Unlike his predecessor, he was on good terms with practically the entire Boston elite, as he softened the traditional confrontation between the Catholic Irish and the Protestant upper-class.

He helped presidential candidate John F. Kennedy deflect fears of papal interference in American government if a Catholic became president.

Cushing's high energy level allowed him to meet with many people all day, often giving lengthy speeches at night.

"[1] His major weakness in retrospect was overexpansion, adding new institutions that could not be sustained in the long run and had to be cut back by his successors.

[5] His father, who came to the United States in 1880,[6] worked as a blacksmith and earned $18 per week in the trolley repair pits of the Boston Elevated Railway.

Following the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in 1915, Cushing enlisted in the United States Army but was medically discharged for his asthma after a few weeks.

[4] He was assigned to continue his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, but the escalation of U-boat activity prevented him from sailing across the Atlantic.

[citation needed] On May 26, 1921, Cushing was ordained a priest by Cardinal William Henry O'Connell at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

"[6] O'Connell denied his request, and instead appointed him assistant director of the Boston office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, an organization dedicated to raising funds for missions.

[9] He received his episcopal consecration on the following June 29 from Cardinal O'Connell, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, with bishops John Bertram Peterson and Thomas Addis Emmet, SJ, serving as co-consecrators.

[citation needed] As an auxiliary bishop, Cushing continued to serve as director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, and was also named pastor of Sacred Heart Church[10] in Newton Centre.

"[16] Speaking in the midst of the Cold War, he preached about of how just as God has great power but often shows restraint, so too should nations, particularly when their military might is concerned.

[20] Cushing depicted him as the "Pope of Peace" who, armed only with the spiritual weapons of his office, triumphed over insidious attacks that seemed about to destroy the center of Christendom.

[citation needed] His work contributed to making the Roman Catholic Church acceptable to the general population at the time of then-Senator John F. Kennedy's run for the White House.

[27] Cushing was honored by B’nai B’rith as "Man of the Year" in 1956 for "a lifetime of distinguished service to the cause of human brotherhood under God and in further recognition of great leadership in the fields of education and community relations.

At the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), Cushing played a vital role in drafting Nostra aetate, the document that officially exonerated the Jews of the deicide charge.

So far as the guilt of Jews in the death of our Savior is concerned, the rejection of the Messiah by His own, is according to Scripture, a mystery—a mystery given us for our instruction, not for our self-exaltation ... We cannot sit in judgement on the onetime leaders of Israel—God alone is their judge.

Upon his resignation, Senator Ted Kennedy stated: "For three-quarters of a century [Cushing's] life has been a light in a world that cries out for illumination.

"[31] Less than two months after his resignation, on November 2, 1970 (All Souls Day), Cushing died peacefully in his sleep of cancer at the Cardinal's Residence in Brighton, Massachusetts, aged 75.