• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

1963 Video • Funeral of John F. Kennedy (Low Mass)

Jeff Ostrowski · September 9, 2013

“He who never sought to be internationally known is the most beloved of all in the farflung missions of the Church in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America.” — Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, speaking about Richard Cardinal Cushing   [source]

EARS AGO, I asked a priest who had been ordained in the 1950s, “What was the sloppiest Liturgy you can remember?” He answered without hesitation: “The Funeral Mass of John F. Kennedy. It was a Low Mass said by Cardinal Cushing. His Latin was atrocious.” I think that was the first time I ever heard the name of Richard Cardinal Cushing.

Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970, Cushing was not an easy man to understand. For example, he seems to have been interested in missionary work and devoted to Pope Pius XII, but mishandled the subject of Mrs. Kennedy’s 1968 marriage to Aristotle Onassis. At a later time, I’d like to write more about him. A priest told me that Cardinal Cushing famously left the Second Vatican Council, claiming, “I cannot understand Latin.” When I asked a bishop about this in 2007, he replied:

That is true. The Cardinal left the Council in the First Session because he could not speak Latin; simultaneous translation was available but he could not speak it.

I haven’t been able to verify the exact quote by Cardinal Cushing. However, other comments I found support this story. For instance:

Even during the Second Vatican Council, there were communication problems among the cardinals: Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston argued that he and others were being left out of the Latin proceedings, which, he said, were “all Greek to me.” At his request, a simultaneous translation system was put in place.   [source]

See also here, wherein Cardinal Cushing boasts about his lack of knowledge of Latin (and even appears to take the Name of the Lord in vain). Still confused, I approached another priest, who received a classics degree in the 1950s. He said, “Oh, don’t be surprised, Jeff. In those days, many priests used to pretend they didn’t know Latin. It was all the rage.” 1 I wonder if Cardinal Cushing was being honest. According to his biography, he “graduated from high school in 1913, receiving honors for Latin and Greek.” In any event, it’s a bit hard to believe a man could become a Cardinal in those days and not know Latin. Yet another priest told me (in 2007): “I should not be the least surprised that Cardinal Cushing knew very little. He did intelligently, I think, ask at Vatican II what the vernacular would be in his diocese with all the Portuguese, etc.”

WHAT DID Cardinal Cushing’s Latin sound like? It wasn’t pretty. Here’s an excerpt from the 1963 Funeral of John F. Kennedy, which was a (Requiem) Low Mass.


I believe Jacqueline Kennedy was the one who requested a Low Mass, but accounts vary. Perhaps she feared a High Mass becoming a “concert.” The Low Mass did have music, though. How can a Low Mass have music? Well, we’ve discussed that many times on this blog (for instance, here). You can see more excerpts from the funeral here.

SOME PEOPLE WILL HEAR Cardinal Cushing’s horrible Latin pronunciation and exclaim:

“See! That proves it! Priests used to mumble and mutter through the Mass before the Second Vatican Council.”

However, that simply is not the case. For example, listen to Bishop René H. Gracida, a World War II veteran just like John F. Kennedy:

      * *  Audio file • Bishop Gracida prays the 1962 Canon of the Mass

His Excellency’s pronunciation is clear, careful, and beautiful.

IN 2010, I ASKED a bunch more priests about Cardinal Cushing. At this point, you’re probably thinking, “Jeff must have been obsessed with Cardinal Cushing!” Let me explain. Fr. John A. O’Brien is a Jesuit to whom I’ve been highly devoted. He was (among other things) the biographer of the holy Jesuit Martyrs of North America (and his book about them is amazing!). But I was puzzled by this message in the front of one of Fr. O’Brien’s books:

“To Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston,
Apostle of Charity, Zealous Shepherd of Souls, And inspiring leader of Christ’s Church,
This book is dedicated with the author’s esteem and affection”

Here’s one of the more interesting responses I got, from a priest who taught Latin since the 1950s:

Cardinal Cushing, to my mind, was not an evil man. He was a politician but not a theologian, and, to my knowledge, never taught anything against the magisterium or did any major crime. He was not in my style or approach, but was well loved by many people and very charitable with his own and the Church’s money.

And here’s another:

Jeff, The key to understand the apparent contradiction of Father O’Brien’s being “very holy” and “very smart” (your words) and yet still dedicating his book to Cardinal Cushing, is to be found in the last word of his dedication: “AFFECTION.” My guess is that the Cardinal played a very personal role in Father O’Brien’s journey to ordination as a priest. Father O’Brien’s sense of gratitude was probably so strong that it blinded him to the historical reality of the disaster that was the Cardinal’s reign as Archbishop of Boston. I knew the Cardinal. He was a ‘rough cut gem’ who had many endearing qualities. However, he lacked the intelligence to be a Cardinal Archbishop of a major See. He did not attend many sessions of Vatican II because he did not understand Latin which was the spoken language at the Council.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   It’s reminiscent of some modern-day critics of MR3 who say, “I cannot understand these prayers: I’m too dumb.” This argument confuses me, because I understand MR3 perfectly; yet I’m no scholar, and my high school teachers can verify this fact!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Richard Cardinal Cushing Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Why do we never sing “De Spiritu Sancto” (St. Athenogenes) in our churches? There are a dozen translations in English verse. Where could anyone find a better evening hymn than this, coming right down from the catacombs? Our hymnbooks know nothing of such a treasure as this, and give us pages of poor sentiment in doggerel lines by some tenth-rate modern versifier.

— Rev’d Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

Recent Posts

  • Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
  • “Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
  • Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
  • At the Cross • Stabat Mater
  • Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2023

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.