Thursday, July 28, 2011
BOSTON (AP) — There’s a new resting place for Boston’s first Roman Catholic cardinal.
The Boston Globe reports that William O’Connell’s remains were quietly relocated last week from a crypt beneath a small chapel to the courtyard of the nearby St. John’s Seminary.
The move covered only a short distance in the Brighton neighborhood. But the agreement to do it ended a lengthy dispute that pitted the archdiocese and Boston College against O’Connell’s descendants.
In 2004, the archdiocese sold the land where the tomb was located to the college. The school wanted the remains moved so it could develop the property.
O’Connell’s relatives did not want the remains disturbed.
The cardinal is one of the most influential figures in the history of the church in Boston. He died in 1944.