Francis Cardinal Spellman
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Francis Joseph Cardinal Spellman, (4 May, 1889 - 2 December, 1967) was the ninth bishop - sixth archbishop - of the Roman Catholic diocese of New York. He was born in Whitman, Massachusetts to William and Ellen (neé Conway) Spellman, graduated from Pontifical Urbanian Athenaeum in Rome, and was ordained a priest on 14 May, 1916. He became Chancellor of the Boston Diocese in 1922, and was made a Monsignor and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, Massachusetts in July of 1932 and ordained on 8 September with the titular see of Sila. He was appointed Archbishop of New York on 15 April, 1939, and on 11 December, appointed Archbishop for the Military Services. Spellman was elevated to cardinal (with the title of Ss. Giovanni e Paolo) on 18 February, 1946, and served as archbishop until his death. He is interred in the crypt under the altar of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Grand Prior of USA of the Souverign Order of Malta. Grand Prior of America of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus
He was to date the longest-serving Archbishop of New York, serving in that position for over 28 years.
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Personal life
For decades, rumors have circulated about Spellman's alleged homosexual proclivities. One author alleges that "[k]nowledge of Spellman's homosexual activities was common throughouth the Archdiocese of New York and political circles during his twenty-eight year tenure as archbishop," and that newspapers including The New York Times refrained from printing this information.<ref>Bronski, Michael. The Pleasure Principle : Sex, Backlash, and the Struggle for Gay Freedom (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000), p. 177.</ref> The galleys of The American Pope: The Life and Times of Francis Cardinal Spellman, John Cooney's 1984 biography of the archbishop, contained four pages of interviews with individuals who related stories of Spellman's alleged affairs with a number of different partners, <ref>McDowell, Edwin. "Substantiation Is Asked Of Spellman Biographer." The New York Times, August 2, 1984, p. C20.</ref> including priests, altar boys, and a Broadway dancer.<ref>Signorile, Michaelangelo. "Cardinal Spellman's Dark Legacy." New York Press, 15(18), 2002.</ref> The pages were not included in the published version of Cooney's biography.
Quotes
"He's no Pope. He should be selling bananas." Referring to the election of Cardinal Roncalli as Pope John XXIII.
See also
- List of Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops of New York
- List of notable cardinals
- Cardinal Spellman High School
References
<references />
- John Cooney, The American Pope: The Life and Times of Francis Cardinal Spellman'
- Nicholas Von Hoffman, Citizen Cohn
- Catholic Hierarchy: Francis Joseph Cardinal Spellman
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