John McCloskey
John McCloskey (born March 10, 1810 in Brooklyn , New York , † October 10, 1885 in New York City ) was an American clergyman and Archbishop of New York . He was the first cardinal of the United States .
Life
Early years
John McCloskey, from an Irish immigrant family, dropped out of school at the age of eleven after his father Patrick died in 1820.
As a teenager, unable to decide which profession to pursue later, he first worked on the farm to which his mother had moved with him. It was not until 1827, when he suffered a serious accident, that he decided to become a priest. From September 1827 he studied at Mount St. Mary's College and Seminary in Maryland , then at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome . After John Dubois , the then bishop of New York, ordained a priest on January 12, 1834 , McCloskey took a position as a philosophy professor at St. Joseph's Seminary in Nyack , where he was also vice president. Then he continued his studies in Rome. When he returned to New York in 1837, he carried out pastoral activities until 1843.
Coadjutor and Archbishop of New York
On the November 21, 1843 Coadjutor Bishop of New York and Titular Bishop of Axieri appointed McCloskey received on his 34th birthday by the New York Bishop John Joseph Hughes , the episcopal ordination . Co- consecrators were the Bishop of Boston , Benedict Joseph Fenwick SJ , and the Bishop of Richmond , Richard Vincent Whelan .
On May 21, 1847 he was appointed the first bishop of the newly established diocese of Albany . As such, he also took part in the 7th Provincial Council of Baltimore (1849) and also convened the First Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1852. By 1861 he attended the first three provincial councils in New York.
McCloskey became Archbishop of New York on May 6, 1864. As early as 1864 he wanted to push ahead with the construction of St. Patrick's Cathedral , but the Civil War (until 1865) initially prevented him from doing so. He also took part in the First Vatican Council, 1869-1870. At the council he voted for papal infallibility .
cardinal
Since around 1850 there have been calls to appoint an American cardinal, especially under US President Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865). On March 15, 1875, John McCloskey was appointed by Pope Pius IX. the first US-American and the first non-European to be promoted to cardinal.
As a cardinal priest, the Pope assigned him the titular church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva . Cardinal McCloskey wanted to attend the conclave of 1878 , but given the distance between New York and Rome and the travel options at the time, it was impossible for him to reach the conclave in eleven days. Therefore, he only arrived when Leo XIII. had already been elected. He finally inaugurated St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York in 1879. After his health deteriorated dramatically in 1885 and he had to be hospitalized, he eventually died at the age of 75. He had his future successor Michael Augustine Corrigan at his side as coadjutor since 1880 . McCloskey was a popular and highly respected archbishop. James Gibbons , Archbishop of Baltimore and later also a cardinal, described him as a "fearless leader, watchful shepherd and friend." John McCloskey is buried in the crypt of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Significance for the Archdiocese of New York
John McCloskey is one of the most important archbishops in the almost 200-year history of the archbishopric. As the number of Catholic immigrant families continued to grow and there were over 1.2 million Catholics in New York in 1865, he had new seminaries and churches (including the first church for dark-skinned Catholics) built. Schooling and helping children was also important to McCloskey. He established numerous children's charities in and around New York.
The children's aid organization Cardinal McCloskey Community Services , founded in 1946 on behalf of Cardinal Francis Spellman , is named after him.
Web links
- McCloskey, John. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed January 21, 2013.
- Entry on John McCloskey on catholic-hierarchy.org ; Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- The Life of Cardinal McCloskey
Individual evidence
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica : John McCloskey (American archbishop)
- ^ Entry on John McCloskey in answers.com
- ^ Our History , Cardinal McCloskey Community Services
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| John Joseph Hughes |
Archbishop of New York 1864–1885 |
Michael Augustine Corrigan |
| --- |
Bishop of Albany 1847–1864 |
John Joseph Conroy |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McCloskey, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American clergyman and Archbishop of New York |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 10, 1810 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 10, 1885 |
| Place of death | New York City |