St Marys High School - Blue Mantle Yearbook (Milford, MA)

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MOST REV. JOHN JOSEPH WRIGHT, D. D. cele¬ brates his first Solemn Mass in St. Paul’s Cathe¬ dral on the day of his installation by Archbishop Richard J. Cushing. Assisted by Msgr. John F. Reilly as High Priest, and the Very Rev. John A. March the seventh, feast of that great Dominican Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas of Aquinas, witnessed the installation of the first Bishop of Worcester, John Joseph Wright, in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Attended by high Church dignitaries, fed¬ eral, state and civic leaders, Bishop Wright as¬ sumed the spiritual leadership of some 200,000 Catholics in Worcester County, the diocesan territorial area. With the colorful ritual that attends solemn ceremonies, our Bishop was enthroned by Arch¬ bishop Richard J. Cushing of Boston. With the acceptance of the crozier, symbol of the authority of the chief Shepherd, from the hands of Arch¬ bishop Cushing, John J. Wright became the youngest Bishop in the United States presiding O’Brien, S.J., President of Holy Cross College as Deacon, and the Very Rev. Henri J. Moquin, A.A. President of Assumption College as Sub-Deacon, Bishop Wright incenses the altar prior to the chanting of the Mass prayers. ... installation, over a diocese. The papal briefs establishing the diocese and appointing the Bishop were read in Latin and English by the now Msgr. John F. Gannon, Chancellor. Then followed the pledge of loyalty by the priests of the diocese who advanced to the throne, genuflected, and kissed the Bishop’s ring. St. John’s Seminary Choir rendered the music for the ceremony and the Mass while Archbishop Cushing delivered the sermon. At the close of the ceremony, the new Bishop robed in Cappa Magna, expressed his thanks to those who participated in the ceremony and blessed all as he left the Cathedral for the rectory, while the Cathedral chimes rang jubilantly for the first time their joyous greeting to the first Bishop of Worcester. 8

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06 e eaniA 6cene6 • • • After his Boston Latin days, John attended Boston College and joined the weary horde of seekers after knowledge who climbed “The Heights” each morning to improve themselves amid the Gothic walls of “wisdom’s earthly fane”. At Boston College, the name of John Wright was well known successively in the Marquette and Fulton Debating societies. He was an ac¬ complished debater for he had the disconcerting knack of finding an “Achilles Heel” in almost every opponent. Meanwhile his written eloquence was often found in the pages of “The Heights” and “The Stylus”. He won the annual Fulton medal for oratory and on graduation day, 1931, was chosen as the “one who had done the most for Boston College.” Feeling called to serve God in the holy priesthood, John Wright entered the House of Philosophy at St. John’s Seminary, Brighton. In the fall of 1932, after an unusually bril¬ liant course at Brighton, the name of “Wright, Joannes” made its appearance on the roll of the Gregorian University, a Jesuit institution at Rome. The international character of the student body at the great Gregorian University delighted him, as did the intensely scholastic atmosphere of Rome. On the bright morning of December eighth, 1935, John Joseph Wright, Deacon, was elevated to the priesthood by Cardinal Marchetti-Selvag- giani. Returning to Boston, he became Secretary to William Cardinal O ' Connell. His Eminence dying in April, 1944, his successor, Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Cushing was named Arch¬ bishop. His first official appointment was that of Father Wright as his secretary. In December, 1944, Father Wright was- named a Papal Chamberlain and in May 1946, was elevated by His Holiness, Pius XII to the rank of Domestic Prelate. He was consecrated by Archbishop Cushing in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, on June 30, 1947. On February first of the Holy Year, 1950, Pius XII established the County of Worcester as a separate diocese and appointed John Joseph Wright as its first spiritual Shepherd. Daniel O ' Connell and John Wright, Roman students, return to the Gregorian University after an afternoon’s leisurely walk through some of Rome’s most attractive gardens. 7

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h 1 4 BISHOP JOHN J. WRIGHT receives crozier, symbol of a pastoral office, from his Excellency Archbishop Richard J. Cushing. Hold¬ ing crozier with both hands, Bishop Wright by this very act became Wor¬ cester ' s first installed Bishop amidst all the color and pomp of the church’s liturgy. Worcester’s civic reception honoring Bishop Wright as the first Bishop of the newly created Diocese. Pictured here in the auditorium is the Bishop as he is about to address the thousands of people who have come to pay their hom¬ age. Among the speakers were Mayor Andrew Holmstrom, Judge John E. Swift and Rt. Rev. Msgr. John P. Phelan.