His Eminence John Carmel Heenan |
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Cardinal, Archbishop of Westminster | |
Cardinal John Heenan
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Province | Westminster |
Diocese | Westminster |
Appointed | 2 September 1963 |
Term ended | 7 November 1975 |
Predecessor | William Godfrey |
Successor | Basil Hume |
Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of San Silvestro in Capite |
Orders | |
Ordination | 6 July 1930 |
Consecration | 27 January 1951 by William Godfrey |
Created Cardinal | 22 February 1965 |
Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
Personal details | |
Born |
Ilford, Essex |
26 January 1905
Died | 7 November 1975 London, England |
(aged 70)
Buried | Westminster Cathedral |
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Parents | James Carmel Heenan and Anne Pilkington |
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John Carmel Heenan (26 January 1905 – 7 November 1975) was an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1963 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965.
John Heenan was born in Ilford, Essex, the youngest of four children of Irish parents John and Anne Heenan (née Pilkington). He auditioned for Westminster Cathedral Choir School at age 9, but Sir Richard Terry rejected him for his "metallic voice". Heenan studied at St. Ignatius College in Stamford Hill, Ushaw College in Durham, and the Venerable English College in Rome before being ordained to the priesthood on 6 July 1930. He then did pastoral work in Brentwood until 1947, at which time he became Superior of the Catholic Missionary Society of England and Wales. In this position, Heenan criticized the United States for being too concerned about communism, and not enough about spiritual matters. By this time he had published a biography (1943) of Cardinal Hinsley, Archbishop of Westminster, who had recently died.
On 27 January 1951, Heenan was appointed the fifth Bishop of Leeds by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 12 March from Archbishop William Godfrey, Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain, with Joseph McCormack, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, and John Petit, Bishop of Menevia, serving as co-consecrators. Named the sixth Archbishop of Liverpool on 2 May 1957, Heenan was later appointed the eighth Archbishop of Westminster on 2 September 1963. As Archbishop of Westminster, he served as the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. In 1968, Heenan was elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.