Richard Cardinal Cushing presiding at the requiem Mass for John F. Kennedy 60 years ago today, Nov. 25, 1963, at St. Matthew's Cathedral, Washington. It was the first state funeral for a U.S. president that was also a Catholic Mass. I write about it here: peterthuesen.com/blog/2023/11...

Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point from what is today the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (photo taken on my visit 4 yrs ago). I write about those fateful days in 1963—in particular, the cultural significance of JFK's Catholic funeral—in my latest blog: www.peterthuesen.com/blog/2023/11...

For tomorrow's 60th anniversary of JFK's assassination, I wrote about the cultural significance of his Catholic funeral and the man who presided over it—Boston's Richard Cardinal Cushing: www.peterthuesen.com/blog/2023/11...

Hello Bluesky! Decided to try this out. (Please follow me!) I'm a historian with wide-ranging interests in American religion. Current book project is on Catholicism in the era of Vatican II. I also have teaching & research interests in Mormon studies. Most recent book was on religion & weather.