Francis Joseph Spellmann
(Whitman, 1889-New York, 1967) American Catholic prelate.A member of a modest family of Irish origin, he studied at Fordham University and the North American College in Rome, where he was ordained a priest on May 14, 1916, the same year that he received a doctorate in theology.After exercising his apostolate in the parish of All Saints in Roxbury (Massachusetts), he went to Boston; There he was director of the magazine Pilot and archivist of the archdiocese in 1923.
In 1925 he was called to the Vatican Secretariat of State, where he dealt, among other things, with the translation of the encyclicals that were they broadcast through the Radio.There he remained for some years, during which time he gained the trust of Pope Pius XI and the friendship of Cardinal Pacelli, future Pius XII.
On September 8, 1932, he was consecrated a bishop in St.Peter's Basilica, and then returned to the United States to serve as auxiliary bishop of Boston.On April 15, 1939, he was appointed Archbishop of New York by the newly elected Pope Pius XII.Earlier, in 1936, when Cardinal Pacelli visited the United States as Vatican Secretary of State, it was Monsignor Spellman who accompanied him throughout the territory.Pius XII appointed him cardinal on February 18, 1946.
Under his leadership, the Archdiocese of New York experienced years of extraordinary expansion and growth.In the first year, it repaired the $ 28 million debt that the diocese accumulated in the Great Depression; in 1939 he founded the Construction Commission to oversee all construction in the diocese; Likewise, two years later, he established the Institutional Merchandise Services for churches and institutions, as a great central for the purchases of the archdiocese, which provided him with savings of 1.5 million dollars a year.
During his government, the "Charitas Católica" institution also experienced a great expansion; He went on to build or renovate more than 370 primary and secondary schools, which earned him the nickname "cardinal of education." Aware of the enormous influence of television, he founded the Television Instruction Center and endowed it with good equipment.It financed the edition of Catholic Encyclopedia for School and Home (1964) and the New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967).
He completely renovated the diocesan seminary of San José and on its grounds built the Archbishop Library in memory of Archbishop Corrigan, as well as the "Cardinal Spellman" recreational center and the Data Processing Center.His field of influence exceeded the limits of his diocese when he was appointed Military Vicar for the United States, a position that gave him the opportunity to visit the fronts of the Second World War encouraging North American soldiers, as well as later on on the battlefield.from Korea.
His statements against communism, against immorality and in favor of education at all levels deserved international attention.Notable among his publications are The Road to Victory (1942), Action this day (1943), No greater Love (1945) and The foundling (1951).A relevant figure in the national panorama of the United States, he was in line with modernity and technological advances, and was during the Second Vatican Council one of the strongest defenders of the scheme on the Church and the modern world, and of the Declaration on the Religious freedom.
Pope Paul VI appointed him a member of the Preparatory Commission of the Council; He was a member of the coordinating commissions of conciliar work and a member of the Central Post-conciliar Commission for the interpretation of conciliar documents.After the Council, he was one of the first bishops committed to putting into practice its reforms, concerning the liturgy and the organization of parish and diocesan life.
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