Who

His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan has been the Archbishop of New York—and the leader of New York City's 2.5 million Catholics—since 2000.

Backstory

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. Per canon law, Egan submitted his resignation to the Vatican on his 75th birthday—April 2, 2007—though it's widely assumed he'll stay on for some time.

Of note

Egan's tenure hasn't been without controversy. He's been widely criticized for his budget cuts and the closure of Catholic parishes and schools; others, however, have praised him for eradicating the archdiocese's previous $20 million annual operating deficit. The Cardinal's frosty and formal demeanor has alienated many priests, particularly those who looked up to the personable Cardinal O'Connor. In October 2006, a group calling itself "A Committee of Concerned Clergy for the Archdiocese of New York" distributed an open letter declaring a "formal vote of no confidence" in Cardinal Egan. The letter claimed that the Cardinal's relationship with New York priests had been "defined by dishonesty, deception, disinterest and disregard" and noted that the Cardinal had left the city two days after Sept. 11th—"during a time when the city desperately needed a spiritual leader"—and faulted him for shying away from interacting with the media. Of course, Egan has faced controversy before. Most recently, he was widely criticized for refusing to reveal the names of Catholic priests in Bridgeport who had been accused of child molestation.

Medical file

Egan suffered from a bout of polio during his childhood. More recently he had orthopedic surgery on his knee, which kept him out of the pulpit for a couple of months in 2006.

True story

In 2005, a lawsuit filed by New Jersey priest Bob Hoatson alleged that the Cardinal is "actively homosexual." (The suit also claimed that Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard and Newark Archbishop John Myers are gay.) Hoatson, who was suing several Catholic institutions who allegedly harassed him over his work with victims of clergy abuse, had his case dismissed in 2007, and his attorney was sanctioned for bringing spurious claims.

Personal

Egan lives in the Cardinal's official residence, which is just behind St. Patrick's Cathedral on the northwest corner of Madison Avenue and 50th Street. He earns just $18,000 annually, although he doesn't have much in the way of expenses—the church pays for everything including housing and food.