Richard James Cushing (August 24, 1895 – November 2, 1970) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in 1958. Cushing's main role was as fundraiser and builder of new churches, schools, and institutions. Unlike his predecessor, he was on good terms with practically the entire Boston elite, as he softened the traditional confrontation between the Catholic Irish and the Protestant upper-class. He built useful relationships with Jews, Protestants, and institutions outside the usual Catholic community. He helped presidential candidate John F. Kennedy deflect fears of papal interference in American government if a Catholic became president. Cushing's high energy level allowed him to meet with many people all day, often giving lengthy speeches at night. He was not efficient at business affairs, and when expenses built up he counted on his fundraising skills instead of cost-cutting. Cushing, says Nasaw, was "fun-loving, informal, and outgoing. He looked rather like a tough, handsome, Irish cop and behaved more like a ward politician than a high church cleric." His major weakness in retrospect was overexpansion, adding new institutions that could not be sustained in the long run and had to be cut back by his successors.

Early life and education

Cushing was born in City Point, South Boston on August 24, 1895. The third of five children, he was the son of Patrick and Mary (née Dahill) Cushing. His parents were both Irish immigrants; his father was originally from Glanworth, County Cork, and his mother from

Touraneena Tooraneena or Touraneena () is a village in west County Waterford, Ireland. It lies in the Sliabh gCua district between the Comeraghs and Knockmealdown Mountains. It may be accessed from the main R672 road between Clonmel and Dungarvan. It is a ...

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

. His father, who came to the United States in 1880, worked as a blacksmith and earned $18 per week in the trolley repair pits of the Boston Elevated Railway. CushingOrdinations6 (7269216102)

Cushing received his early education at Perry Public Grammar School in South Boston, since there was then no

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

for boys in Gate of Heaven Parish. Cushing dropped out of high school in his freshman year because of his compulsive truancy. He subsequently entered

Boston College High School , motto_translation = ''So they may know You.'' , address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard , city = Boston , state = Massachusetts , zipcode = 02125 , country ...

, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

college preparatory school. His tuition there was paid by his cousin, who was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. He graduated from high school in 1913, receiving honors for Latin and Greek. Cushing was torn for a time between religion and politics. He originally wanted to be a politician, even earning money by speaking for politicians from the back of wagons. He twice considered joining the Jesuits, but came to the conclusion he "was cut out more for the active life and not the teaching apostolate." He entered

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

in 1913, becoming a member of the first freshman class following the college's move to Chestnut Hill. At Boston College, he was active in the Marquette Debating Society and elected vice-president of his sophomore class. Following the sinking of the RMS ''Lusitania'' in 1915, Cushing enlisted in the United States Army but was medically discharged for his asthma after a few weeks. After attending Boston College for two years, he began his studies for the priesthood at St. John's Seminary in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

in September 1915. He was assigned to continue his studies at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

in Rome, but the escalation of U-boat activity prevented him from sailing across the Atlantic.

Priesthood

On May 26, 1921, Cushing was ordained a priest by Cardinal William Henry O'Connell at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. His first assignment was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St. Patrick's Church in

Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bosto ...

, where he remained for two months. He was afterwards transferred to St. Benedict's Church in

Somerville Somerville may refer to: *Somerville College, Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford Places *Somerville, Victoria, Australia * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia * Somerville, New Zealand, a subur ...

. In 1922, he appeared unannounced at the residence of Cardinal O'Connell to request an assignment as a missionary. The young priest declared he wanted to "take heaven by storm." O'Connell denied his request, and instead appointed him assistant director of the Boston office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, an organization dedicated to raising funds for missions. He later served as director of the Society from 1929 to 1944. He was raised to the rank of Monsignor on May 14, 1939.

Episcopal career

On June 10, 1939, after Bishop Francis Spellman was named Archbishop of New York, Cushing was appointed, at the request of Cardinal O'Connell, as Auxiliary Bishop of Boston and titular bishop of ''Mela'' by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on the following June 29 from Cardinal O'Connell, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, with bishops

John Bertram Peterson John Bertram Peterson (July 15, 1871 – March 15, 1944) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire from 1932 until his death in 1944. He previously served as an aux ...

and Thomas Addis Emmet, SJ, serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. Cushing took as his episcopal motto: ''Ut Cognoscant Te'' ( Latin: "That they may know thee"). As an auxiliary bishop, Cushing continued to serve as director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, and was also named pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Newton Centre. Following the death of Cardinal O'Connell in April 1944, he served as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.

Archbishop of Boston

Cushing was named the third Archbishop of Boston on September 25, 1944, following the death of Cardinal O'Connell and honoring his earlier request that Cushing succeed him. During Cushing's tenure, Boston would see the excommunication of Fr.

Leonard Feeney Leonard Edward Feeney (February 18, 1897 – January 30, 1978) was an American Jesuit priest, poet, lyricist, and essayist. He articulated a strict interpretation of the Roman Catholic doctrine ''extra Ecclesiam nulla salus'' ("outside the Chu ...

for repeated refusals to be summoned to Rome. Feeney refused to back down from his position, although it has been reported that he was ultimately reconciled with the Church before his death. After the death of Pius XII, Cushing published a moving tribute to him. In 1959, Cushing published a biography of the late

(1939–1958), depicting the late pope as "Pope of Peace". His work contributed to making the Roman Catholic Church acceptable to the general population at the time of then-Senator John F. Kennedy's run for the White House. Part of this work included reaching out to the non-Catholics of Boston after "the muscular style of involved Catholicism that Cardinal O'Connell brought to bear on issues of his day - religious, social, and political - in Boston and Massachusetts". Cushing was honored by

B’nai B’rith B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...

as "Man of the Year" in 1956 for "''a lifetime of distinguished service to the cause of human brotherhood under God and in further recognition of great leadership in the fields of education and community relations''." He was a close correspondent with Robert E. Segal, longtime executive director of the

Jewish Community Relations Council A Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) is a locally based Jewish organization that carries out "action agendas on behalf of and in the name of the local Jewish communities." Councils may aim "to represent the consensus of the organized Jewish ...

of Metropolitan Boston, who played a key role in Jewish-Catholic relations in Boston. As well as this, Cushing maintained close contacts with Abram L. Sachar of Brandeis University. From the very start of Cushing's tenure as Archbishop of Boston, there was a major change in the relationship between official Bostonian Catholicism and Judaism, where there had previously been much mutual suspicion, Cushing sought closer relations. The author James Carroll has attributed Cushing's outlook to the (non-Catholic) marriage between his sister Dolly Cushing and a local Jewish haberdasherer, Dick Pearlstein. At the time this was very uncommon.Cushing was created Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna by the decision of Pope John XXIII in the consistory of December 15, 1958. He was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

in the

1963 papal conclave The 1963 papal conclave was convoked following the death of Pope John XXIII on 3 June 1963 in the Apostolic Palace. After the cardinal electors assembled in Rome, the conclave to elect John's successor began on 19 June and ended two days later, o ...

, which elected Pope Paul VI. A close friend of the Kennedy family, he officiated at the marriage of John F. Kennedy and

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

in 1953, at which he also read a special prayer from

, and baptized many of the Kennedy children. Cushing gave the prayer invocation at Kennedy's inauguration in 1961. The Cardinal also celebrated President Kennedy's funeral Mass in 1963 at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Washington, D.C., following Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, Texas. The day before the funeral, he gave a televised eulogy for the President. Cushing later defended Jacqueline Kennedy after her marriage to Aristotle Onassis in 1968. He received a large amount of hate mail and was contradicted by the Vatican. The Boston Globe reported on June 5, 2002 that Church documents released the prior day show the Boston Archdiocese had knowledge of sexual misconduct by several priests who were allowed to remain in active ministry despite complaints. The documents show Cardinal Richard Cushing, who led the Boston archdiocese for 25 years until 1971, approved the moving of at least two priests into new parishes during the 1960s despite allegations of sexual misconduct.

Biography of Pope Pius XII

In 1959, Cushing published his only book, a biography of the late

(1939–58). It is an almost hagiographic biography, written shortly after the death of the Pontiff. Cushing depicted him as the "Pope of Peace" who, armed only with the spiritual weapons of his office, triumphed over insidious attacks that seemed about to destroy the center of Christendom.

Second Vatican Council

At the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), Cushing played a vital role in drafting '' Nostra aetate'', the document that officially absolved the Jews of

deicide charge Jewish deicide is the notion that the Jews as a people were collectively responsible for the killing of Jesus. A Biblical justification for the charge of Jewish deicide is derived from Matthew 27:24–25. Some rabbinical authorities, such as Ma ...

. His emotional comments during debates over the drafts were echoed in the final version: He was deeply committed to implementing the Council's reforms and promoting renewal in the Church. In an unprecedented gesture of

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

, he encouraged Catholics to attend Billy Graham's crusades.Time magazine
Big Man in a Long Red Robe
November 16, 1970] Cushing strongly condemned Communism, particularly the regime of

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

in Yugoslavia. Due to advanced illnesses Cushing's resignation as Boston's archbishop was accepted on September 8, 1970. Upon his resignation, Senator Ted Kennedy stated: "For three-quarters of a century ushing'slife has been a light in a world that cries out for illumination. He will never have to account for his stewardship, for if his goodness is not known to God, no one's ever will be."

Death

Less than two months after his resignation, on November 2, 1970 (the feast of All Souls Day), Cushing died peacefully in his sleep of cancer at the Cardinal's Residence in Brighton, Massachusetts, aged 75. He was surrounded by his brother and sisters and his successor, Archbishop

Humberto Medeiros Humberto Sousa Medeiros, GCIH (October 6, 1915 – September 17, 1983) was a Portuguese-American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1970 until his death in 1983, and was created a cardinal in 1973 ...

. Cushing was buried in Hanover, Massachusetts at the Portiuncula Chapel on the grounds of the

Cardinal Cushing Centers The Cardinal Cushing Centers are a set of education and support facilities for developmentally and intellectually challenged adults and children operated by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi. The centers offer education, training, residential ...

Miscellaneous

* Cushing was a member of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

. * Cushing founded the

Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle The Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle, founded by Cardinal Richard Cushing in 1958, is an international organization of diocesan missionary priests who volunteer a minimum of five years of their priestly lives to service in Peru, Bolivia a ...

in 1958 to "serve the needs of the poorest of the poor in South America". * Cushing wrote the foreword for the

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition The Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1966. In 1965, the Catholic Biblical Association adapted, under the editorship of Bernard Orchard OSB and Reginald C. Fuller, the Re ...

of the Bible, and gave his '' imprimatur'' to the

Oxford Annotated Bible The Oxford Annotated Bible (OAB), published also as the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB), is a study Bible published by the Oxford University Press. The notes and the study material feature in-depth academic research from nondenominational per ...

Legacy

*In 1947, founded St. Coletta by the Sea (now the

in his honor) with sponsorship from the

Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi is a Catholic religious congregation for women founded in 1849. The motherhouse is in St. Francis, Wisconsin, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The Sisters share their original founders with daughter congrega ...

. The organization, now Cardinal Cushing Centers continues to support developmentally disabled individuals ages 6 through the life continuum with campuses in Hanover, Massachusetts and Braintree, Massachusetts and community homes throughout the South Shore of Massachusetts. *The now-closed

Cardinal Cushing College Cardinal Cushing College was a Private school, private, Catholic Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Brookline, Massachusetts, Brookline, Massachusetts. It operated from 1952 to 1972 and was named after Cardinal Richard Cushin ...

, a women's college in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

, was named after him. *In 1950, Richard Cardinal Cushing founded the Bon Secours Hospital, now Holy Family Hospital and Medical Center, in Methuen, Massachusetts. Through his guidance and leadership, the hospital has become one of the top Catholic hospitals in the state of Massachusetts * Emmanuel College's Cardinal Cushing Library Building is named in his honor. The building houses the campus' library, a lecture hall, and various classrooms. *

has two buildings named in his honor: Cushing Hall, a freshman dormitory on the Newton Campus as well as another Cushing Hall, the home of the Connell School of Nursing. * St. John's Seminary (Massachusetts) has their third theology classroom named after the Cardinal: The Richard Cardinal Cushing Classroom. *The main student center of

Saint Anselm College Saint Anselm College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889, it is the third-oldest Catholic college in New England. Named for Saint Anselm of Canterbury (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to ...

in Goffstown, New Hampshire is named the Cardinal. The Cushing houses, among many other significant groups and offices, the Meelia Center for Community Service, a service outreach organization in the greater Manchester area. *In 1961 in Santa Cruz (Bolivia) he left funds for the construction of two schools: The Marista and another that at the beginning was the Cardinal Cushing Institute and then in 1969 the Colegio Cardinal Cushing administered by the religious of Jesus Mary. He was part of the US campaign in the region Santa Cruz, which included propaganda, repression and the use of the Christian faith against the indio peasants. Cushing held a Eucharistic congress on August 9, 1961, and inaugurated the Christ the Redeemer statue.

Works

This is an incomplete list of the various writings of Richard Cardinal Cushing: * ''Answering the Call,'' 1942 * ''Soldiers of the Cross,'' 1942 * ''Native Clergy are the Pillars of the Church,'' 1943 * ''The Missions in War and Peace,'' 1944 * ''Grey Nuns: An Appeal for Vocations,'' 1944 * ''The Battle Against Self,'' 1945 * ''The Guide-Posts of the Almighty to Permanent Industrial Peace and Prosperity,'' 1946 * ''Restoring all Things in Christ: The Spirit and the Teaching of Pope Pius X,'' 1946 * ''Where is Father Hennessey?: Now We Know the Answer,'' 1946 * ''The Spiritual Approach to the Atomic Age,'' 1946 * ''Notes for the confessors of religious : a collection of excerpts from articles and books on the spiritual direction of sisters prepared for the guidance of ordinary and extraordinary confessors in the Archdiocese of Boston (ad usum privatum),'' 1946 * ''The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine,'' 1947? * ''A Novena of Talks on the Our Father,'' 1947? * ''The Third Choice, Americanism : from an address against universal military training,'' 1948 * ''The Diamond Jubilee of the Poor Clares in the United States,'' 1950? * ''The Return of the "Other Sheep" to the One Fold of St. Peter,'' 1957 * ''A Call to the Laity: Addresses on the Lay Apostolate,'' 1957 * '' Meditations for Religious,'' 1959 * '' Pope Pius XII,'' 1959 * ''Rendezvous with Revolution'' 196- * ''Questions and Answers on Communism,'' 1960 * ''A Seminary for Advanced Vocations,'' 1960? * ''The Purpose of Living,'' 1960 * ''The Ecumenical Council and its Hopes,'' 1960 * ''The Age of Lay Sanctity,'' 1960? * ''Assorted Prayers'' 196? * ''Spiritual Guideposts,'' 1960 * ''Americans Unite!,'' 1960 * ''I'm Proud of My Dirty Hands,'' 1960? * ''Moral Values and the American Society: Pastoral Letter, The Holy Season of Lent, 1961'' 1961 * ''The Sacraments: Seven Channels of Grace for every State in Life,'' 1962 * ''The Mission of the Teacher,'' 1962 * ''The Call of the Council: Pastoral Letter,'' 1962 * ''St. Martin de Porres,'' 1962 * ''A Bridge Between East and West,'' 1963 * ''Call Me John; A Life of Pope John XXIII,'' 1963 * ''Saint Patrick and the Irish,'' 1963 * ''Liturgy and Life : First Sunday of Advent, November 1964: Pastoral Letter,'' 1964 * ''A Summons to Racial Justice,'' 1964 * ''Richard Cardinal Cushing in Prose and Photos,'' 1965 * ''Along with Christ,'' 1965 * ''"A Quiet Burial" for a Biography,'' 1965 * ''The Servant Church,'' 1966 Articles * '' The Church and Philosophy,'' Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, v23 (1949); 9-15 * ''God's People,'' Review of Social Economy, v10 n1: 87-89 * ''The Need for the Study of American Church History,'' The Catholic Historical Review, v36 n1: 43-46 * '' Religion in Liberal Arts Education,'' Christian Education, v30 n1: 13-24 Works on Richard Cardinal Cushing * ''The World's Cardinal'' By M.C. Devine, 1964 * ''Salt of the Earth: An Informal Profile of Richard Cushing'' by John H Fenton, 1965 * ''Cushing of Boston: A Candid Portrait'' by Joseph Dever, 1965 * ''Cardinal Cushing of Boston'' by John Henry Cutler, 1970

References

External links

FBI file on Richard Cushing
at the Internet Archive *

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cushing, Richard 1895 births 1970 deaths American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Boston College High School alumni Boston College alumni Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts) alumni Roman Catholic archbishops of Boston 20th-century American cardinals Cardinals created by Pope John XXIII Participants in the Second Vatican Council People associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Burials in Massachusetts People from South End, Boston Military personnel from Massachusetts Writers from Boston Trustees of the Boston Public Library American Roman Catholic religious writers