His Eminence John McCloskey | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of New York | |
 McCloskey in 1876 | |
| See | New York |
| Appointed | May 6, 1864 |
| Term ended | October 10, 1885 |
| Predecessor | John Hughes |
| Successor | Michael Corrigan |
| Other post | Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria sopra Minerva |
| Previous posts |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | January 12, 1834 |
| Consecration | March 10, 1844 by John Hughes |
| Created cardinal | March 15, 1875 byPius IX |
| Rank | Cardinal priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1810-03-10)March 10, 1810 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 10, 1885(1885-10-10) (aged 75) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Mount St. Mary's College |
| Motto | In spem vitae aeternae (Latin for 'In hope of eternal life') |
| Signature | .png) |
| Styles of John McCloskey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Religious style | Cardinal |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was anAmerican Catholic prelate who served as the first American-bornarchbishop of New York from 1864 until his death in 1885.
McCloskey previously served asbishop of Albany in New York State (1847–1864). In 1875, McCloskey became the first Americancardinal. He served as the first president of St. John's College, nowFordham University, from 1841 to 1842.
John McCloskey was born on March 10, 1810, inBrooklyn, New York, to Patrick and Elizabeth (née Hassan) McCloskey, who had immigrated to the United States fromCounty Londonderry in Ireland, shortly after their marriage in 1808. He wasbaptized by ReverendBenedict Joseph Fenwick on May 6, 1810, atSt. Peter's Church inManhattan. At that time, Brooklyn did not yet have a Catholic church, so the McCloskey family had to row across theEast River to Manhattan to attendmass.[1]
At age five, McCloskey was enrolled at aboarding school for boys in Brooklyn run by the retired English actressCharlotte 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 theLatin school run by Thomas Brady, father of attorneyJames T. Brady and JudgeJohn R. Brady.[2] Following his father's death in 1820, the family moved to a farm inBedford, New York.[1]He became the ward ofCornelius Heeney, a wealthy merchant and friend of the family.[3]
The 11-year-old McCloskey, after a brief visit with ReverendJohn Dubois, enteredMount St. Mary's College inEmmitsburg, Maryland, in September 1821.[4] As a student at Mount St. Mary's, McCloskey 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, McCloskey delivered a speech onpatriotism that doubled as a defense of the poetHorace'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.
During the spring of 1827 in Bedford, McCloskey was attempting to drive a team ofoxen drawing a heavy load of logs when the wagon overturned, burying him under the logs for several hours. He was later discovered and taken to his house. For the next several days, McCloskey was unconscious. When he woke up, he was totally blind for a time.[6]
During his convalescence, McCloskey decided to enter the priesthood. He returned to Mount St. Mary's in September 1827 for hisseminary training.[6] Although he regained his eyesight, he tired easily and suffered from poor health for the rest of his life.[7] In addition to his studies, he began teachingLatin in 1829 at Mount St. Mary's .[8] He received thetonsure,minor orders, andsubdiaconate all from BishopFrancis Kenrick.
On January 12, 1834, McCloskey wasordained a priest for theDiocese of New York byBishop John Dubois, atSt. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Manhattan.[9] He became the first native New Yorker to enter the priesthood from the diocese.[10] After his ordination, the diocese assigned McCloskey as aparochial vicar at Old St. Patrick's Cathedral Parish and a chaplain atBellevue Hospital in Manhattan. In February 1834, he was reassigned as a professor of philosophy andvice-president at the newly established St. Joseph's Seminary inNyack, New York. However, the seminary was destroyed by a fire in August 1834.[2]
By 1834, New York City was still suffering from a cholera epidemic than had broken out two years earlier. McCloskey wanted to minister to the sick, but Dubois was concerned for his health. He instead sent McCloskey to Rome to study at thePontifical Gregorian University andUniversity of the Sapienza (1834–1837). While in Rome, he befriended ReverendPère Lacordaire, and CardinalsThomas Weld andJoseph Fesch.[10]
Abandoning his pursuit of the degree ofDoctor of Divinity in Rome, and departing from there in February 1837, he visited Germany,Belgium, France and England before returning to New York that summer.[10] From August 1837 to March 1844, McCloskey served as pastor ofSt. Joseph's Parish inGreenwich Village in New York City. His tenure at the parish was initially contentious, with the parishtrustees refusing to pay him a salary or furnish his house[11]
As pastor, McCloskey showed particular concern for the needs of the homeless children living in Greenwich Village.[7] In addition to his duties at St. Joseph's, McCloskey served as the first president ofSt. John's College in theFordham section of the Bronx from 1841 to 1842,[6] where he also taught rhetoric and literature.
In 1843, McCloskey returned full-time to St. Joseph's. Later that year he was appointedcoadjutor bishop of New York andtitular bishop ofAxieri byPope Gregory XVI. He received hisepiscopal consecration on March 10, 1844—his 34th birthday—from BishopJohn Hughes, with Bishops Benedict Fenwick (who had baptized him as a child) andRichard Vincent Whelan serving asco-consecrators, at St. Patrick's Cathedral.[9] According to author Rocco Palma, Hughes had a reputation for bombast and aggressiveness while McCloskey was considered more quiet and gentle.[12] McCloskey busied himself primarily with a visitation of the entire diocese He was also instrumental in theconversion Catholicism ofIsaac Hecker, founder of thePaulist Fathers, and ofJames Roosevelt Bayley, who later becamearchbishop of Baltimore.
McCloskey was named the first bishop of the newly erectedDiocese of Albany byPope Pius IX on May 21, 1847.[9] He wasinstalled in Albany by Hughes on September 19, 1847.[13] At the time of his arrival, the diocese covered 30,000 square miles (78,000 km2) with 60,000 Catholics. It had 25 churches, 34 priests, two orphanages, and two free schools.[2] McCloskey's flock was made up largely of poor, uneducated Irish immigrants fleeing theGreat Famine in Ireland of 1845 to 1852.[14]
McCloskey first selectedSt. Mary's Church in Albany as hisepiscopal see, but it soon proved unsuitable as a cathedral. McCloskey then started construction of theCathedral of the Immaculate Conception in that city. Thecornerstone was laid in July 1848 and its dedication took place in November 1852.[15]
McCloskey attended theFirst Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1852, convened the first diocesansynod in October 1855, and was named anassistant at the pontifical throne by the Vatican in 1862. During his tenure in Albany, he increased the number of parishes to 113 and the number of priests to 84. He established three academies for boys and one for girls, four orphanages and 15parochial schools. One significant accomplishment was the opening of St. Joseph's Provincial Seminary inTroy.[2] McCloskey also introduced theJesuits, 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]
Following Hughes' death in January 1864, McCloskey was widely expected to be named his successor.[2] Distressed by the rumors, he wrote to CardinalKarl von Reisach of theCongregation for the Propagation of the Faith, objecting, "I possess neither the learning, nor prudence, nor energy, nor firmness, nor bodily health or strength."[17][18] However, Pius IX nevertheless appointed him as the second archbishop of New York on May 6, 1864 and McCloskey accepted the position.[9]
Following the end of theAmerican Civil War in 1865, McCloskey resumed the construction of the newSt. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, begun under his predecessor. In October 1866, McCloskey traveled to Baltimore to attend theSecond Plenary Council of Baltimore, a meeting of all the bishops in the United States. Before the Council convened, he learned that the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York had been gutted by a fire. McCloskey preached the sermon at the beginning of the first session.[17]
After returning to New York, McCloskey met with the cathedral board of trustees. They immediately decided to rebuild the old cathedral; it was ready for Easter Sunday mass on April 21, 1867. The completed rebuilding project was completed by March 13, 1868, and McCloskey rededicated the cathedral rededicated four days later.[17] McCloskey participated in theFirst Vatican Council in Rome from 1869 to 1870, and voted in favor ofpapal infallibility despite his feelings that such a declaration was "untimely."[17] On December 8, 1873, he solemnly dedicated the archdiocese to theSacred Heart of Jesus.[19]
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McCloskey was createdcardinal-priest of theBasilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome by Pius IX in theconsistory of March 15, 1875, thus becoming the first American cardinal.[10] The news of his elevation was well received by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and was viewed as a sign of the growing prestige of the United States. He received the redbiretta from Archbishop Bayley in a ceremony at the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral on April 27, 1875. At the ceremony, McCloskey declared,
"Not to my poor merits but to those of the young and already vigorous and most flourishingCatholic Church of America has this honor been given by theSupreme Pontiff. Nor am I unaware that, when the Holy Father determined to confer me this honor he had regard to the dignity of the See of New York, to the merits and devotion of the venerable clergy and numerous laity, and that he had in mind even the eminent rank of this great city and the glorious American nation."[20]
Following the death of Pius IX in February 1878, McCloskey left for Rome but arrived too late to participate in thepapal conclave that electedPope Leo XIII. The new pope bestowed the red hat upon him on March 28, 1878.[21] McCloskey dedicated the new St. Patrick's Cathedral in May 1879.[17]
During the later 1870s,Thomas Ewing Sherman, son of theAmerican Civil War generalWilliam Tecumseh Sherman, told his father that he wanted to become a Jesuit priest. A very unhappy Sherman wrote to McCloskey in 1879, asking him to dissuade Thomas from this path. However, after talking with Thomas, McCloskey instead encouraged the boy to enter the priesthood. An enraged William Sherman, in a letter to aSt. Louis, Missouri newspaper, blasted McCloskey, accusing him of taking away his son. When pressed for comment on Sherman's remarks by the newspaper's editor, McCloskey simply replied: "General Sherman's letter was marked 'personal and confidential.'" Thomas Sherman was ordained a priest in 1889.[12]
In 1880, Leo XIII appointed BishopMichael Corrigan of theDiocese of Newark, as coadjutor archbishop to assist McCloskey. McCloskey last major public appearance was in January 1884 for the Golden Jubilee celebration of his priestly ordination; Leo XIII sent him a jeweledchalice as a gift.[2]
During 1884, the Government of Italy was threatening to expropriate church property, including the Pontifical North American College. In March 1884, McCloskey lobbied US PresidentChester A. Arthur and US Secretary of StateFrederick T. Frelinghuysen to intervene with Italy, saving the college from seizure.[2]
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 theBronx, and one inStaten 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 ofCatholic 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]
Throughout 1885, McCloskey suffered from bouts of fever, intense pain, loss of sight, and a recurrence ofmalaria. He also appeared to be suffering symptoms of what could have beenParkinson's disease. Within a few months, he was hospitalized
McCloskey died on October 10, 1885, at age 75 with his three nieces and his private secretary MonsignorJohn Farley at his bedside.[1] Hisfuneral mass was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral on October 25, 1885; during the eulogy, ArchbishopJames 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 Cathedral.
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| Academic offices | ||
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| New office | President of Fordham University 1841–1843 | Succeeded by John Harley, S.J. |
| Catholic Church titles | ||
| Preceded by | 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 |
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