John McCloskey

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with C. John McCloskey. For other people named John McCloskey, see John McCloskey (disambiguation).

His Eminence

John McCloskey
Latin for 'In hope of eternal life')
SignatureJohn McCloskey's signature
Coat of armsJohn McCloskey's coat of arms

John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was an American senior-ranking

cardinal. He served as the first president of St. John's College, now Fordham University
, beginning in 1841.

Early life and education

John McCloskey was born in

St. Peter's Church in Manhattan. At that time Brooklyn did not yet have a Catholic church, so the family would row across the East River to Manhattan to attend Mass.[1]

At age 5, he was enrolled at a boarding school for boys in Brooklyn run by retired English actress Charlotte Melmoth. Even in his advanced years, he attributed his distinct enunciation to his training there. He moved with his family to Manhattan in 1817, and then entered the Latin school run by Thomas Brady, father of attorney James T. Brady and Judge John R. Brady.[2] Following his father's death in 1820, the family moved to a farm in Bedford, Westchester County.[1] He became the ward of Cornelius Heeney, a wealthy merchant and friend of the family.[3]

The 11-year-old McCloskey, after a brief visit with Rev. John Dubois, entered Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in September 1821. When McCloskey attended Mount St. Mary's John Hughes, future archbishop of New York, taught Latin.[4] As a student at Mount St. Mary's, he was described as having "won the admiration and esteem of his teachers and the respect and love of his college-mates by the piety and modesty of his character, his gentleness, and sweet disposition, the enthusiasm with which he threw himself into his studies, and his prominent standing in class."[5] In his graduating year, he delivered a speech on patriotism that doubled as a defense of Horace's phrase, "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country". Following his graduation in 1826, he returned to his mother's farm in Bedford.

Priesthood

During the spring of 1827, McCloskey was attempting to drive a team of

blind and unconscious for several days. During his convalescence, however, McCloskey decided upon a vocation to the priesthood and later returned to Mount St. Mary's in September 1827 for his seminary training.[6] Although he regained his eyesight, he tired easily and was generally in poor health throughout the rest of his life.[7] In addition to his studies, he became a professor of Latin in 1829.[8] He received the tonsure, minor orders, and subdiaconate all from Bishop Francis Kenrick
.

On January 12, 1834, McCloskey was

Bishop John Dubois, at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral.[9] He thus became the first native New Yorker to enter the diocesan priesthood.[10]
He then served as a
vice-president at the newly established St. Joseph's Seminary in Nyack. However, the seminary was destroyed by a fire in August of that same year.[2]

McCloskey expressed his desire to minister to the victims of the

President of St. John's College in Fordham from 1841 to 1842,[6]
where he also taught rhetoric and literature.

Episcopal ministry

Coadjutor Bishop of New York

In 1843, McCloskey returned full-time to St. Joseph's. Later that year he was appointed

episcopal consecration on March 10, 1844—his 34th birthday—from Bishop John Hughes, with Bishops Benedict Fenwick (who had baptized him as a child) and Richard Vincent Whelan serving as co-consecrators, at St. Patrick's Cathedral.[9] Whereas Bishop Hughes was active and aggressive, his coadjutor was more meek and gentle.[12] McCloskey busied himself primarily with a visitation of the entire diocese, and was also instrumental in the conversion of Isaac Hecker, founder of the Paulist Fathers, and of James Roosevelt Bayley, later Archbishop of Baltimore
.

Bishop of Albany

St. Mary's Church, Albany

McCloskey was named the first

Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Albany by Pope Pius IX on May 21, 1847.[9] He was formally installed by Bishop Hughes on the following September 19.[13] At the time of his arrival, the Upstate New York diocese covered 30,000 square miles (78,000 km2), containing 60,000 Catholics, 25 churches, 34 priests, 2 orphanages, and 2 free schools.[2] McCloskey’s flock was made up largely of poor, uneducated Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine.[14]

McCloskey first selected St. Mary's Church as his episcopal see but it soon proved unsuitable, leading him to construct the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, whose cornerstone was laid in July 1848 and dedication took place in November 1852.[15]

He attended the

Franciscans, Capuchins, Religious of the Sacred Heart, Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph, and the De La Salle Christian Brothers into the diocese.[16]

Styles of
John McCloskey
Reference style
His Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeNew York

Archbishop of New York

Following the death of Archbishop Hughes in January 1864, McCloskey was widely expected to be named his successor.

new cathedral begun under his predecessor; he later dedicated it in May 1879. In 1866 he attended the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore, where he preached the opening sermon with remarkable self-control and composure given the fact he had learned only moments before that St. Patrick's Old Cathedral had been gutted by a fire. However, the Trustees of the Cathedral immediately affirmed their intention to rebuild the Cathedral, and under the supervision of the Archbishop, the Cathedral was rebuilt sufficiently enough to celebrate Mass by Easter Sunday, April 21, 1867, just six months after the conflagration. The Cathedral rebuilding project was completed in full by March 13, 1868, and rededicated four days later on St. Patrick's Day by Archbishop McCloskey, and assisted by the pastor of the Cathedral, Father William Starrs. McCloskey participated in the First Vatican Council from 1869 to 1870, and voted in favor of papal infallibility despite his feelings that such a declaration was "untimely."[17] On December 8, 1873, he solemnly dedicated the Archdiocese of New York to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[19]

lithograph depicting McCloskey receiving the Cardinal's biretta from Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley

McCloskey was created

papal conclave, which elected Pope Leo XIII. The new Pope bestowed the red hat upon him on March 28, 1878.[21]

Portrait of McCloskey by George Peter Alexander Healy, 1875

When

Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, the Cardinal helped save the Pontifical North American College from spoliation by the Italian government.[2]

Lithograph of McCloskey, 1878

McCloskey's 21-year-long tenure as Archbishop of New York was a productive one. In response to the growing Catholic population in New York, he established 88 additional parishes (for a total of 229) in the Archdiocese, 25 of them in Manhattan, four in the Bronx, and one in Staten Island; the remaining were established outside the city.[22] Among these were the first parish for black Catholics as well as new churches for the growing Polish and Italian communities.[6] The number of priests also rose from 150 to 400 during his tenure. An advocate of Catholic education, at the time of his death there were 37,000 children enrolled at archdiocesan schools. He established several charitable societies for children and a hospital for the mentally ill.[7]

Death

Throughout 1885, Cardinal McCloskey suffered from bouts of fever, intense pain, loss of sight, and a recurrence of

funeral Mass was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral on October 25, 1885; during the eulogy, Archbishop James Gibbons described him as "a kind father, a devoted friend, a watchful shepherd, a fearless leader and, above all, an impartial judge."[23]
John McCloskey is interred under the main altar at St. Patrick’s on Fifth Avenue.

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b c "John Cardinal McCloskey", Fordham Preparatory School
  2. ^ a b c d e f Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "John McCloskey" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. ^ Meehan, Thomas F. (April 1918). "A Self-Effaced Philanthropist: Cornelius Heeney, 1754–1848". The Catholic Historical Review. 4.
  4. ^ Clarke, Richard Henry (1888). Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States. Vol. II. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Farley 1918, p. 23.
  6. ^ a b c "John Cardinal McCloskey", Fordham University
  7. ^ a b c "John Cardinal McCloskey". Cardinal McCloskey Services. Archived from the original on November 12, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  8. ^ Farley 1918, p. 50.
  9. ^ a b c d "John Cardinal McCloskey". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  10. ^ a b c "Cardinals of the U.S.A.", The Catholic Transcript, Volume XXVIII, Number 26, 3 December 1925
  11. ^ Farley 1918, p. 131.
  12. ^ a b Palmo, Rocco. "The First Prince... and His Patrons", Whispers in the Loggia, March 15, 2009
  13. ^ Farley 1918, p. 161.
  14. ^ "John McCloskey, Shepherd of Exiles", Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, NY
  15. ^ Walsh, John. "Albany." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. October 4, 2015
  16. ^ Carthy, O.S.U., Mother Mary Peter (1947). Old St. Patrick's – New York's First Cathedral. The United States Catholic Historical Society.
  17. ^ a b Egan, Edward. "Our First Cardinal", Archdiocese of New York
  18. ^ Farley 1918, pp. 304–305.
  19. ^ Farley 1918, p. 289.
  20. ^ Farley 1918, p. 319.
  21. ^ Miranda, Salvador. "McCloskey, John". The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.
  22. ^ "John Cardinal McCloskey (1864–1885)". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. Archived from the original on June 13, 2012.
  23. ^ Farley 1918, p. 367.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John McCloskey.
Academic offices
New office President of Fordham University
1841–1843 		Succeeded by
John Harley, S.J.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière
 Titular Bishop of Axieri
1843–1847 		Succeeded by
New diocese Bishop of Albany
1847–1864 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Archbishop of New York

1864–1885 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Matteo Eustachio Gonella
 Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria sopra Minerva
1875–1885 		Succeeded by
O.P
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