, the first African-American parish in that city.

Ritter also reorganized the diocesan branch of Catholic Charities, introduced the Catholic Youth Organization to the diocese, and completed the construction of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral. He reduced the diocesan debt by $3 million, .

Archbishop of St. Louis

Ritter was appointed the fourth archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis by Pius XII on July 20, 1946, succeeding the late Cardinal John J. Glennon.

St. Louis grew quickly during the post-World War II economic boom. Ritter opened an average of three parishes per year in St. Louis city and county. Ritter raised more than $125,000,000 () to build sixty new parishes and sixteen high schools. He started fundraising for the Cardinal Glennon Memorial Hospital for Children in St. Louis in 1949.

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. Ritter in 1947 also allowed the senior class of St. Joseph's High School, then the city's only African-American Catholic high school, to celebrate graduation for the first time at the cathedral, alongside white students.

On August 9, 1947, Ritter announced an end to racial segregation in all five St. Louis diocesan high schools before the fall term.

A group of over 700 white Catholics from 49 St. Louis area parishes, calling themselves the "Catholic Parents Association of Saint Louis and Saint Louis County", threatened to sue Ritter . The association claimed that Ritter's order violated Missouri state law. 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's leaders; his spokesman said, "He is the father of the whole flock and must care for all, regardless of race." Ritter then issued a pastoral letter, warning about possible excommunication for Catholics "interfering with ecclesiastical office authority by having recourse to authority outside of the church".

After ruling out a lawsuit, the association did send a letter of protest to the apostolic delegate to the United States, Cardinal Amleto Giovanni Cicognani. Cicognani responded, "I am confident that everyone will readily comply with what has been so clearly proposed by the ecclesiastical authority of the Archdiocese". He also protested against the Roman Curia's oppressive actions

Ritter in 1963 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. On August 24, 1964, in line with reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Ritter celebrated the world's first authorized mass in English at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. His body lay in state at the cathedral.

Ritter's requiem mass was celebrated on June 15, 1967, at St. Louis Cathedral. At his request, it was a low funeral mass.

In 1964, Ritter allowed a marriage ceremony that included both Catholic and Episcopal priests at St. Genevieve du Bois Catholic Church near St. Louis. It was the first such ceremony approved by a Catholic prelate in U.S.

Films

Ritter forbade Catholics from viewing the 1954 film The French Line under danger of committing serious sin. The film featured actor Jane Russell dancing in a scanty outfit in what was then considered a sexually-suggestive scene.

Legacy

thumb|Mosaic depicting Cardinal Ritter at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

  • Ritter is commemorated by a wall mosaic work in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. One side of the mosaic shows Ritter reaching out toward a group of people from other religions. The other side shows him reaching towards a multiracial group of school children.
  • Ritter's birthplace and childhood home in New Albany was saved from demolition in 2001 and later restored. It is now owned by the Cardinal Ritter Birthplace Foundation and is operated as a neighborhood center.
  • Cardinal Ritter High School in Indianapolis is named in his honor.

Honors

  • Honorary Doctorate of Theology from Pope Pius XI in 1922.
  • Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis in 1965.

See also

  • Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 1963

References

  • Archdiocese of Saint Louis
  • Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church