Saints in the Early United States
This coming Sunday is Pentecost, the birthday of the Catholic Church. The solemnity has me musing on the beginnings of the Church in the United States. I have had the opportunity to visit Catholic historic sites in Baltimore, where the first U.S. diocese was established. I would like to share what I learned from this experience.
One of the sites was the Seton House, where St. Elizabeth Ann Seton founded a boarding school for girls. It’s located on the property of the now closed St. Mary’s Seminary, where Venerable Michael McGivney studied, and where Venerable Mother Lange took her final vows. Lastly, I toured the Baltimore Basilica of the Assumption, which is truly unique.
Visiting these places helped me learn about Catholicism in early U.S. history. Maryland was founded by Catholic colonists because they wanted freedom to practice their faith, as it was not accepted in the other colonies. Catholics had limited rights elsewhere, where anti-Catholic laws were present (they couldn’t even vote!).
Later, in 1791, the First Amendment was ratified to include religious freedom, a few years after Pope Pius VI established the Diocese of Baltimore, the first diocese in the U.S.
Bishop John Carroll was named the first U.S. bishop. He was asked to build a cathedral in Baltimore. Did you know that Thomas Jefferson was an architect? Although not Catholic, he offered input in the design of the cathedral. The cathedral is quite unique: click here to see photos!
Although Catholicism was then legal to practice, Elizabeth Lange faced many obstacles on her journey of founding a religious community, even within the Catholic Church. Black people were not allowed to enter religious life. But Elizabeth desired to live as a consecrated person and to serve the poor in a radical manner.
Eventually, Elizabeth’s desires were fulfilled. In our early history, there was no public education for African Americans until the 1860s. Elizabeth, later to be named Mother Lange, saw a need for education for African American children, so she generously opened her own home to provide it.
This resulted in the founding of a religious order, the Oblate Sisters of Providence. The congregation not only provided schooling, but they also cared for orphans, freed slaves, the elderly, and the sick. Mother Lange did a lot for those in need and took great strides in advocating for the African American and immigrant community in Baltimore.
Venerable Michael McGivney also passionately served his community. In 1882, he founded the Knights of Columbus to respond to the needs of his parishioners. This fraternity proved to be very helpful for families and the poor. Today, Fr. McGivney's legacy lives on; as you may know, the Knights of Columbus is now an international fraternity!
As I mentioned, Fr. McGivney studied at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. The campus just so happened to be the same place where Elizabeth Ann Seton resided.
Elizabeth established a boarding school for girls where she lived, which eventually led to the founding of a religious order: the Sisters of Charity. Elizabeth, the first canonized American-born saint, played a vital role in the beginning of America’s Catholic school system. You might even say she inaugurated it!
God truly works through his saints.
“Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit,” (Ephesians 2:19-22).