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His Eminence John Carmel Cardinal Heenan (January 26, 1905—November 7, 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.

Biography

John Heenan was born in Ilford, Redbridge, as the youngest of the four children of John and Anne (née Pilkington) Heenan. He studied at Ushaw College in Durham and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome before being ordained to the priesthood on July 6, 1930. Heenan 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.

On January 27, 1951, he was appointed Bishop of Leeds by Pope Pius XII. Heenan received his episcopal consecration on the following March 12 from Archbishop William Godfrey, with Bishops Joseph McCormack and John Petit serving as co-consecrators. Named the sixth Archbishop of Liverpool on May 2, 1957, Heenan was later appointed the eighth Archbishop of Westminster on September 2, 1963. As Archbishop of Westminster, he served as the spiritual leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

A participant of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1963), Heenan showed himself to be of a conservative mind. He opposed Gaudium et Spes, the Council's Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, saying that it had been "written by clerics with no knowledge of the world". The English prelate also condemned the periti, or theological experts, who sought to change the Church's doctrine on birth control.

He was created Cardinal Priest of S. Silvestro in Capite by Pope Paul VI in the consistory of February 22, 1965. In 1968, Heenan was named President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

He died in London, and was buried in Westminster Cathedral.

Trivia

• He succeeded William Cardinal Godfrey as both Archbishop of Liverpool and of Westminster.

References

1. Time Magazine. Dominant Theme June 12, 1950
2. Time Magazine. The Bravest Schema October 30, 1964
3. Ibid.

External Links

• Catholic-Hierarchy profile
• Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church profile

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