Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, May 3, 2001

Release #140-01

 
Contact: Sunny Mindel / Sid Dinsay
(212) 788-2958



MAYOR GIULIANI AND EDWARD CARDINAL EGAN PRESIDE OVER
STREET RENAMING IN HONOR OF JOHN CARDINAL O'CONNOR

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today joined Edward Cardinal Egan, Council Speaker Peter Vallone and Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall as East 50th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues was renamed "John Cardinal O'Connor Way." Also joining the Mayor were former Mayor Edward I. Koch and relatives of Cardinal O'Connor. A memorial Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral preceded the ceremony.

"One year ago today, our City lost a great man, and a great friend," Mayor Giuliani said. "New York City will always be in the debt of John Cardinal O'Connor. He was a tremendous leader for our City as the head of the Archdiocese of New York, as an Archbishop and as a Cardinal. Through the renaming of this street, our City thanks him for his tireless service and recognizes that Cardinal O'Connor's contributions to our City were profound and permanent."

John Cardinal O'Connor was born on January 15, 1920 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from West Catholic High School, he entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on December 15, 1945. The Cardinal went on to earn a Master's Degree in Advanced Ethics and Clinical Psychology, and he completed the course work for a Ph.D. in Political Science.

In 1952, at the request of the Archbishop of Philadelphia, the Cardinal entered military service during the Korean War, as a chaplain for the Navy and Marine Corps. He remained in military service for decades, ministering to United States servicemen and women around the world, and earning many citations, including three Legion of Merit Awards, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Distinguished Service Medal. From 1975-1979, Cardinal O'Connor served as the Navy's Chief of Chaplains. When he retired from the Navy in 1979, he held the rank of Rear Admiral.

Pope John Paul II ordained John O'Connor a Bishop on May 27, 1979 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In his first assignment, he served as an Auxiliary Bishop to New York's Terence Cardinal Cooke and oversaw the Military Vicariate. In 1983, John O'Connor took possession of his own diocese when the Pope named him Bishop of Scranton. Soon after, on January 31, 1984, the Pope appointed him Archbishop of New York and, a year later, elevated him to Cardinal.

The Mayor signed the street renaming bill at a City Hall ceremony on Tuesday, May 1st.






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