St. Patrick's Cathedral (New York) - Burials and Funeral Masses

Burials and Funeral Masses

Located underneath the high altar is a crypt in which notable Catholic figures that served the Archdiocese are entombed. They include:

The eight past deceased Archbishops of New York:

• John Hughes (interred 1883)
• John McCloskey (interred 1885)
• Michael Corrigan (interred 1902)
• John Murphy Farley (interred 1918)
• Patrick Joseph Hayes (interred 1938)
• Francis Spellman (interred 1967)
• Terence Cooke (interred 1983)
• John Joseph O'Connor (interred 2000)

Other interments:

• Michael J. Lavelle (Cathedral Rector and Vicar General; interred 1939)
• Joseph F. Flannelly (Auxiliary Bishop, 1948–1969; interred 1973)
• Fulton J. Sheen (Auxiliary Bishop, 1951–1965, later bishop of Rochester; interred 1979)
• John Maguire (Coadjutor Archbishop, 1965–1980; interred 1989)
• Pierre Toussaint (interred 1990)

In the above list, Cardinal O'Connor declared Pierre Toussaint and Cardinal Cooke to be servants of God, a step in process of being declared a saint of the Catholic Church. Toussaint was declared venerable in 1996 by Pope John Paul II and Archbishop Sheen was declared venerable on June 28, 2012.

Four of the Cardinals' galeros (those of Cardinals McCloskey, Farley, Hayes, and Spellman) are located high above the crypt at the back of the sanctuary. Cardinal Spellman's galero was also worn by Pope Pius XII (as Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli) until the latter's election to the papacy at the 1939 Papal conclave. In 1967, the ceremony of the consistory was revised by Pope Paul VI and therefore no galero was presented to Cardinal Cooke or any of his successors.

Some notable people whose Requiem Masses were said at the cathedral include New York Yankees greats Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Billy Martin; legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, singer Celia Cruz, former Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York Robert F. Kennedy, New York Giants owner Wellington Mara, and former Governor of New York Hugh Carey. Special memorial Masses were also held at the cathedral following the deaths of artist Andy Warhol, baseball player Joe DiMaggio, and noted author William F. Buckley, Jr.