Richard Cardinal Cushing Memorial Park Formally Dedicated on October 16, 1989

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On Monday, October 16, 1989, Boston citizens came together to officially dedicate the Richard Cardinal Cushing Memorial Park in Bowdoin Square, in tribute to one of the city’s most distinguished leaders. 

The park first opened in 1981 with a bust of the Cardinal by sculptor James Rosati, and the newly designed $450,000 upgrade in 1989 was overseen by Architect Graham Gund, who added benches and greenery, making it a more welcoming space.  Public officials at the dedication included Senator Ted Kennedy and Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, along with family and friends of Cardinal Cushing and parishioners from St. Joseph's Church in the West End.  

Born in South Boston to Irish immigrant parents from County Cork, Richard James Cushing (1895-1970) was a proud Bostonian. He once told reporters, "I was born in Boston. I was bred in Boston. I'm for everything that promotes Boston's welfare." 

Ordained a priest in 1921, Cushing rose through the ranks, ultimately serving as Archbishop of Boston from 1945 to 1970, while also being appointed cardinal in 1958. During that time, he presided over a rapid expansion and strengthening of the Boston archdiocese, doubling the number of priests and brothers and adding almost 100 new parishes between 1944 and 1964. 

He was a prodigious fundraiser for foreign missions in Africa, South America and Asia. Locally, he preached a universal brotherhood and tolerance for others, and became a valued friend of the Jewish community in Boston. 

Cardinal Cushing tries out the Irish bagpipes with local dancers

As the son of Irish immigrants, Cushing was especially close to the Irish community, and took pleasure in trying the Irish bagpipes and accordion or posing with Irish dancers.  At a Thanksgiving event at Blinstrub's Restaurant in South Boston, he danced an Irish jig with two older Irish women and then accompanied them on the accordion. He sponsored an annual Irish Field Day with the Gaelic Athletic Association that aided South American missions, and held Irish functions to aid the Columban Fathers, the Sisters of Notre Dame, the African Missions and many others. 

 Cardinal Cushing was a close friend of the Kennedy Family: he presided over the marriage of John and Jacqueline Kennedy and baptized their children Caroline and John. Cushing gave the prayer invocation at John F. Kennedy's presidential inauguration in January 1961, and he served at the funeral mass for President Kennedy in Washington DC in November 1963. 

 Located at the corner of Cambridge and New Chardon Street, the Richard Cardinal Cushing Memorial Park in Bowdoin Square has become as an urban oasis for workers at Government Center and patients and staff from nearby Massachusetts General Hospital, and for all of the people who pass by.

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