(Reuters) - Cardinal Edward Egan, the former Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, died of cardiac arrest on Thursday, the Archdiocese of New York said.
Egan, 82, who was archbishop from 2000 to 2009, was pronounced dead at NYU Langone Medical Center at 2:20 p.m., the Archdiocese said in a statement.
"Thank God he had a peaceful death," his successor, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said in a statement.
Dolan said Egan was taken to the hospital after he had lunch at his residence.
Egan, who was born in Oak Park, Illinois, was consecrated a bishop in 1985. In 1988, was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, by Pope John Paul II. In 2000, he was named archbishop of New York and made a cardinal in 2001.
(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Sandra Maler and Peter Cooney)
