Cronan, Father Edward
1978, August 17
Date of Birth: 1913, February 1
Edward Cronan was born in Youngstown, Ohio, (then in the Diocese of Cleveland) on February 1, 1913. His elementary schooling lasted from 1919 to 1925. In 1925, at the age of twelve, he entered St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland. Upon graduation in 1931 he went to Basselin College at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., from which he received an M.A. in 1934. Continuing in the building which housed the Basselin students, Edward Cronan pursued theological studies at the Sulpician Seminary (Theological College). He was ordained to the priesthood on June 7, 1938, for the Diocese of Cleveland.
Father Cronan’s first assignment was to St. Edward’s Seminary in Seattle, Washington, where he taught Latin, Greek, and English. In 1940 he was transferred to St. Charles College, where he taught Latin, English, and French. In 1941-1942 he made his Solitude at St. Mary’s Seminary, Paca Street. After Solitude, Father Cronan went back to St. Edward’s Seminary until 1944 when he became a Navy chaplain, first at a hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, then in Okinawa. When he was released from the Navy, Father Cronan was once again appointed to St. Charles College for the year 1946-1947. In 1947 he was sent to The Catholic University of America, with residence in the Divinity College, for graduate studies in Philosophy. He achieved his Ph.D. there in 1950.
Father Cronan was then appointed to the faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary, Paca Street, where he taught History of Philosophy and Speech until January 1952. The Korean War occasioned his return to the Navy, first to the Chaplain School in Newport, Rhode Island, later to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and then to California. On his second release from the Navy in 1955 he was assigned to St. Patrick’s Seminary in San Francisco, California, where he taught Philosophy to 1964. From 1957 to 1962 he was Superior of Philosophy. In 1964 Father Cronan went to St. Thomas Seminary in Seattle, Washington. Problems of health brought him to Mesa, Arizona, in 1966, where for a year he was attached to Queen of Peace Church. From 1967 to 1970 his lung weakness brought him to St. Joseph of the Pines Hospital in Southern Pines, North Carolina, where he served as chaplain. From 1970 to 1972 he was an associate pastor in St. Leo’s Church in San Jose, California. In 1972 Father Cronan moved into the Sulpician Retirement Home, St. Charles Villa, in Catonsville. He died of emphysema on August 17, 1978.
Adapted from Father Cronan’s “Personal Data” sheet and from The Voice.