The Tragedy of Rosemary Kennedy
My story
My Irish-Catholic family is from the Boston area, and in 1963–64 I found myself at an all-girls private Catholic school that had ties to Cardinal Cushing who my mother admired. His close association with the Kennedys had made him famous.
My mother was born in 1918, near Boston, the same year as Rosemary Kennedy. The Catholic Church and Boston Diocese exerted a powerful influence over the large Catholic population. Later I would realize how many prejudices and false beliefs my mother carried with her throughout her life as result of her Catholic upbringing in this time and place.
When John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960, we were ecstatic. Suddenly the Kennedys were everywhere. They became household names. I remember hearing rumors of the “hidden Kennedy daughter,” but being a teenager, I didn’t think much about it. It wasn’t until I learned the full story of Rosemary Kennedy that I understood what impact the cultural and religious prejudices had on her life.
Rosemary Kennedy-the oldest daughter
Rose and Joe Kennedy were devout Catholics and Rose, in particular, was deeply religious.
