His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan was the Archbishop of New York—and the leader of New York City's millions of Catholics—from 2000-2009.

Egan says he received a calling from God while still a schoolboy. Ordained in Rome in 1957, he returned to the U.S. to earn his doctorate, then worked as the secretary to the Archbishop of Chicago and taught at a number of Catholic institutions. He arrived in New York in 1985 as Pope John Paul II's choice for auxiliary bishop of the New York archdiocese. Three years later, he was dispatched to Bridgeport, Conn. to serve as bishop; the Pope made him Archbishop of New York in 2000, after the death of John Cardinal O'Connor. Egan has been been praised or eradicating the archdiocese's previous $20 million annual operating deficit and retired in 2009. Egan's tenure hasn't been without controversy, however. He's been widely criticized for his budget cuts and the closure of Catholic parishes and schools. The Cardinal's frosty and formal demeanor has alienated many priests, particularly those who looked up to the personable Cardinal O'Connor. Additionally, he was widely criticized for refusing to reveal the names of Catholic priests in Bridgeport who had been accused of child molestation. [Image via Getty]