George William Mundelein (1872-1939) was an outstanding American Roman Catholic prelate and an outspoken foe of totalitarianism in the 1930s.

Born in New York City on July 2, 1872, of American-born parents of German descent, George Mundelein was raised by his maternal grandmother. After graduating from Manhattan College in 1889 he spent 3 years at St. Vincent's Seminary in Beatty, Pa. He completed his studies at the Urban College of the Propagation of the Faith in Rome, receiving a doctor of divinity degree, and was ordained in 1895. He returned to his diocese of Brooklyn to serve as secretary to Bishop Charles E. McDonnell, becoming chancellor and auxiliary bishop in 1909. Mundelein succeeded James Edward Quigley as archbishop of Chicago in 1915.

Mundelein was noted as an administrator and fund raiser. He built hundreds of schools, churches, hospitals, and charitable institutions to keep pace with the needs of his rapidly growing archdiocese. He founded Quigley...