Cardinal Maida was named Archbishop of Detroit by Pope John Paul II in 1990 and was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 1994.  He held the position of Archbishop until January 2009.

Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1956, Cardinal Maida holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from St. Mary's University, a Licentiate in Canon Law (J.C.L.) from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, a Doctorate in Civil Law ( J.D.) from Duquesne Law School in Pittsburgh, and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.  He was admitted to practice law before the Bar for the State of Pennsylvania, the Federal Bar in Western Pennsylvania, and the United States Supreme Court.

Following his priestly ordination, Cardinal Maida served in the Diocese of Pittsburgh in a number of roles, including as an associate pastor, as Vice Chancellor and General Counsel of the Diocese, in the Diocesan Tribunal, as an Assistant Professor of Theology at La Roche College, and as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Duquesne University Law School. In 1984, he was ordained and installed as the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Cardinal Maida has served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Catholic University of America and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., as president of the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, and as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Bioethics Center in Braintree, Mass.