Cardinal Francis J. Spellman, pictured here with King George VI, has a family link to Wavering Down House. Find out more in the story below
A MAN WITH FAITH IN HIS PAST
Trust chairman Chris Byrne’s passion for the past began long before he decided to turn comic genius Frankie Howerd’s country house into a living museum.
Chris, who was born in Ireland, has a famous face in his own family. His late great-uncle was the much-admired Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Francis J. Spellman.
The story begins with Chris’s great-great grandmother, Ellen Kehoe, who was born around 1834 in Kilbride, Clonegal – the daughter of Thomas and Kitty Kehoe.
At the age of 16, Ellen left home for a new life in America, where she married a man called Conway. Her daughter, also named Ellen, married a prosperous grocer called William Spellman.
It was one of their five children, Francis Joseph, born on May 4, 1889, in Whitman, Massachusetts, who was later to become the famously outspoken Archbishop of New York.
The Cardinal served the Roman Catholic Church in this role from 1939 until his death at the age of 78. He is buried in the crypt under the altar at St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.
The thousands of mourners at his impressive funeral included President Johnson, Senator Robert Kennedy, nine cardinals, two archbishops – and Chris’s mum and dad.
“They went to New York on behalf of my grandmother, who was Cardinal Spellman’s sister,” says Chris. “He had been very generous to community projects back in Clonegal.”
As far as Chris is aware, the Cardinal said a prayer at his great-great-grandmother Ellen Kehoe’s grave in Kildavin, County Carlow, during a visit to Ireland in the 1950s.
It is known that Francis Spellman had a special love for his grandmother, who told him stories of her home in Ireland. Her death at the age of 80 was one of the saddest moments of his life.
As with most family histories, many details have been lost in the mists of time. If you have any information about Cardinal Spellman’s connection to the Byrne family, Chris would love to hear from you.
Please write to: Chris Byrne, Wavering Down House, Webbington Road, Cross, Axbridge, Somerset, BS26 2EL, UK.
BEST WISHES FROM THE POPE
Trust chairman Chris Byrne maintained his family’s links to The Vatican in letters to the late Pope John Paul II
TREASURES FROM THE VATICAN
Chris treasures an ornament and medallions left to his grandmother by her brother, Cardinal Spellman, as well as a Christmas card from The Vatican and rosary beads blessed by the late Pope John Paul II
IN MEMORY OF A GREAT GRANNY
Chris visits his great-great-grandmother’s grave in Kildavin, County Carlow, Ireland. An inscription on her gravestone reads: ‘Erected by the people of Kildavin and Clonegal in memory of Ellen Kehoe Sherwood, grandmother of Cardinal Spellman of New York, generous benefactor to our parish.’
OH BROTHER – HE WAS FAMOUS!
A young Chris pictured with his late grandmother, Bridget Byrne (née Spellman), whose brother became a world-famous Cardinal
