Cullen, Paul

CULLEN, PAUL. - Cardinal, b. 29 Apr. 1803 at Prospect in County Kildare, Ireland, d. 24 Oct. 1878 in Dublin. He devoted himself to the study of Oriental languages and particularly of Hebrew. Ordained a priest in 1829, he became, in 1832, rector of the Irish College in Rome. The revolutionary upheavals of 1848 took him by surprise while he was rector of the Urban College of Propaganda Fide, and during the period of the Roman Republic he placed himself under the protection of America. In 1849 he was appointed primate of Armagh and presided as papal legate, in Aug. 1850, over the Synod of Thurles.

A true patriot, he took an active interest in the public affairs of his country, taking part in the Irish movements of 1850-52. But the keen disappointment caused him by Mac Hale's impatience and the consequences of the quarrel that broke out with the latter turned him away from active politics to the point of forbidding his clergy to engage in politics. He was an energetic opponent of Fenianism, a secret revolutionary organization founded in America by J. O'Mahony. In 1857 he was appointed archbishop of Dublin, where he founded the Catholic University, and in 1866 he was created cardinal by Pius IX, who held him very dear. He took part in the Vatican Council.