"CELEBRATED AT ST. MATTHEW'S CATHEDRAL"

PRESIDENT KENNEDY ATTENDS MASS FOR FEAST OF ASSUMPTION

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On August 15, 1961, President John F. Kennedy attended the mass for the Feast of the Assumption celebrated at St. Matthew's Cathedral* here in the Nation's Capital.

Attending the mass with Mr. Kennedy were presidential assistants Kenny O'Donnell, Dave Powers and Ted Reardon. 

JFK+50 NOTE

In my original post of this event, I incorrectly identified the mass as for All Saints' Day.  Since I did not list the source, I do not remember where I obtained this wrong information.

The Feast of the Assumption is a major Christian belief that the Virgin Mary was taken into heaven in body & soul after her life ended.

*Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, located at 1725 Rhode Island Avenue NW,  is the seat of the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.  

It was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1974.  St. Matthew's was where JFK's funeral mass was conducted on Monday, November 25, 1963.

SOURCE

"President Attends All Saints' Day Mass," JFK+50, August 15, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

 

 

St. Matthews Cathedral

1725 Rhode Island Ave NW

Washington, D.C.

April 18 2025

Photo by John White

 

JOHN JOHN RAISED HIS RIGHT HAND IN A SALUTE

PRESIDENT KENNEDY LAID TO REST

Arlington, Virginia (JFK+50) On November 25, 1963, the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was laid to rest at the National Cemetery here in Arlington.

The National Day of Mourning proclaimed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, began just after 10 a.m. when JFK's casket was removed from the Capitol Rotunda by a military honor guard and placed on a horse drawn caisson.

The caisson was followed by a sailor bearing the Flag of the President of the United States and by a riderless horse* with boots turned backward in the stirrups.  The military procession marched slowly to the beat of muffled drums.

From the White House, the procession made its way to nearby Saint Matthew's Cathedral on Rhode Island Avenue where a Low Mass was conducted by the Archbishop of Boston and Kennedy family friend, Richard Cardinal Cushing.

As the President's flag-draped casket was moved out of the cathedral and placed back on the caisson, John F. Kennedy, Jr., dressed in blue, raised his right hand in a soldier's salute in honor of his dad.

The procession continued past the Lincoln Memorial and across the bridge to Arlington National Cemetery.  There, on the hill just below the Custis-Lee Mansion, the body of the 35th President of the United States reached it's final resting place.

*Black Jack (1947-1976) the riderless horse used in the state funerals of JFK, Herbert Hoover, LBJ & General Douglas MacArthur, was named named after General John J. Pershing.  He was buried on the parade grounds at Ft. Myer with full military honors.

Black Jack at the US Capitol

November 25, 1963

Photo by David S. Schuartz, US Army

JFK Library Image