John Cardinal Wright

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John Joseph Cardinal Wright (July 18, 1909 – August 10, 1979) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the 8th Bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He was born in the Dorchester section of Boston, Massachusetts to John J. Wright, a paper-factory clerk, and Harriet L. Cokel. He attended Boston Latin School; in the evenings and summers he worked at the Hyde Park branch of the Boston Public Library as stack boy.

He graduated from Boston College in 1931, then entered St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts. At the end of his first year there he was sent to Rome's North American College and the Pontifical Gregorian University. He was ordained a priest on December 8, 1935 in the chapel of the Pontifical North American College by Cardinal Marchetti-Solvaggiani.

After his ordination he did graduate work at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning the Licentiate in Sacred Theology degree in 1936 and the Doctor of Sacred Theology degree in 1939.

Wright became a professor of philosophy at St. John's Seminary, Brighton, and in 1943 he was appointed secretary to the archbishop of Boston, William Henry Cardinal O'Connell. He continued the position under Richard Cardinal Cushing, who succeeded O'Connell in 1944. Wright was named a monsignor in 1944, and was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Boston on June 30, 1947. In 1950 Wright was appointed as the first bishop of the new diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Wright was installed as eighth bishop of Pittsburgh, following the departure of Bishop John Dearden, future cardinal, on March 18, 1959.

After being elevated himself to the rank of cardinal, Wright, stepping down as bishop of Pittsburgh, moved to Rome in 1969, where he was the highest ranking American in the Vatican.

His legacy remains somewhat controversial. He was an intellectual who was liberal on social issues, but conservative in theology. He espoused civil rights, but opposed ordination of women and artificial birth control.

He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1979.

[edit] Reference

Glenn, Francis A. (1993). Shepherds of the Faith 1843-1993: A Brief History of the Bishops of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh: Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. ISBN none.