Cusack, Thomas Francis
CUSACK, THOMAS FRANCIS
Bishop; b. New York City, Feb. 22, 1862; d. Albany, NY, July 12, 1918. After study at St. James School and St. Francis Xavier College in New York City and St. Joseph's Seminary, Troy, NY, he was ordained May 30, 1885. He was consecrated titular bishop of Themiscyra and auxiliary for the Archdiocese of New York on April 25, 1904, and transferred to Albany July 5, 1915, where he was enthroned Sept. 9, 1915. His lifelong interests included convert work and missions for Catholics. Convinced that these apostolates should be the concern of the diocesan clergy, he established a diocesan mission band and personally conducted "A Question Box" in the cathedral on Sundays during Lent. Among the other accomplishments of his short episcopate were the establishment of the diocesan offices of Catholic charities and the Propagation of the Faith, the convocation of the 13th synod (January 1916), and the organization of the diocese to assist in meeting the spiritual needs of soldiers during World War I.
Bibliography: A Short Sketch of the Life of Bishop Cusack: America's Uncanonized Saint (Washington 1934) an anonymous compilation of newspaper articles. j. b. code, Dictionary of American Hierarchy 2nd ed. (New York 1964).
[j. p. conway]