Cardinal Richard Cushing (1895-1970)

Born to Irish immigrants in South Boston, Richard James Cushing studied at Boston College before entering the seminary for the Archdiocese of Boston. Ordained in 1921, he served in two parishes before he was assigned to the Propagation of the Faith, the archdiocesan organization that raises money for the missions. In 1929, he was named director. In 1934 he was named a monsignor and in 1939 an auxiliary Bishop to Boston’s Cardinal William H. O’Connell. When O’Connell died in 1944, Cushing was named his successor. In 1958 he was named a Cardinal. A close friend of the Kennedy family, he officiated at John F. Kennedy’s wedding in 1953 and his funeral in 1963.