Terence James Cooke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cardinal,Archbishop of New York | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Cooke in 1983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Church | Catholic Church | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| See | New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appointed | March 2, 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Installed | April 4, 1968 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Term ended | October 6, 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Francis Spellman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | John Joseph O'Connor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo Vicar Apostolic for the United States Armed Forces | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous post |
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| Orders | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordination | December 1, 1945 by Francis Spellman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consecration | December 13, 1965 by Francis Spellman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created cardinal | April 28, 1969 byPope Paul VI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1921-03-01)March 1, 1921 Manhattan, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | October 6, 1983(1983-10-06) (aged 62) Manhattan, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Buried | St. Patrick's Cathedral (New York) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parents | Michael Cooke & Margaret Gannon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Motto | Fiat Voluntas Tua (Thy Will Be Done) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sainthood | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title as Saint | Servant of God | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attributes | Cardinal's attire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ordination history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Styles of Terence Cooke | |
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| Reference style | His Eminence |
| Spoken style | Your Eminence |
| Informal style | Cardinal |
Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was anAmerican Catholic prelate who served asArchbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battlingleukemia throughout his tenure. He was named acardinal in 1969. Cooke previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1965 to 1967.
Nine years after his death, Cooke was designated aServant of God, the first step in the process that may lead tobeatification and then canonization as a saint.
The youngest of three children, Terence Cooke was born in New York City to Michael and Margaret (née Gannon) Cooke.[1] His parents were both fromCounty Galway,Ireland, and named their son afterTerence MacSwiney, theLord Mayor of Cork who died on a hunger strike during theIrish War of Independence.[2] Michael Cooke worked as a chauffeur and construction worker.[3] At age five, Terence and his family moved fromMorningside Heights, Manhattan, to the northeastBronx. Following his mother's death in 1930, his aunt Mary Gannon helped raise him and his siblings.[2]
After expressing an early interest in thepriesthood, in 1934 Cooke entered Manhattan's Cathedral College, theminor seminary of theArchdiocese of New York. In 1940, he enteredSt. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York.[2]
Cooke wasordained a priest by ArchbishopFrancis Spellman on December 1, 1945.[1] Cooke then served as chaplain for St. Agatha's Home for Children inNanuet, New York,[4] until 1947, when he moved to Washington, D.C., to pursue graduate studies atThe Catholic University of America. He obtained aMaster of Social Work degree in 1949.[2]
When he returned to New York, Cooke was assigned to serve as a curate atSt. Athanasius Parish in the Bronx, while working with theCatholic Youth Organization.[5] In 1954 he was appointed executive director of the Youth Division of Catholic Charities andprocurator of St. Joseph's Seminary. In 1957 he was appointed by Cardinal Spellman to be his secretary, a position he held until 1965. Cooke was named amonsignor on August 13, 1957, and vice-chancellor for the archdiocese in 1958, rising to full chancellor in 1961.[1]
On September 15, 1965,Pope Paul VI appointed Cooke as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York and titular bishop of Summa. He received hisepiscopal consecration on December 13, 1965, from Cardinal Spellman atSt. Patrick's Cathedral, with ArchbishopsJoseph McGucken andJohn Maguire serving asco-consecrators.[6] Cooke selected as his episcopal motto:Fiat Voluntas Tua, meaning, "Thy Will Be Done" fromLuke 1:38.[4]
Cooke played a prominent role in arranging Pope Paul's visit to New York in October 1965,[3] and becameVicar General of the Archdiocese two days after his consecration, on December 15, 1965. He was diagnosed withacute myelomonocytic leukemia, a form of cancer, that year as well.[4][7]
Following Spellman's death in December 1967, Pope Paul named Cooke as the seventh Archbishop of New York on March 2, 1968.[6]
Pope Paul's selection of Cooke came as a surprise; likely contenders for the post includedFulton J. Sheen, a television personality andBishop of Rochester; and Archbishop Maguire, who had been Spellman'scoadjutor.[3] In addition to his duties in New York, Cooke was namedVicar Apostolic for the U.S. Military on April 4, 1968, and was installed in both positions at St. Patrick's Cathedral.[6]
That same day as Cooke's installation, the ReverendMartin Luther King Jr. wasassassinated inMemphis, Tennessee, leading to a nationwide wave ofriots in more than 100 cities. Cooke went toHarlem that evening to plead for racial peace[2] and later attended King's funeral.[8] After the assassination of Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedy on June 6, 1968, Cooke led the funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral; months later, he baptized Kennedy's youngest child,Rory Kennedy.[9]
On January 20, 1969, Cooke delivered thebenediction at the inauguration of PresidentRichard Nixon.
After the first meeting between Church andFreemasonry, which had been held on April 11, 1969, at the convent of the Divine Master inAriccia, he was the protagonist of a series of public handshakes between high prelates of the Roman Catholic Church and the heads of Freemasonry.[10]
Cooke helped implement the reforms of theSecond Vatican Council in the archdiocese, and adopted a more collegial management style than his predecessor Spellman.[11] Pope Paul VI appointed him asCardinal-Priest ofSanti Giovanni e Paolo, Rome (the traditionaltitular church of the New York archbishops starting in 1946) in theconsistory of April 28, 1969.[6] At the time of his elevation, Cooke was the second-youngest member of theCollege of Cardinals after CardinalAlfred Bengsch, who was six months younger. Cooke wastheologically conservative but described himself asprogressive in secular matters.[3]
During his tenure as archbishop, Cooke founded the Birthright organization, which provides counseling and other support for pregnant women; the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, which provides financial aid for Catholic-school students; an Archdiocesan Housing Development Program, providing housing to New York's disadvantaged;Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper; and nine nursing homes.[4] In 1974, Cooke went to thePontifical North American College inRome, where he attended lectures on the Second Vatican Council given by his future successor, FatherEdward Egan.[12]
Cooke was one of thecardinal electors who participated in theconclaves ofAugust andOctober 1978, which selectedPopes John Paul I andJohn Paul II, respectively. In 1979, Cooke separately hosted theDalai Lama[13] and Pope John Paul II at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Cooke's leukemia, first diagnosed in 1965, was deemed terminal in 1975,[4] and he was on almost constantchemotherapy for the last five years of his life.[14] In late August 1983, he announced his illness to the public, saying that he was expected to live for a few more months but would not resign his post.[7] In an open letter completed only days before his death, he wrote, "The gift of life, God's special gift, is no less beautiful when it is accompanied by illness or weakness, hunger or poverty, mental or physical handicaps, loneliness or old age."[11]
On October 6, 1983, Cooke died from leukemia at age 62 at his episcopal residence inManhattan,New York City. He is interred in the crypt under the altar of St. Patrick's Cathedral.[1][15]
On April 5, 1984,President Ronald Reagan posthumously awarded Cooke thePresidential Medal of Freedom.[16] In 1988, he posthumously received the F. Sadlier Dinger Award from the publisherWilliam H. Sadlier, Inc., for his contributions to religious education.[17]
During his years as archbishop, Cooke receivedhonorary degrees from at least four Catholic colleges:College of New Rochelle (1968),[18]College of Mount Saint Vincent (1968),[19]Boston College (1969),[20] andMarymount Manhattan College (1978).[21] He also received theJames Cardinal Gibbons Medal (1979) from his alma mater,Catholic University of America.[22]
At least seven buildings in the Archdiocese of New York have been named in his honor:
Soon after Cooke died in 1983, a movement emerged to canonize him as a saint. In 1984, with the support of Cooke's successor, Archbishop (and future cardinal)John O'Connor, the Cardinal Cooke Guild was established. In 1992, theCongregation for the Causes of Saints officially designated Cooke as aServant of God, the first step in the process that leads to beatification and then canonization as a saint. On April 14, 2010, the Guild and senior American clergy presented PopeBenedict XVI with thepositio, the documentation of the cardinal's life, work, and virtues. The document was then filed with the Congregation for Causes, to be examined by theologians.[30] If the document is approved, Cooke will receive the title ofVenerable, the second step leading to sainthood.
FatherBenedict Groeschel was thepostulator for the cause while it was in its initial stages in New York. After the process was accepted by theHoly See, Andrea Ambrosi served as postulator until his retirement in 2021.[4] He was replaced by Dr. Angelica Ambrosi.[31] As of January 22, 2022, the canonization process is still ongoing.
Ananti-Communist, Cooke opposed the majority of his fellow bishops when he spoke out againstnuclear disarmament in 1982.[11] He once stated thatdeterrence was not satisfactory or safe, but could be considered morally "tolerable".[32] During a 1968 Central Parkanti-war rally byCoretta Scott King he organized a small counter demonstration in support of theVietnam War.[33]
Cooke, opposed to themilitant policies of theProvisional Irish Republican Army, remained inside St. Patrick's Cathedral during the 1983St. Patrick's Day Parade, until the grand marshal, Irish activistMichael Flannery, had passed by. Flannery was an outspoken supporter of the IRA.[34]
Cooke was an outspoken opponent ofabortion, which he called the "slaughter of the innocent unborn",[35] and once served as chairman of theUSCCB's Pro-Life Committee.
Cooke initiated the formation ofCourage International, a ministry that promotes chastity forgay and lesbian Catholics.[36]
Cooke supported theCursillo Movement, Christian Family Movement, andCharismatic Renewal, and was instrumental in bringing theMissionaries of Charity to New York.[4] Cooke once described actress-turned-princessGrace Kelly as "a lesson in Catholic motherhood".[37]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by See Created | Titular Bishop of Summa 1965 – 1968 | Succeeded by Daniel Liston, C.S.Sp |
| Preceded by | Vicar Apostolic for the Military Services 1968 – 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Archbishop of New York 1968 – 1983 | Succeeded by | |
| Cardinal-Priest of Santi Giovanni e Paolo 1969 – 1983 | ||
