The Leo Alumni Association was recently notified of the death of Most Reverend John R. Gorman of the Class of 1943. Bishop Gorman was a graduate of St. Visitation Grammar School and is the only Leo High School Graduate known to have attained the high rank of Bishop in the Catholic Church. Bishop Gorman served as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese from 1988 to 2003.
While he was a student at Leo High School, Bishop Gorman made the Honor Roll in all four years. He also participated in his class as a Class Officer for three years, the band for all four years, and in intramural basketball for three years. He also participated in the Chicago Inter-Student Catholic Action organization (CISCA) for all of his years four years at Leo High School.
After graduation from Leo, Bishop Gorman obtained his Licentiate in Theology and Bachelor of Theology degrees at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. His subsequent education included attending Loyola University, Chicago, where he obtained a Masters of Psychology and Doctor of Clinical Psychology degree. In May of 1956 Bishop Gorman was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago. His parish assignments early in his career included acting as associate pastor in the Chicago Parishes of St Andrew, St Odilo, and St Nicholas of Tolentine. He also served as a faculty member at Archbishop Quigley Seminary in Chicago, the Niles College Seminary in Chicago and the Notre Dame University summer school.
In 1965, Bishop Gorman was appointed president of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary. At that time, the Second Vatican Counsel was changing seminarian education worldwide. Bishop Gorman oversaw some of the work adjusting the education of seminarians to conform with those changes under which priests were expected to be more involved with the people served by the church.
In 1973, Bishop Gorman continued his work in Chicago area parishes and was assigned as pastor to St. Michael’s Parish in Orland Park, Illinois. In 1986 he became director of the Archdiocesan Department of Parish/Pastoral services.
In February of 1988, Pope John Paul II appointed (then Father Gorman) to be an Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago. He was consecrated in a ceremony over which Cardinal Joseph Bernardin presided. The work entrusted to Bishop Gorman during his tenure included the sensitive issues facing the Church in the 1980’s and 1990’s involving clergy misconduct. Discipline and reforms recommended by the commission on which Bishop Gorman served were adopted and acted on.
Bishop Gorman retired in 2003. For more information about the life of this interesting and accomplished Leo graduate, it is suggested you review the Bishop John R. Gorman Wikipedia page (a source of some of the information used in this obituary) among many other interesting articles and sources. Bishop Gorman’s obituary is attached here.
The entire membership of the Leo Alumni Association offers its prayers and condolences to the family and close associates of Bishop John R. Gorman during this difficult time.
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