Ex-Washington Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle Dies at 91

Cardinal Patrick A. O’Boyle, the first archbishop of the nation’s capital, died Monday. He was 91.

O’Boyle, who retired in 1973, was known for his work on urban problems and race relations, and he became a symbol of church orthodoxy on such issues as birth control.

O’Boyle was made archbishop of Washington in 1947, when the area was split off from the Baltimore archdiocese, becoming the first archbishop in the United States to receive that honor without first serving as bishop. Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal in 1967.

He was active in welfare work from the beginning of his priesthood. And he put blacks and whites in the same classrooms in Washington’s Catholic schools in 1950, four years before the Supreme Court voted to outlaw racial desegregation.

Despite what were seen as liberal views on civil rights and social issues, O’Boyle was also known for being dogmatic about church doctrine and was adamant in his support for Pope Paul VI’s ban on artificial birth control.