Richard James Cushing | |
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| Cardinal, Archbishop of Boston | |
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| See | Boston |
| Installed | September 25, 1944 |
| Term ended | September 8, 1970 |
| Predecessor | William Henry O'Connell |
| Successor | Humberto Sousa Medeiros |
| Other post(s) | Cardinal-Priest of Santa Susanna |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 26, 1921 by William Henry O'Connell |
| Consecration | June 29, 1939 by William Henry O'Connell |
| Created cardinal | December 15, 1958 by John XXIII |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard James Cushing August 24, 1895 |
| Died | November 2, 1970 (aged 75) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Previous post(s) |
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| Motto | Ut Cognoscant Te (That they may know thee) |
| Coat of arms |  |
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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]