Roman Catholic Cardinal Edward Egan , the former archbishop of New York who played a prominent role in the wake of the 9/11 attacks , has died at the age of 82 . The Archdiocese of New York says Egan died on Thursday afternoon at a New York hospital after suffering a heart attack . He was appointed as leader of the archdiocese by Pope John Paul II in 2000 , succeeding the late Cardinal John O'Connor . Scroll down for video . Prominent figure : Cardinal Edward Egan , who was archbishop at the time of the 9/11 attacks , has died . Egan oversaw a major financial overhaul of the archdiocese which drew criticism and applause after he inherited a $ 20 million deficit . Within two years he was forced to dramatically cut spending and lay off staff to stabilize the accounts . As archbishop during the September 11 terror attacks , Egan anointed the dead at a lower Manhattan hospital and presided over many funerals for victims - sometimes three a day . He also took to Ground Zero to distribute rosaries to the many grieving families who were searching - often in vain - for their loved ones among the rubble . Egan bristled at the suggestion that he was more a manager than shepherd . In a 2001 interview with The New York Times , he said , ' I am about , first and foremost , serving 413 communities of faith , ' he said , referring to the archdiocese 's parishes . He was a scholar of church law and spoke Latin fluently . John Paul chose him to help with the massive job of reviewing a revised canon law code for the global church . A native of Illinois , Egan retired as New York archbishop in 2009 . Announcing Egan 's death , New York 's current cardinal , Timothy Dolan , wrote : . 'My dear people , I am saddened to tell you that our beloved Cardinal Edward Egan , the Archbishop of New York from 2000-2009 , has gone home to the Lord . Pope Benedict XVI ( left ) greets Cardinal Edward Egan as they celebrate Mass at St Patrick 's Cathedral in 2008 . 'Thank God he had a peaceful death , passing away right after lunch today , with the prayers and sacraments of his loyal priest secretary , Father Douglas Crawford , in his residence at the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary . He was rushed to NYU Langone Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 2:20 pm this afternoon . 'Join me , please , in thanking God for his life , especially his generous and faithful priesthood . 'Pray as well that the powerful mercy of Jesus , in which our Cardinal had such trust , has ushered him into heaven . 'My sympathy to his natural family , who will grieve for their uncle , and to you , his spiritual family here in the Archdiocese of New York . I 'll keep in touch as our arrangements are made . May he rest in peace . '
archbishop Edward Egan was archbishop of le York during 9/11 attacks . He was appointed by Pope John Paul II to succeed archbishop John ##mond . Survived diabetes as a child which affected his health , also used a wheelchair .