(Aug. 3, 1921-Jan. 10, 1992). Born in St. Louis, Edward T. O’Meara was the son of Irish immigrants. He knew he wanted to become a priest from the time he was a small boy. After graduation from high school, he remained in St. Louis to study theology at Kendrick Seminary. Archbishop (later Cardinal) ordained O’Meara in his hometown in 1946.
After graduate study at Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and a variety of pastoral and administrative assignments in St. Louis, O’Meara was named national assistant director for the Society for the Propagation (SPF) of the Faith in 1956, then headed by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Thus began a highly visible national and global career, ultimately taking him to 70 countries. In 1967, he became national director of SPF, which oversees missions throughout the world. Pope Paul VI consecrated him as a bishop in Rome in 1972. In 1987, O’Meara became chairman of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the largest private voluntary relief agency in the world. Thereafter, he used much of his vacation time traveling to developing and impoverished countries to see firsthand how CRS carried out its mission to assist individuals in need.
Shortly after consecration as Archbishop of Indianapolis in 1980, O’Meara launched a sweeping reorganization of archdiocesan administration, with 22 scattered agencies and offices ultimately consolidated under 7 secretariats. These were relocated to the Catholic Center, across from . O’Meara also established the Catholic Community Foundation in 1987 to provide a means for individuals to make contributions to serve the long-term needs of the archdiocese’s parishes, schools, and ministries.
An innovative administrator, O’Meara provided a support system for religious personnel, streamlined fiscal procedures, and broke with tradition by naming women to key posts. In 1984, he put Sister Marie Kevin Tighe in charge of establishing the office of pastoral councils. In her position, she coordinated pastoral councils that provide input on church policy and actions. O’Meara also appointed Suzanne Magnant the archdiocese chancellor, whose responsibilities involved keeping track of all sacramental and archdiocesan records, approving some actions of the archdiocese, and acting as church notary. At the time that he made the appointment in May 1991, Magnant was one of only a handful of women who served in this role among all dioceses in the United States.
Gregarious and community-minded, Archbishop O’Meara was a familiar presence at civic events. He especially relished delivering the blessing of the .
O’Meara died at his home in Indianapolis of pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal lung disease.
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