John Carroll (Bishop)

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Bishop John Carroll.

John Carroll ( SJ ) (born January 8, 1735 in Upper Marlboro , Province of Maryland , † December 3, 1815 in Baltimore , Maryland) was a Jesuit until the abolition of the Jesuit order and later the first bishop and archbishop of the diocese of Baltimore and as such also the first Catholic bishop in the US . He was also the founder of the Catholic hierarchy in the United States and founder of Georgetown University , now the oldest Catholic university in the United States.

Life

Archbishop John Carroll statue

John Carroll was born the fourth of seven children to the merchant and planter Daniel Carroll and his wife Eleanor Darnall in Upperland Marlboro, Maryland. John Carroll received his first education from his mother. In 1748, at the age of twelve, he was sent to the Jesuit school of St. Omer in northern France and in 1753 he himself entered the Jesuit order. On February 14, 1761 he received in Liege the priesthood and taught from 1762 philosophy at the English College in Liege and later in Bruges . Carroll taught and preached in Europe almost until he was 40.

After the repeal of the Jesuit order in 1773 by Pope Clement XIV. Carroll returned to Maryland and got involved in the American independence movement . In 1776 he was sent by the Continental Congress along with Benjamin Franklin and his cousin Charles Carroll on a diplomatic mission to Canada . They wanted to win the Canadians for an alliance against the English colonial power. The mission failed and Canada remained British North America .

John Carroll supported the American War of Independence , because he saw the liberation of England above all as an opportunity for religious freedom for American Catholics, which was actually enshrined in the US Declaration of Independence in 1783 .

On June 9, 1784, the Holy See appointed him head of the missions in the provinces of the new Republic of the United States of North America . The documents reached him on November 26, 1784, which is considered to be the date of the establishment of an Apostolic Prefecture . With the help of Benjamin Franklin, Carroll later worked to establish a Catholic hierarchy for the United States. In 1789, Baltimore was made the first diocese of the United States and he was ordained its first bishop. The episcopal ordination took place on August 15, 1790 in England by the Vicar Apostolic of West England , Charles Walmesley. When Baltimore became an archdiocese in 1808 , Carroll consecrated the bishops of the four suffragan dioceses of Philadelphia , New York , Boston, and Bardstown, Kentucky . In 1809, Carroll encouraged Elizabeth Seton , the United States' first saint , to found the Sisters of Charity .

Carroll remained in the office of Archbishop until his death on December 3, 1815 and achieved much for the Catholics of the young United States. Above all, the education of the people and the Catholic clergy was important to him. In addition to numerous schools, Carroll founded Georgetown University (1789).

From September 1, 1805 to 1812, he was also Apostolic Administrator of the Vicariate Apostolic of Louisiana and the Two Floridas .

family

Various representatives of the extensive family of John Carroll held important political positions and played a large role in the colonial history of Maryland.

John's grandfather, known as the "Founder", had emigrated from Ireland to Maryland in 1688 because of strict Catholic laws and since then has served Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore , as military commissioner.

John's older brother Daniel Carroll (1730–1796) was a signatory to the United States Constitution .

Through his father, John Carroll is related to the Carroll Clan of Baltimore, which is known in the USA . His cousin Charles Carroll (1737-1832) was a signatory to the 1776 US Declaration of Independence .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Religion in America , p. 55. The Macmillan Company, March 1932. , accessed Nov. 25, 2011.
predecessor Office successor
- Archbishop of Baltimore
1784 - 1815 		Leonard Neale
personal data
SURNAME Carroll, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION first bishop and archbishop in the USA
DATE OF BIRTH January 8, 1735
PLACE OF BIRTH Upper Marlboro , Maryland
DATE OF DEATH December 3, 1815
Place of death Baltimore , Maryland