Cardinal Edward Egan, the former Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, has died. He was 82. The cause was cardiac arrest, the Archdiocese of New York said in a statement .

Egan, who was archbishop during the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, died this afternoon at NYU Langone Medical Center.

In a statement , Cardinal Timothy Dolan offered his condolences to Egan's "natural family, who will grieve for their uncle, and ... his spiritual family" in New York.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who is editor at large of America, a Catholic magazine, said Egan "was a dedicated bishop, a hardworking priest and a kind man. His Eminence was also extremely supportive and caring of the Jesuits in his archdiocese and of me personally."

Pope John Paul II named Egan, a native of Oak Park, Ill., archbishop of New York in 2000. He was named to the College of Cardinals a year later. Egan retired as archbishop in 2009.

Born in 1932, Egan was ordained as a priest in 1957 and consecrated as a bishop in 1985. For the next three years, he served as auxiliary bishop and vicar for education of the Archdiocese of New York, according to his biography . He was appointed bishop of Bridgeport, Conn., in 1988, a position he served in until he was named archbishop in 2000.

The New York Times said Egan was "a stern defender of Roman Catholic orthodoxy" and the "spiritual head of a realm of 2.5 million parishioners, an archipelago of 400 churches and a majestic seat at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan."

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