Spellman, Francis

Spellman, Francis (Joseph) (1889–1967) Catholic prelate; born in Whitman, Mass. Ordained after studies in Rome (1916), he did parish work, worked on Boston's archdiocesan newspaper, served as attaché to the papal secretary of state (1925), and became auxiliary bishop of Boston (1932). In 1939, he was made archbishop of New York and military vicar of U.S. armed forces, becoming a cardinal in 1946. A strong administrator and influential leader, with close ties both to the Vatican and to high U.S. officials, he was a religious conservative and ardent anti-Communist. From 1951 he regularly spent Christmas visiting troops overseas. His writings include a best-selling novel, The Foundling (1951).