Nov. 24, 1963 - Richard Cardinal Cushing, who served the spiritual needs of John F. Kennedy in joy and in sorrow, presided over a memorial mass for the slain President today in Boston. The mass was televised nationally from the city’s archdiocesan television center. The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston eulogized Mr. Kennedy as a husband and a father who made the most of the few moments he could share with his family. The Cardinal continued: “What comfort can I extend to their heavy hearts today — mother, father, sisters, brothers — what beyond the knowledge that they have given history a youthful Lincoln who, in his time and in his sacrifice, has made more sturdy the hopes of this nation and its people.” Cardinal Cushing married Mr. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier at Newport, R.I., in 1953. He baptized their two children, Caroline, 6 years old Wednesday, and John Jr., 3 years old tomorrow. Three months ago, the prelate presided over a mass for a third child, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy, who died two days after his birth. When Mr. Kennedy was inaugurated as 35th President of the United States on Jan. 20, 1961, Cardinal Cushing offered the invocation.
