Br. Vincent De Paul Cushing Obituary (1934

Br. Vincent de Paul Cushing, OFM, 90, passed away Nov. 14, 2024, at Hillhaven Nursing Center, Adelphi, Maryland. He was a professed Franciscan friar for 67 years and a priest for 61 years. Br. Vincent was born on April 6, 1934, in New York City to Joseph and Anna (nee O'Connell) Cushing and baptized Harry. He is preceded in death by Joseph Cushing (Brother) deceased, Alice Arnold (Sister), Virginia Cushing (Sister-in-law) Raymond Arnold (Brother-in-law), Thomas Cushing (Nephew), Mary Arnold (Neice). He is survived by Joseph Cushing (Nephew), James Cushing (Nephew), Ann Cutignola (Neice) Eileen Grabowsky (Neice), Raymond Arnold (Nephew), friends and his brother friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He attended New York's Public School 169 and La Salle Academy. He was received into the Order of Friars Minor on July 14, 1956, at St. Raphael's Novitiate in Lafayette, New Jersey, where he received the name Vincent and professed first vows one year later. He was solemnly professed on Aug. 22, 1960, and ordained on March 2, 1963, at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C. He continued graduate studies, earning his Licentiate in Sacred Theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His first assignment was to Christ the King Seminary in Allegany, New York, where he taught theology from 1964 to 1966. He returned to The Catholic University of America, earning his Doctor of Sacred Theology in 1972. In 1969, he joined the staff of Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C., as an assistant professor of ecclesiology. He continued teaching after he became the Union's third president in 1975, serving until 1999. During his tenure, the first laypeople were appointed to the board of trustees, the curriculum for the Master of Divinity degree was revised, greater emphasis was placed on educating lay students for public ministry, and a development program and endowment were established. Br. Vincent was a staunch supporter of theological studies. He served as president of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, the agency that accredits theological schools, from 1982 to 1984. Br. Vincent also was the founding chairperson of the Appalachian Ministries Educational Resource Center and In Trust, a quarterly magazine focused on theological education. He also worked with The Lilly Endowment, Inc., to organize the Keystone Conferences, which focus on excellence in theological education. Br. Vincent was also a member of the board of trustees at Christ the King Seminary, St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, New York, and Siena College in Loudonville, New York, and he served his brother friars as a Provincial Councilor for the legacy Holy Name Province. After he retired as president of WTU, he took a sabbatical to study ecclesiology, contemporary ecumenics and the relationship of Roman Catholicism to world religions. He returned to WTU and continued teaching systematic theology there until the school closed in 2013. He was one of the longest continually serving faculty members. He remained in the Washington, D.C., metro area, working as a chaplain at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and ministering at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Crofton, Maryland before retiring in 2021. Visitation will be held on Saturday November 23, 2024 at St. Camillus Parish, 1600 St. Camillus Dr. Silver Spring, MD 20903 where a Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 1:00. A Memorial Mass will be held on December 3, 2023 at 10:30 AM, with burial to follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 52 Totowa Road, Totowa, NJ 07512 May he rest in peace.