The Kennedy Church

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy attended daily mass at St. Francis Xavier Parish. When her first son, Joe Jr., brother of JFK, was killed in WWII in 1944, the service was held here. The main altar of the church is now a memorial to Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Church historians recall that President Kennedy would sit in the second row of pews in the east wing, while Secret Service agents would bracket the president in the front and third rows. Senator Ted Kennedy's youngest son Patrick was baptized here. It was here in 1986 that Eunice Kennedy Shriver's daughter Maria married Arnold Schwarzenegger. The funeral mass for Eunice Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, was held here in 2009.
 

 
Discrimination Towards the Irish and Catholics

Throughout time and up until the Kennedys’ claim to fame, Irish immigrants and those of Irish descent faced plenty of discrimination in America for their ethnicity and denomination as Catholics. Although the anti-Irish sentiment is difficult to perceive today, it was prevalent in Western culture during the time of the beginning of the Kennedys’ prominence, and it is quite significant in the Kennedys’ story with Cape Cod. Joseph Sr. had initially rented a summer home in Cohasset, a small town much closer to Boston on the South Shore. Despite his tremendous wealth, his application to the community’s exclusive country club was left without a response—he was blackballed—presumably for his status as an Irish American, in addition to his Democratic standing, and the fact that his wealth was self-made, as opposed to inherited money. As a result, the Kennedy patriarch looked outward for a summer residence and found the picturesque Malcolm Cottage in Hyannis Port, forever changing the history and image of Cape Cod.

John F. Kennedy became the first Irish and Catholic president of the United States, and his achievement was profound for many reasons. It presented a story in which a bloodline went from the rags of a famine-fleeing family from Ireland to the most powerful and prestigious position in the world within four generations. It deflated and defeated the obstacles that many Irish and Catholic Americans faced. And most importantly, his presidency proved that an oppressed population in America can succeed with time, perseverance, and a voice—a true American story.

The Shriver Family

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of JFK, was known around the world for her charity work and dedication to children’s causes. She founded the Special Olympics in 1968. Born July 1921 in Brookline, Massachusetts, Eunice was educated at Stanford University. She married Robert Sargent Shriver in New York City in 1953. Shriver, a graduate of Yale University and a U.S. Navy veteran, had an active political career and was appointed to lead JFK’s Peace Corps. He served as U.S. Ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970 and was a vice-presidential candidate as George McGovern’s running mate in 1972. Eunice and Sargent had five children. Their daughter, Maria, married Arnold Schwarzenegger at St. Francis Xavier Church in 1986. Schwarzenegger went on to serve as Governor of California. Eunice passed away on August 11, 2009, and Sargent Shriver died in January 2011. They are both buried here on Cape Cod.