Cardinal Shehan fifty-year anniversary supplement to The Catholic Review

Lawrence Joseph Shehan was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in Baltimore on March 18, 1898, and received his early education at local parochial schools. In 1911 he began his studies for the priesthood at St. Charles College in Ellicott City, Maryland. After graduating from St. Charles, Shehan enrolled at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore in 1917. He earned a B.A. in 1919 and an M.A. in 1920. He was then sent to study at the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, where he received a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree in 1923. He was ordained a priest on December 23, 1922.

Following his return to the United States, Shehan served as curate (1923-41) and pastor (1941-45) at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Washington, DC. While there he also served as assistant director (1929-36) and director (1936-45) of Catholic Charities in Washington.

Shehan was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore-Washington on November 17, 1945, and the following year was named pastor of SS. Philip and James Church in Baltimore. In 1947, when the Archdiocese of Washington was separated from Baltimore, Shehan remained in Baltimore and served as vicar general of the archdiocese from 1948 to 1953. On August 25, 1953, he was appointed the first Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

On July 10, 1961, Shehan returned to Baltimore as its Coadjutor Archbishop, and became Archbishop of Baltimore on December 8 of the same year. He was made a cardinal in 1965 and served in Baltimore until his retirement in 1974. Cardinal Shehan celebrated his golden jubilee on December 23, 1972. He died in Baltimore on August 26, 1984, and was buried in the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.

Cardinal Shehan was considered a liberal in his positions; he was a strong advocate of civil rights, open housing, and ecumenical collaboration, and he condemned the Vietnam War.

Historical information adapted from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Shehan (accessed April 2019) The Catholic Review. (1972, December 15). Cardinal Shehan...fifty years a priest.