Richard Cushing


Richard James Cushing
Cardinal, Archbishop of Boston
SeeBoston
InstalledSeptember 25, 1944
Term endedSeptember 8, 1970
PredecessorWilliam Henry O'Connell
SuccessorHumberto Sousa Medeiros
Other post(s)Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna
Previous post(s)
Orders
OrdinationMay 26, 1921
by William Henry O'Connell
ConsecrationJune 29, 1939
by William Henry O'Connell
Created cardinalDecember 15, 1958
by John XXIII
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born
Richard James Cushing

(1895-08-24)August 24, 1895
DiedNovember 2, 1970(1970-11-02) (aged 75)
Boston, Massachusetts
MottoUt Cognoscant Te
(That they may know thee)
Coat of armsRichard James Cushing's coat of arms
Ordination history of
Richard Cushing
History
Episcopal consecration
Consecrated byWilliam Henry O'Connell (Boston)
DateJune 29, 1939
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Richard Cushing as principal consecrator
Edward Francis RyanJanuary 3, 1945
Louis Francis KelleherJune 8, 1945
John Joseph WrightJune 30, 1947
Eric Francis MacKenzieSeptember 14, 1950
Thomas Francis MarkhamSeptember 14, 1950
Jeremiah Francis MinihanSeptember 8, 1954
George Hamilton PearceJune 29, 1956
Harold William HenryMay 11, 1957
Jaime Antônio SchuckFebruary 24, 1959
Thomas Joseph RileyDecember 21, 1959
William John McNaughtonAugust 21, 1961
Samuel Emmanuel CarterApril 25, 1966
James Burke, O.P.May 25, 1967
Daniel Anthony CroninSeptember 12, 1968

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 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."[1] 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.[2]

  1. ^ David Nasaw, The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy (2012) pp 625-27
  2. ^ Robert Muccigrosso, ed., Research Guide to American Historical Biography (1988) 5:2466-9