John Stephen Cummins

Styles of John Stephen Cummins

Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor
Posthumous style	not applicable

John Stephen Cummins (born March 3, 1928) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Oakland from 1977 to 2003.

John Cummins was born in Berkeley, California, to Michael and Mary (née Connolly) Cummins. His parents were both Irish immigrants, and his brother Bernard was also a priest who served as superintendent of schools in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. He received his early education at the parochial school of St. Augustine's Church in Oakland. He began his studies for the priesthood at St. Joseph's College (California) in Mountain View, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. He completed his theological studies at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, earning a Master of Divinity degree in 1953.

On January 24, 1953, Cummins was ordained a priest by Bishop Hugh Aloysius Donohoe at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. His first assignment was as a curate at Mission Dolores Basilica in San Francisco, where he remained for four years. He also served as chaplain at the Newman Centre of San Francisco State University. He taught at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland from 1957 until 1962, when he became chancellor of the Diocese of Oakland. He was named a domestic prelate in 1963.