Description
Archbishop Albert Gregory Meyer (1958-1965) was appointed Archbishop of Chicago in November 1958. Meyer was a participant in the first three sessions of the Vatican II council from 1962-64 and was a member of its Board of Presidency. During the council, Meyer proved to be very liberal in his viewpoints and was considered one of the main leaders amongst the American participants. Meyer, although shy in demeanor, supported religious liberty and condemned racism; often giving speeches alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Meyer also was one of the cardinal electors in Papal Conclave of 1963, electing Pope Paul VI.
Meyer was intent on providing for the ongoing Catholic shift to the suburbs in Chicago and also wished to fine-tune the administrative structures of the Archdiocese of Chicago to match its rapid growth and his engaged style of leadership. Unlike Archbishop Stritch, Meyer took charge in the national civil rights movement by using the prestige of his office to enact forceful policies of interracial justice. Under Meyer, urban issues (which were linked to racial matters) began to receive the full, professional attention they deserved from the Catholic Church, which was a vital institution to the future of the city of Chicago
Source
Avella, Steven M. This Confident Church: Catholic Leadership and Life in Chicago, 1940-65. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992.
