MC CLOSKEY, JOHN. - First American cardinal, b. at Brooklyn (Nuova York) on 20 March 1810, d. at Nuova York on 10 Oct. 1885. Ordained priest in 1834, he taught philosophy at the new Sem-
inary of Nyack. From 1835 to 1837 he was in Rome; having returned to his homeland, he was parish priest of the church of S. Giuseppe at Nuova York; in 1844 auxiliary bishop of Nuova York; in 1847 first bishop of Albany.
The Catholic population, both owing to the pastor’s ardent zeal and to the continual flow of immigration, was constantly increasing, and with it the number of priests and churches. The cathedral of the Immacolata Concezione at Albany, the theological Seminary of S. Giovanni at Troy, schools and orphanages bear witness to the diligent activity carried out by the first bishop of Albany. At its erection, the diocese numbered about 25 churches with thirty-four priests, two orphanages, and several schools: after fourteen years, in 1861, the churches had reached the considerable number of 117, while there were twenty-seven schools and six orphanages. On 6 May 1864 M. was called to govern the archdiocese of Nuova York. He took part in the Vatican Council, where he was a member of the commission on discipline. Pio IX created him cardinal, with the title of S. Maria sopra Minerva, on 15 March 1875. On 25 May 1879 he consecrated the cathedral of S. Patrizio.