Archbishop Of Baltimore
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The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore () is the archdiocese of the
Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...
of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in northern and
western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
in the United States. It is the
metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...
of the Ecclesiastical Province of Baltimore. The Archdiocese of Baltimore is the oldest diocese and oldest archdiocese in the United States. Soon after the American Revolution, the diocese was erected to cover the United States, before the establishment of additional dioceses. The Vatican granted the archbishop of Baltimore the right of precedence in the nation at liturgies, meetings, and Plenary Councils in 1859. It is the premier episcopal see of the Catholic Church in the United States of America, as "prerogative of place". As of 2020, the archdiocese had an estimated Catholic population of 525,000 with 198 diocesan priests, 193 religious priests and 169 permanent deacons in 139 parishes. The Archdiocese of Baltimore has two major seminaries:
St. Mary's Seminary and University St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic Church, Catholic seminary located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
and Mount St. Mary's Seminary in
Emmitsburg Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town has two Catholic pilgrim ...
. It was revealed in late 2016 that the Archdiocese of Baltimore had paid off numerous settlements since 2011 for abuse victims.


Territory

The Archdiocese of Baltimore comprises the City of Baltimore and nine Maryland counties: Allegany, Anne Arundel,
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, Carroll,
Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...
, GarrettHarford,
Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
, and Washington.


History


1600 to 1700

The first Catholic presence in the original British colonies in the United States was the proprietary colony of Maryland, established by
Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (8 August 1605 – 30 November 1675) was an English politician and lawyer who was the first List of Proprietors of Maryland, proprietor of Maryland. Born in Kent, England in 1605, he inherited the proprietorsh ...
in 1634. A Catholic himself, Calvert intended the colony to be open to English Catholics facing persecution at home. In 1689, members of the growing
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
population in Maryland staged a
takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast to the acquisi ...
of the colonial government and effectively outlawed Catholicism. In 1691, alarmed at the violent conflicts in Maryland, the British Crown took over the colony from the Calvert family.


1700 to 1789

The new royal governor in Maryland imposed less sweeping restrictions on Catholics than those of the Puritan regime. These restrictions would stay in place until after the end of the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. During the British colonial period, the small Catholic communities in the American colonies were under the
ecclesiastical jurisdiction Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is jurisdiction by Clergy, church leaders over other church leaders and over the laity. Overview Jurisdiction is a word borrowed from the legal system which has acquired a wide extension in theology, wherein, for examp ...
of the
Apostolic Vicariate of the London District The Apostolic Vicariate of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by a vicar apostolic who was a titular bishop. The apostolic vicariate was created in 1688 and was dissolved ...
in England. The first Catholic church in Baltimore, St. Peter's, was dedicated in 1770. In November 1783, after the end of the Revolution, the Catholic clergy in Maryland petitioned the Vatican for permission to nominate a priest as superior of the missions for the United States. The superior would have some of the powers of a
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
and be in charge of the American Catholic Church. After receiving papal approval, the clergy nominated Reverend John Carroll to become superior.
Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...
in June 1784 confirmed Carroll as superior of the missions. This papal act established an American
hierarchy A hierarchy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy ...
, removing the American Catholic Church from the authority of the British Catholic Church In November 1784, Pius VI erected the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States encompassing the entire country. Since Maryland had the largest Catholic population,
Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...
placed the prefecture see in Baltimore and appointed Carroll as its first prefect apostolic.


1789 to 1800

Four years later, Pius VI elevated the prefecture into the Diocese of Baltimore, making it the first diocese solely within the United States. St. Peter's, the only Catholic church in Baltimore, was designated as the
pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...
(temporary cathedral). The new Diocese of Baltimore covered the entire nation. To train priests for his new diocese, Carroll asked the Fathers of the Company of Saint Sulpice to come to Baltimore. They arrived in 1791 and started the nucleus of St. Mary's College and Seminary in that city. Also in 1791, Carroll convened the first diocesan
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
in the United States. Twenty-two priests attended the synod, setting national policies for
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
, confirmation,
penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...
, the celebration of the
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
in the
mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
, anointing of the sick, and mixed marriages. The Vatican in 1795 appointed Reverend Leonard Neale as
coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...
in Baltimore to assist Carroll. In 1798, Carroll won a civil case in Pennsylvania that acknowledged his position as leader of the American church. Carroll gave his approval to the founding of the
Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary The Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (), abbreviated VSM and also known as the Visitandines, is a Catholic Church, Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for women. Members of the order are also known as the Salesian Sisters (not to be ...
, who in 1799 established Visitation Academy in Georgetown.


1800 to 1821

Carroll ordained the first American-born Catholic priest, Reverend William Matthews, at St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral in Baltimore in 1800. In 1806, Carroll started construction of the Cathedral of the Assumption in Baltimore As the Catholic population of the United States grew, the Vatican saw the need to create more dioceses. In 1808,
Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...
erected four new dioceses from what now became the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The pope named Carroll as the first archbishop of Baltimore. After Carroll died in 1815, Neale automatically succeeded him as archbishop of Baltimore. However, due to Neale's bad health,
Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...
in 1816 appointed Reverend Ambrose Maréchal as coadjutor archbishop. When Neale died in 1817, Maréchal succeeded him as archbishop of Baltimore. Maréchal believed that his most pressing problem was a shortage of priests. It was aggravated by parish trustees who thought they had the power to assign these priests. In some Irish parishes, the trustees would demand Irish priests, even if they were not qualified. In 1820, Bishop Flaget of Bardstown warned Maréchal about a man claiming to be a priest who wanted to practice in the archdiocese. This individual produced positive letters of introduction from his bishop. However, when he was observed celebrating mass, it became clear that the so-called priest was incompetent. Maréchal later advised the Propaganda Fide (now the
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for Catholic missions, missionary work and related activities. It is also kn ...
) in Rome about this problem.


1821 to 1850

Maréchal dedicated the completed Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral in May 1821. Later in 1821, Maréchal went to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
on archdiocese business. One problem he had faced in Maryland was the disputed ownership of the White Marsh plantation in Bowie. The Order of Jesus had received the plantation as a gift in 1728 and claimed it as their property. Maréchal said that the plantation actually belonged to the archdiocese. The Vatican gave the archdiocese ownership of White Marsh. On January 8, 1828, Reverend James Whitfield of Baltimore was appointed coadjutor archbishop of the archdiocese by
Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII (; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death in February 1829. ...
. Before Whitfield could be consecrated as coadjutor, Maréchal died on January 29, 1828. Whitfield was finally consecrated as archbishop in June 1828. He convened a
synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
for the diocesan clergy in 1831 and the
Second Provincial Council of Baltimore The Provincial Councils of Baltimore were councils of Roman Catholic bishops that set the pattern for Catholic organisation in the United States. They took place in Baltimore. They were seen as having a unique importance for the Church in the Uni ...
in 1833. Throughout his tenure, Whitfield worked for the welfare of the
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
community. He authorized the foundation of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first religious order of African-American women in the United States. Whitfield talked about how he would have liked to evangelize the hundreds of thousands of enslaved African-Americans in Virginia.
Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...
in March 1834 appointed Reverend Samuel Eccleston as coadjutor archbishop to assist Whitfield. When Whitfield died in October 1834, Eccleston automatically succeeded him as archbishop. Eccleston encouraged religious orders to establish mother houses in his diocese, particularly those orders that could provide social services to the growing number of Catholic immigrants in the industrializing cities. The Sisters of the Visitation increased the number of their academies in the city and the archdiocese, the Brothers of St. Patrick opened a
trade school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational ...
near Baltimore, and the
Redemptorists The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...
provided services for German-speaking immigrants. The Brothers of the Christian Schools founded Calvert Hall School in 1845 in Baltimore. In 1847, Eccleston was planning to disband the Oblate Sisters of Providence, but was dissuaded by Redemptorist Father Thaddeus Anwander. St. Charles College was established in 1848 in Howard County on land donated by the planter Charles Carroll. Between 1837 and 1849, Eccleston held five provincial councils in Baltimore. He also started several new parishes during his administration. Eccleston died in 1851.


1850 to 1866

The Vatican continued to erect new dioceses and vicariates out of the Archdiocese of Baltimore through the 19th century as the church evolved and grew in the United States. Following the death of Eccleston, Bishop
Francis Kenrick Francis Patrick Kenrick (December 3, 1796 or 1797 – July 8, 1863) was an Irish-born Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Philadelphia (1842–1851) and Archbishop of Baltimore (1851–1863). Kenrick grew up in Ireland, where he received ...
of Philadelphia was named the sixth archbishop of Baltimore by
Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
in 1851. He presided over the First Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1852. As archbishop, Kenrick expanded parochial schools throughout the archdiocese. Under his tenure, parochial schools were free for all students, and were supported directly by the parishes. Kenrick died in 1863. The next archbishop of Baltimore was Bishop Martin Spalding from the Diocese of Louisville, appointed by
Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
.


1866 to 1900

In 1866, Spalding founded St. Mary's Industrial School in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, a boys
reformatory A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concern ...
. Spalding conducted a visitation of the archdiocese, during which he reportedly administered
confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
to 8,000 people. Spalding recruited priests for the archdiocese from
All Hallows College All Hallows College was a college of higher education in Dublin. It was founded in 1842 and was run by the Vincentians from 1892 until 2016. On 23 May 2014, it was announced that it was closing because of declining student enrollment. The sale ...
in Ireland and the American College at Louvain in Belgium He also organized the
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the service of the poor. Started by Frédéric Ozanam and Emmanuel-Joseph Bailly de Surcy and named ...
as well as the Association of St. Joseph, a society for the care of impoverished girls. After the end of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
in 1865, Spalding raised $10,000 in the archdiocese for relief efforts in the former
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
. He also took a special interest in the spiritual welfare of the African-Americans who had just been freed from slavery. Writing to Archbishop
John McCloskey John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as the first American-born Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop of New York from 1864 until his ...
, Spalding said, "Four million of these unfortunates are thrown on our charity, and they silently but eloquently appeal to us for help." He invited Reverend Herbert Vaughan and the Mill Hill Fathers from England to minister exclusively among freedmen. In October 1866, Spalding presided over the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore. After Spalding died in 1871, Pius IX appointed bishop James Bayley from the Diocese of Newark as the next archbishop of Baltimore in 1872. He convened the Eighth Provincial Synod in 1875 and enacted new regulations on clerical dress, mixed marriages, and church music. Bayley consecrated the cathedral in 1876 and retired a large amount of archdiocesan debt. In May 1877, Pius IX selected Bishop
James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 unti ...
of Richmond as coadjutor archbishop to assist the sick Bayley. After Bayley died in October 1877, Gibbons succeeded him as archbishop of Baltimore."Shepherds of the Seminary", Seton Hall University
/ref> In 1884, Gibbons founded the House of the Good Shepherd in Baltimore, a reformatory for female criminals.


1900 to 1940

After the end of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1919, Gibbons supported American participation in the new
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
. He was initially opposed to the
women's suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
in the United States. However, when the nineteenth amendment to the
US Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constitut ...
passed in 1920, allowing women to vote, Gibbons urged women to exercise that right, describing it "...not only as a right but as a strict social duty." Gibbons died in 1921 Bishop Michael Curley of the Diocese of Saint Augustine was the next archbishop of Baltimore, named by
Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...
in 1921. His arrival in his new city was described in the press as "one of the greatest welcomes ever tendered a new citizen of Baltimore." During his tenure in Baltimore, Curley established 66 schools, placing the importance of constructing schools over churches. In 1926, he declared, "I defy any system of grammar school education in the United States to prove itself superior to the system that is being maintained in the Archdiocese of Baltimore." He also established diocesan offices for Catholic Charities in 1923 and for the
Society for the Propagation of the Faith The Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: ''Propagandum Fidei'') is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in ...
in 1925. In 1939,
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
erected the
Archdiocese of Washington In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...
, taking the
District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
and five nearby Maryland counties from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.Most Rev. Michael J. Curley
. Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved on November 19, 2016.
The pope selected Curley to serve as archbishop of Washington. The two archdioceses now shared the same archbishop.Archbishops of the Modern Era (1851 - 2012)
. Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved on November 19, 2016.
Curley used the title of Archbishop of Baltimore-Washington during this period, although the two archdioceses were separate entities.


1940 to 1989

After Curley died in 1947, Pius XII appointed Monsignor Patrick A. O'Boyle as archbishop of Washington and Bishop Francis Keough of the Diocese of Providence as archbishop of Baltimore. During the 14 years of Keough's administration, the Catholic population of the archdiocese grew from 265,000 to 400,000. Keough dedicated the new Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore in 1959; he also built many new schools, homes, and orphanages. In July 1961,
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
named Bishop
Lawrence Shehan Lawrence Joseph Shehan (March 18, 1898 – August 26, 1984) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1961 to 1974. He was made a cardinal in 1965. Shehan previously served as an Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore ...
of the Diocese of Bridgeport to assist Keough as coadjutor archbishop. When Keough died in December 1961, Shehan automatically succeeded him as archbishop of Baltimore. Shehan was a strong supporter of the American Civil Rights movement. He banned
racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...
in all of the archdiocesan institutions in 1962 and participated in the 1963
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...
.''TIME'' Magazine
Milestones
September 10, 1984
Shehan also maintained good relations with the Jewish and
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
communities in the archdiocese. Shehan worked with his friend Harry Lee Doll, Episcopal Bishop of Maryland, on both civil rights and
ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...
issues. Along with the president of
St. Mary's Seminary and University St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Catholic Church, Catholic seminary located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, Archdiocese of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States after ...
, Shehan and Doll in 1968 founded the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary's. Following Shehan's retirement in 1974, Pope Paul VI named Bishop William Borders of the Diocese of Orlando as the 13th archbishop of Baltimore that same year. During his 15-year tenure in Baltimore, Borders divided the archdiocese into three
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
iates and appointed his
auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...
s as vicars over them. He reorganized the Archdiocesan Central Services, naming cabinet-level secretaries to carry out the administrative work of the archdiocese. Borders clarified and strengthened the role of the archdiocesan pastoral council, and combined the board of consultors and the priests senate to form the priests' council. He initiated a Department of Pastoral Planning and Management, an Office of Fund Development and an evangelization effort. Instead of residing at an apartment at the Basilica of the Assumption, Borders lived alone at the former sexton's lodge. Borders became what '' Baltimore Magazine'' called the "king of the
soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to Hunger, hungry and homeless people, usually for no price, cost, or sometimes at a below-market price (such as coin Donation, donations). Frequently located in Low i ...
s". While he was archbishop, the budget for Catholic Charities grew from $2.5 million a year to $33 million a year, and its staff expanded from 200 to over 1,000. Borders retired in 1989.


1989 to present

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
appointed Bishop William H. Keeler from the Diocese of Harrisburg as the next archbishop of Baltimore in 1989. Keeler was responsible for the restoration of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After Keeler retired in 2006, John Paul II replaced him with Archbishop Edwin O'Brien from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. In 2008, O'Brien dedicated the Pope John Paul II Prayer Garden in Baltimore, which he called a "sanctuary in a suffering city." In 2011, he became grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in Rome. In 2012, Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport was appointed archbishop of Baltimore by
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
. In 2019, Lori released “''The Journey to Racial Justice: Repentance, Healing and Action.''” The document acknowledged
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
in the Catholic Church and suggested measures to combat it. That same year, Lori instituted an initiative for reporting allegations against any bishop in the archdiocese. The policy was drafted by the archdiocesan independent review board. As of 2023, Lori is the current archbishop of Baltimore.


Plenary councils of Baltimore

The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were three national meetings of American Catholic bishops in the 19th century. * First Plenary Council (1852) – The First Council published a decree requiring priests immigrating to the United States to provide letters of reference from their previous bishops before they could practise ministry in this country. The council also passed a requirement that Catholic engaged couples publish marriage banns. * Second Plenary Council (1866) – The Second Council advocated the
churching of women In Christian tradition the churching of women, also known as thanksgiving for the birth or adoption of a child, is the ceremony wherein a blessing is given to mothers after recovery from childbirth. The ceremony includes thanksgiving for the woma ...
, a ceremony blessing women after childbirth, and setting age 10 as the age for
first communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...
. * Third Plenary Council (1884) – The Third Council set six
holy days of obligation In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation or precepts are days on which Catholic Christians are expected to attend Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation (i.e., they are to refrain from engaging in work or activities that hinder ...
for Catholics and appointed a commission to draft a
catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...
.


Sexual abuse

In July 1995, John Merzbacher, a teacher at Catholic Community Middle School in south Baltimore, received four life sentences after being convicted of raping Elizabeth Ann Murphy at the school in the 1970s. At the time, prosecutors also found evidence that Marzbacher sexually abused 13 other male and female students when he taught there. Merzbacher died in prison in May 2023. In 2016, the archdiocese confirmed that it had paid a total of $472,000 to settlements to 16 former students of Archbishop Keough High School. The plaintiffs claimed to have been sexually abused as children by Reverend A. Joseph Maskell from 1967 to 1975. After the archdiocese removed Maskell from ministry in 1994, he fled to Ireland. He was never charged with any crimes." The archdiocese was featured in the 2017
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
documentary ''The Keepers,'' investigated sexual abuse by clergy at Seton Keough High School, Archbishop Keough High School and the murder of Sister Murder of Catherine Cesnik, Catherine Cesnik in 1969. A report released by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in August 2018, singled out Cardinal William Keeler for criticism. When Keeler was archbishop of Baltimore, he allowed Reverend Arthur Long to transfer from the Diocese of Harrisburg to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Long had been accused of sexually abusing children during his time in Harrisburg when Keeler was bishop there . After the grand jury report was released, the archdiocese canceled plans to named a new elementary school after Keeler. In February 2019, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh launched an investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the archdiocese. Archbishop Lori provided Frosh with over 50,000 pages of internal documents dating back to 1965. In March 2019, Lori banned former Auxiliary Bishop Gordon Bennett (bishop), Gordon Bennett, then residing in the archdiocese, from practicing any form of ministry in the archdiocese or the suffragan Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling–Charleston, Diocese of Wheeling–Charleston. Bennett had been accused of sexual abuse in 2006. In April 2019, the archdiocese added the names of 23 deceased clergy to a list of accused clergy which the archdiocese published in 2002. Long, a Jesuit, was among those added to the list. The State of Maryland investigation concluded in November 2022, and its report was released in April 2023. The report named 156 archdiocesan employees and clergy as having credible accusations of sexually abusing more that 600 children between 1940 and 2002. At the same time as the release of the report, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill to end a statute of limitations on abuse-related civil lawsuits. This bill was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore in April 2023. On September 29, 2023, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore in the US filed for Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code, Chapter 11 bankruptcy to evade large anticipated financial losses in upcoming lawsuits permitted by the Maryland Child Victims Act starting on October 1.


Episcopate


Prerogative of place

In 1858, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (''Propaganda Fide''), with the approval of Pius IX, conferred "Prerogative of Place" on the Archdiocese of Baltimore. This decree gave the archbishop of Baltimore precedence over all other American archbishops in Plenary council (Catholicism), councils, gatherings, and meetings. It did not matter if another archbishop had been elevated sooner or had been serving long. However, a cardinal still had precedence over the archbishop of Baltimore.


Cathedrals

The first cathedral for the archdiocese was St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral, which is no longer standing. Today, like only a few other archdioceses in the United States, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has two cathedrals, both in Baltimore: the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The archbishop is considered the pastor of both co-cathedrals, appointing rectors to operate them.


St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral

St. Peters served as the base for the archbishop of Baltimore from 1790 to 1821. Since it never met the physical criteria for a proper cathedral and was always considered temporary, St. Peter's was termed a
pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...
. The building was razed in 1841.


Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was constructed between 1806 and 1821. It was the first cathedral in the newly independent United States and is considered the mother church of the country. It is a co-cathedral of the archdiocese.


Cathedral of Mary Our Queen

Mary Our Queen was started in 1954 and completed in 1959. It is a co-cathedral of the archdiocese.


Bishops


Prefect Apostolic of the United States

John Carroll (priest), John Carroll (1784–1789), appointed first diocesan bishop with erection of diocese
Archdiocese of Baltimore
' page on ''Catholic Hierarchy'' web site.


Bishop of Baltimore

John Carroll (priest), John Carroll (1789–1808), elevated to Archbishop


Archbishops of Baltimore

# John Carroll (archbishop), John Carroll (1808–1815) # Leonard Neale (1815–1817; coadjutor archbishop 1795–1815) # Ambrose Maréchal (1817–1828) # James Whitfield (1828–1834; coadjutor archbishop 1828) # Samuel Eccleston (1834–1851; coadjutor archbishop 1834) # Francis Kenrick, Francis Patrick Kenrick (1851–1863) # Martin John Spalding (1864–1872) # James Roosevelt Bayley (1872–1877) #
James Gibbons James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 unti ...
(1877–1921) (Cardinal in 1886) # Michael Joseph Curley (1921–1947) # Francis Patrick Keough (1947–1961) #
Lawrence Shehan Lawrence Joseph Shehan (March 18, 1898 – August 26, 1984) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1961 to 1974. He was made a cardinal in 1965. Shehan previously served as an Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore ...
(1961–1974; coadjutor archbishop 1961) (Cardinal in 1965) # William Donald Borders (1974–1989) # William Henry Keeler (1989–2007) (Cardinal in 1994) # Edwin Frederick O'Brien (2007–2011), appointed Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Cardinal in 2012) # William E. Lori, William Edward Lori (2012–present)


Current auxiliary bishops

* Adam Parker (bishop), Adam J. Parker (2017–present)


Former auxiliary bishops

* Alfred Allen Paul Curtis (1897–1908), previously appointed Bishop of Wilmington * Owen Patrick Bernard Corrigan (1908–1929) * Thomas Joseph Shahan (1914–1932) * John Michael McNamara (1927–1947), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Washington * Lawrence Joseph Shehan (1945–1953), appointed Bishop of Bridgeport; later returned as Coadjutor Archbishop of Baltimore and succeeded to see (see "Archbishops" above); future Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal * Jerome Aloysius Daugherty Sebastian (1953–1960) * Thomas Austin Murphy (1962–1984) * Thomas Joseph Mardaga (1966–1968), appointed Bishop of Wilmington * Francis Joseph Gossman (1968–1975), appointed Diocese of Raleigh, Bishop of Raleigh * Philip Francis Murphy (1976–1999) * James Francis Stafford (1976–1982), appointed Diocese of Memphis, Bishop of Memphis and later Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, Archbishop of Denver, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary (elevated to Cardinal (Catholic Church), Cardinal in 1998) * William Clifford Newman (1984–2003) * John Ricard (1984–1997), appointed Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee * Gordon Dunlap Bennett (1997–2004), appointed Roman Catholic Diocese of Mandeville, Bishop of Mandeville * William Francis Malooly (2000–2008), appointed Bishop of Wilmington * Mitchell T. Rozanski (2004–2014), appointed Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts, Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts * Denis J. Madden (2005–2016) * Mark E. Brennan (2017–2019), appointed Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston * Bruce Lewandowski (2020–2025), appointed Bishop of Providence


Other diocesan priests who became bishops

* John J. Chanche, appointed Diocese of Jackson, Bishop of Natchez in 1841 * Ignatius A. Reynolds, appointed Diocese of Charleston, Bishop of Charleston in 1843 * Henry B. Coskery, appointed Bishop of Portland in 1853; did not take effect * William Henry Elder, appointed Diocese of Jackson, Bishop of Natchez in 1857 and Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Archbishop of Cincinnati in 1883 * Thomas Albert Andrew Becker, appointed Bishop of Wilmington in 1868 and Diocese of Savannah, Bishop of Savannah in 1886 * Thomas Patrick Roger Foley, appointed Archdiocese of Chicago, Coadjutor Bishop of Chicago in 1870 * John Joseph Keane, appointed Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Bishop of Richmond in 1878, rector of The Catholic University of America in 1886, and Archbishop of Dubuque in 1900 * Mark Stanislaus Gross, appointed vicar apostolic of North Carolina in 1880; resigned the episcopate * Jeremiah O'Sullivan, appointed Bishop of Mobile in 1885 * John Samuel Foley, appointed Archdiocese of Detroit, Bishop of Detroit in 1888 * Placide Louis Chapelle, appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Santa Fe in 1891 (succeeded to that see in 1894), Archbishop of New Orleans in 1897 and Apostolic Delegate to Cuba and Extraordinary Envoy to Puerto Rico and the Philippines in 1898 * Patrick James Donahue, appointed Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, Bishop of Wheeling in 1894 * William Thomas Russell, appointed Diocese of Charleston, Bishop of Charleston in 1916 * William Joseph Hafey, appointed Diocese of Raleigh, Bishop of Raleigh in 1925 and Diocese of Scranton, Bishop of Scranton in 1938 * Thomas Joseph Toolen, appointed Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile, Bishop of Mobile in 1927 * Peter Leo Ireton, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Richmond in 1935 and Bishop of Richmond in 1945 * John Joyce Russell, appointed Diocese of Charleston, Bishop of Charleston in 1950 and later Bishop of Richmond in 1958 * Philip Matthew Hannan (priest of this archdiocese, 1939–1947), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Washington in 1956 and Archbishop of New Orleans in 1965 * Michael William Hyle, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Wilmington in 1958 (succeeded to that see in 1960) * John Selby Spence (bishop), John Selby Spence (priest of this archdiocese, 1933–1947), appointed auxiliary bishop of Washington in 1964 * Edward John Herrmann (priest of this archdiocese, 1947), appointed auxiliary bishop of Washington in 1966 and Bishop of Columbus in 1973 * Victor Benito Galeone, appointed Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Augustine, Bishop of Saint Augustine in 2001 * F. Richard Spencer, appointed Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Services, USA in 2010


Priests appointed, but never ordained, as bishops

Dominic Laurence Graessel, Dominic Laurence Grässel appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Baltimore in 1793 but the notice arrived after his death


Notable individuals

* Sister Elizabeth Ann Seton - Seton founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1809. A year later, she opened the first free Catholic school for girls in the United States. In 1975, Seton became the first American-born person to be canonized a saint. * Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, Mary Lange - Lange opened a free school in her Baltimore home for African American children who were denied access to other schools in the city. In 1828, Lange founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first sustained religious order for African American women in the United States. She also opened what would later become St. Frances Academy, the first Catholic School for African-American children in the United States. In 1991, the Catholic Church opened a cause of sainthood for Lange, naming her a "servant of God."


Education

As of 2023, the Archdiocese of Baltimore had 40 elementary and middle schools and 18 high schools with a total student enrollment of approximately 24,000.


High schools


Churches

*Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (old Baltimore Cathedral / Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary) – Baltimore, Maryland *Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – Emmitsburg, Maryland


Media

The archdiocese began to publish its diocesan newspaper, ''The Baltimore Catholic Review'' in 1913 as the successor to the earlier diocesan publication ''The Catholic Mirror'', published 1833 to 1908. The name has since been shortened to ''The Catholic Review''. It changed from weekly to biweekly publication in 2012 and transformed again to a monthly magazine in December 2015.


Ecclesiastical province

When the Archdiocese of Baltimore was erected in 1808, its ecclesiastical province covered the entire nation. In 1847, with the erected of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, the ecclesiastical province of Baltimore shrank. It shrank again with the creation of the Archdioceses of Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, New Orleans, New York, and the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, Portland in Oregon in 1850. The province currently contains the following suffragan dioceses: *Diocese of Arlington *Diocese of Richmond *Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston *Diocese of Wilmington


See also

* Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States * List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States * List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent) * List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses) * List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses) * List of shrines


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Baltimore Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States, Baltimore Christianity in Baltimore Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Baltimore, Catholic Church in Maryland Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 18th century, Baltimore Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 Religious organizations established in 1789 1789 establishments in Maryland