Heenan, John Carmel (1905–1975)

English cardinal. He was ordained in 1930 and worked as a curate and parish priest in the East End of London, England, until 1947, when he became superior of the Catholic Missionary Society. In 1951 he became archbishop of Leeds, in 1957 archbishop of Liverpool, and in 1963 he succeeded Cardinal Godfrey as archbishop of Westminster. He was made a cardinal by Pope Paul VI in 1965. His leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales was marked by the good relations he encouraged between Roman Catholics and other Christians. Heenan's personal friendship with the leaders of other churches was a notable factor in this relationship.

Heenan was born in Ilford, Essex, England. He was educated at Ushaw and at the English College in Rome, Italy. He published Priest and Penitent (1936), Cardinal Hinsley (1945), and a two-volume autobiography, Not the Whole Truth (1971), and A Crown of Thorns (1974).