Aloysius Ambrozic

Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic (born Alojzij Matej Ambrožič; January 27, 1930 – August 26, 2011) was a Slovene Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Toronto from 1990 to 2007. He was made a cardinal in 1998.

Biography Ambrozic was born near Gabrje in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (modern-day Slovenia) as Alojzij Matej Ambrožič, one of seven children of Alojzij "Lojze" Ambrožič and Helena Pečar. In May 1945, he and his family fled to Austria, after which he completed high school in Ljubljana and various refugee camps (Vetrinj, Peggez and Spittal an der Drau). He served first in Port Colborne, Ontario, and later taught at St. Augustine's.

Ambrozic studied theology in Rome and earned a degree from the Angelicum. On his return to Canada, he taught Scripture at St Augustine's Seminary from 1960 to 1967. He then studied at the University of Würzburg in Germany and obtained a doctorate in theology in 1970. Ambrozic taught exegesis at the Toronto School of Theology from 1970 to 1976, when he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto on 27 May 1976. On 22 May 1986, he became Coadjutor Archbishop of Toronto, and he duly succeeded to the position of Archbishop of Toronto on 17 March 1990. His funeral Mass was held on 31 August 2011 at Saint Michael's Cathedral in Toronto, with Archbishop Collins presiding. More than 1000 people attended the Mass, including Canadian federal finance minister Jim Flaherty and local mayors Rob Ford of Toronto and Hazel McCallion of Mississauga.