John Krol - Early Life and Education

Early Life and Education

Krol was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the fourth of eight children of John and Anna (née Pietruszka) Krol. His parents were Polish immigrants who were originally from the Tatra Mountains. Krol's father held various occupations, working as a machinist, barber, carpenter, plumber and electrician; his mother worked as a maid at a hotel in Cleveland. At age 2, he and his family returned to Poland, but returned to Cleveland within a year. Krol received his early education at the parochial school of St. Hyacinth Church. At age 9, he went to work part-time as a butcher's helper. He later worked as a maker of wooden boxes.

Krol attended Cathedral Latin High School, graduating at age 16 in 1927. He then took a job as a butcher at a Kroger grocery store in Cleveland, where he became manager of the meat department at age 18. Religious questions from a Lutheran co-worker prompted Krol to more deeply study Catholic theology and eventually decide to enter the priesthood. He began his studies at St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake, Michigan. He later enrolled at St. Mary's Seminary in his native Cleveland. At St. Mary's, he also operated a small tobacco business, receiving shipments of defective cigars and then selling them to his fellow seminarians.