John May was born on March 31, 1922, in Evanston, Illinois, to Peter Michael and Catherine (née Allare) May.

[1] He received his early education at the parochial school of St. Nicholas Church in Evanston, and attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, graduating in 1940.

[4] He received his episcopal consecration on August 24, 1967, from Cardinal John Cody, with Bishops Cletus F. O'Donnell and Aloysius Wycislo serving as co-consecrators, at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

[1] He also dedicated several parish centers, homes for the elderly and a new wing and intensive-care unit at Providence Hospital in Mobile.

[1] On January 24, 1980, May was appointed as the sixth archbishop of St. Louis by Pope John Paul II.

[2] May also appointed the archdiocese's first chief financial officer and the first female superintendent of Catholic schools.

[2] In 1990, with Sister Mary Ann Eckhoff and St. Louis businessman Robert A. Brooks, May co-founded the archdiocese's Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation.