Patrick Aloysius O'Boyle | |
|---|---|
| Cardinal,Archbishop of Washington | |
 O'Boyle in 1916 | |
| See | Washington |
| Appointed | November 29, 1947 |
| Installed | January 21, 1948 |
| Term ended | March 3, 1973 |
| Predecessor | Michael Joseph Curley |
| Successor | William Wakefield Baum |
| Other post | Cardinal-Priest of S. Nicola in Carcere |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 21, 1921 by Patrick Joseph Hayes |
| Consecration | January 14, 1948 by Francis Spellman |
| Created cardinal | June 26, 1967 byPaul VI |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Patrick Aloysius O'Boyle (1896-07-18)July 18, 1896 |
| Died | August 10, 1987(1987-08-10) (aged 91) |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Motto | State in fide (steadfast in faith) |
| Styles of Patrick O'Boyle | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
| See | Washington |
Ordination history of Patrick O'Boyle | |||||||||
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Patrick Aloysius O'Boyle (July 18, 1896 – August 10, 1987) was anAmerican Catholic prelate who served as the first residentArchbishop of Washington from 1948 to 1973. He was elevated to thecardinalate in 1967.
Patrick O'Boyle was born on July 18, 1896, inScranton,Pennsylvania, to Michael and Mary (née Muldoon) O'Boyle, who wereIrishimmigrants.[1] His father was originally from Glenties,County Donegal, and in 1889 came to theUnited States, where he settled atBedford,New York. His mother moved toNew York City fromCounty Mayo in 1879, and married O'Boyle in December 1893. Shortly afterwards, the couple moved to Scranton, where Michael became asteelworker; they had a daughter who died during infancy in 1895.[2]
Patrick O'Boyle wasbaptized at St. Paul's Church in Scranton. Following Michael's death in January 1907, he helped support his mother by becoming apaperboy.[3] He dropped out of school in 1910 to pursue a full-time career with theBradstreet Company, but enteredSt. Thomas College in 1911.[2] In addition to his studies, he there served as classlibrarian andeditor of the monthly magazineThe Aquinas.[2]
O'Boyle graduated from St. Thomas' asvaledictorian in 1916, and then began his studies for thepriesthood atSt. Joseph's Seminary inYonkers,New York.[3] During his time at St. Joseph's, he developed a close friendship with ReverendJames McIntyre, a future cardinal. McIntyre tutored O'Boyle inLatin and invited him to spend holidays with his family.[2] One of O'Boyle's professors was ReverendFrancis P. Duffy, a famed US Armychaplain ofWorld War I.
O'Boyle wasordained a priest for theArchdiocese of New York by ArchbishopPatrick Hayes on May 21, 1921.[4] The next day he celebrated his firstmass at St. Paul's Church in his native Scranton. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned O'Boyle as acurate at St. Columba's Church in theChelsea section ofManhattan.[5] While there, he organized St. Joseph's Society for teenage boys, beginning with about 300 members, and instituted parishdances.[2]
In 1926, Hayes named O'Boyle as director of the Catholic Guardian Society, a division ofCatholic Charities that handledorphans andfoster children; during this time, he also resided and did pastoral work at theChurch of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan.[6][1] Sheila Wickouski identifies social concerns, labor rights, and racial equality as having been O'Boyle's key issues.[7] O'Boyle furthered his studies at theNew York School of Social Work in Manhattan from 1927 to 1932.[1] He also taughtchild welfare atFordham Graduate School of Social Service in Manhattan from 1930 to 1934.[3]
In 1933, O''Boyle was asked to organizeCatholic Charities in New York. O'Boyle worked closely with the federalWorks Progress Administration to find jobs for young people in the archdiocese.[2] He then served as director of theMission of the Immaculate Virgin inStaten Island, New York, from 1936 to 1943.[1]
The Vatican raised O'Boyle to the rank of aprivy chamberlain in 1941 and adomestic prelate in 1944.[1] He was named director of theWar Relief Services of theNational Catholic Welfare Conference in 1943, then director ofCatholic Charities in New York in August 1947.[1]
According to the historian Raymond Kupke, O'Boyle's work at War Relief Services and his skill in dealing with governmental and non-governmental agencies during the war and postwar periods caught the attention of the apostolic delegate to the United States, ArchbishopAmleto Giovanni Cicognani.[8]
On November 27, 1947, O'Boyle was appointed archbishop of Washington byPope Pius XII. O'Boyle received hisepiscopal consecration on January 14, 1948, from CardinalFrancis Spellman, with Bishops John McNamara andHenry Klonowski serving asco-consecrators, inSt. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. According to Wickouski, O'Boyle's view of his role was shaped by his experience as an administrator under Spellman.[7]
Known for his opposition toracism,[9] O'Boyle in 1948racially integrated the Catholic schools of Washington six years before theU.S. Supreme Court ruledsegregation in the public schools to be unconstitutional. He started with the city of Washington first and then expanded to the southern counties of Maryland in the archdiocese. The colleges and universities were integrated first, followed by the high schools and the primary schools.[10]
In 1949, O'Boyle delivered thebenediction at the inauguration ceremony of US PresidentHarry S. Truman. In Washington, O’Boyle consecrated the United States to theImmaculate Heart of Mary.[11]
From 1962 to 1965, O'Boyle attended theSecond Vatican Council in Rome. He was madeMetropolitan Archbishop on October 12, 1965, upon Washington's promotion to that ecclesiastical status. On August 28, 1963, he delivered the invocation that began theMarch on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.[12]
In April 1964, in the midst of Congressional debate on theCivil Rights Act of 1964, O'Boyle chaired the Inter-religious Convocation on Civil Rights atGeorgetown University. In giving the invocation, O'Boyle said that "There is in every man a priceless dignity which is your heritage. From this dignity flow the rights of man, and the duty in justice that all must respect and honor these rights..." In his remarks, O'Boyel urged Congress to pass the bill and those present to "tell our Representatives our conviction that such a law is a moral obligation."[13]
O'Boyle was createdcardinal priest of theChurch of San Nicola in Carcere in Rome byPope Paul VI in theconsistory of June 26, 1967. O'Boyle resigned as archbishop of Washington on March 3, 1973, after 25 years of service.
O'Boyle died inWashington, D.C., atProvidence Hospital in 1987 at age 91.[4]He was the first person to be interred in a burial chamber constructed inside theCathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle for the archbishops of Washington.
O'Boyle was socially progressive but theologically conservative. He was an ardent supporter of Paul VI's 1968 encyclicalHumanae Vitae, and placed ecclesiastical censures on priests who dissented from its teachings.[14][15] During his younger days, he supported Wisconsin GovernorRobert M. La Follette, Sr. and New York GovernorAl Smith.[2]
A staunch opponent of racism, O'Boyle wrote:
Those who deny a neighbor, solely on the basis of race, the opportunity to buy a house, or to enjoy equal educational and job opportunities, are in effect denying those rights to Christ Himself.[16]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by Michael Joseph Curley (Archbishop of Baltimore-Washington) | Archbishop of Washington 1947–1973 | Succeeded by |
