Lawrence Joseph Shehan (March 18, 1898 – August 26, 1984) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as

Archbishop of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of Ma ...

from 1961 to 1974 and was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, ...

in 1965. Shehan was an advocate for civil rights and inter-faith dialogue.

Early life and education

Lawrence Shehan was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

, to Thomas Patrick and Anastasia Dames (née Schofield) Shehan. His father operated a

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

s' supply business. He received his early education at local

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

s in Baltimore. In 1911, he began his studies for the priesthood at St. Charles College, a college seminary in Ellicott City. After graduating from St. Charles, Shehan enrolled at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore in 1917. He earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in 1919 and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in 1920. In 1920, he was sent to continue his studies in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

at the

Pontifical Urban University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peopl ...

, where he received a

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Roman Catholic ...

in 1923.

Priesthood

On December 23, 1922, Shehan was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

a priest by Archbishop

Giuseppe Palica Giuseppe Palica (8 October 1869 – 16 December 1936) was an Italian Archbishop. Born in Rome, he was ordained priest on 18 December 1892. On 25 April 1917, he was appointed vice-gerent of Rome and titular archbishop of Philippi. On 20 May 1917 ...

at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Following his return to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, he was first assigned as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., a post which he held until 1941. In addition to his pastoral duties, he served as assistant director (1929–36) and director (1936–45) of

Catholic Charities The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations. Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spi ...

in Washington. Shehan served as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Patrick's Church from 1941 to 1945. During his pastorate, he ended

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

at the parochial school in 1942 and hosted the Washington branch of the Catholic Interracial Council. He was named a

papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting ...

in 1939, and raised to the rank of

domestic prelate Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" c ...

in 1945.

Episcopacy

Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore

On November 17, 1945, Shehan was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore-Washington and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of ''

Lydda Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephe ...

'' by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 12 from Archbishop

Amleto Giovanni Cicognani Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death. C ...

, with Bishops Peter Leo Ireton and John Michael McNamara serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

. He was named pastor o
SS. Philip and James Church
in Baltimore in 1946. In 1947, when the

Archdiocese of Washington The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, P ...

was separated from Baltimore, Shehan was assigned to remain in Baltimore. He served as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the archdiocese from 1948 to 1953.

Bishop of Bridgeport

Shehan was appointed the first

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the newly erected Diocese of Bridgeport in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

on August 25, 1953. His installation took place on December 2 of that year. During his tenure in Bridgeport, he established eighteen new parishes, built twenty-four new churches, and founded three high schools. He also formed a

Catholic Youth Organization Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It would become a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War ...

, promoted vocations to the priesthood and

religious life Consecrated life (also known as religious life) is a state of life in the Catholic Church lived by those faithful who are called to follow Jesus Christ in a more exacting way. It includes those in institutes of consecrated life (religious and se ...

, and began parish ministry for the increasing number of

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

, and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian immigrants. In October 1960, he convoked the first

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mea ...

of Bridgeport to complete the initial organization of the diocese and to establish a uniform code of practice and discipline for the clergy. A non-profit youth center in Bridgeport, CT is named after him (The Cardinal Shehan Center). On October 1, 2019, a report by former Connecticut state Judge Robert Holzberg accused Shehan and other former bishops of the diocese of transferring priests accused of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

without discipline.''Baltimore Sun''
/ref>

Archbishop of Baltimore

On July 10, 1961, Shehan returned to Baltimore as its

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

(with right of succession) and Titular Archbishop of Nicopolis ad Nestum. He succeeded Francis Patrick Keough as

on December 8 of that same year. In this position, he led the nation's first

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

and held precedence, except for Cardinals created earlier and without the

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

title of

primacy Primacy may refer to: * an office of the Primate (bishop) * the supremacy of one bishop or archbishop over others, most notably: ** Primacy of Peter, ecclesiological doctrine on the primacy of Peter the Apostle ** Primacy of the Roman Pontiff ...

, over the Church in America. After the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

ruled to remove prayer from public schools in 1962, Shehan warned that "

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses t ...

threatens to become a sort of state religion established by court decree". He was also a strong advocate of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

, banning segregation in all of Baltimore's Catholic institutions and walking in the

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rig ...

in 1963.''TIME'' Magazine
Milestones
September 10, 1984 He also maintained

relations Relation or relations may refer to: General uses *International relations, the study of interconnection of politics, economics, and law on a global level *Interpersonal relationship, association or acquaintance between two or more people *Public ...

with

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

and

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonica ...

. Cardinal Shehan worked with his friend Harry Lee Doll, Episcopal Bishop of Maryland and President of the Maryland Council of Churches on both civil rights and ecumenical issues. Along with the President of St. Mary's Seminary and University, Cardinal Shehan and Bishop Doll in 1968 founded Baltimore's Ecumenical Institute, in the city's Roland Park neighborhood. Shehan attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

from 1962 to 1965, and

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

created him

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of '' S. Clemente'' in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

of February 22, 1965. Along with Cardinal

Jaime de Barros Câmara Jaime de Barros Câmara (July 3, 1894–February 18, 1971) was a Brazilian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro from 1943 to 1971, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 ...

, he assisted Cardinal

Leo Joseph Suenens Leo Jozef Suenens ( ) (16 July 1904 – 6 May 1996) was a Belgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels from 1961 to 1979, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1962. Suenens was a leading voice ...

in delivering one of the closing messages of the Council on December 8, 1965. Within the Roman Curia, Shehan held membership in the Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. He was in conflict with Fr. Gommar DePauw, a Baltimore priest and founder of a

Traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is the set of beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions, and presentations of Catholic teaching that existed in the Catholic Church before the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council ( ...

Movement. Considered a liberal in his positions, Shehan supported Fr. Charles Curran and

open housing Housing discrimination in the United States refers to the historical and current barriers, policies, and biases that prevent equitable access to housing. Housing discrimination became more pronounced after the abolition of slavery in 1865, typic ...

, and condemned the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He celebrated an aboriginal

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...

at the 1973 Eucharistic Congress in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

Later life and death

He resigned as Baltimore's archbishop on April 2, 1974, after twelve years of service. He was never able to participate in a

papal conclave A papal conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a bishop of Rome, also known as the pope. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. C ...

—he was the last cardinal to turn eighty prior to the August 1978 conclave, at which, by Pope Paul's decree, cardinals over eighty were excluded. Shehan died in Baltimore at age 86, and is buried in the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. The Lawrence Cardinal Shehan Chair in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

was established in 1993 by Good Samaritan Hospital of Maryland Inc. in honor of Lawrence Cardinal Shehan."Professorships", JHU
/ref>

References

External links

Cardinals of the Holy Roman ChurchRoman Catholic Archdiocese of BaltimoreRoman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shehan, Lawrence 1898 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Baltimore Roman Catholic bishops of Bridgeport Participants in the Second Vatican Council Religious leaders from Baltimore Cardinals created by Pope Paul VI