Francis Patrick Kenrick (December 3, 1796 or 1797 – July 8, 1863) was an Irish-born

Catholic 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 ...

prelate who served as Bishop of Philadelphia (1842–1851) and Archbishop of Baltimore (1851–1863). Kenrick grew up in Ireland, where he received his early education. He then attended the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...

in Rome, where he built a reputation as a theologian and scholar. After his ordination, he went to teach theology in the Diocese of Bardstown in the United States, where he became president of its seminary. Starting in 1830, Kenrick served as Coadjutor Bishop and later Bishop of Philadelphia, dealing with rebellious parish trustees and anti-Catholic riots in the city. He became Archbishop of Baltimore in 1851, serving there until his death in 1863. Kenrick is known for his contributions to the American Catholic Church as a theologian and canon law scholar as well as for his introducing free parochial schools in the Diocese of Philadelphia and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Biography

Early life and education

Francis Kenrick was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, to Thomas and Jane (née Eustace) Kenrick. His younger brother, Peter Kenrick, became the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The brothers' uncle,

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in Dublin, took an active role in their education. Francis Kenrick decided as a boy that he wanted to enter the priesthood. He attended elementary school and a so-called classical school in Dublin, where he achieved a strong academic record. At age 18, Kenrick was selected to study at the

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, ...

, where he became a distinguished student in theology. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood in Rome by Archbishop Candido Maria Frattini on April 7, 1821.

Ordination and ministry

Shortly after Kenrick's ordination, Bishop

Benedict Joseph Flaget Benedict Joseph Flaget (November 7, 1763 – February 11, 1850) was a French-born Catholic Church, Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Diocese of Bardstown, Bishop of Bardstown from 1808 to 1839. When the Episcopal see, see was transfer ...

of the Diocese of Bardstown in the United States sent a request to the Vatican for young priests to staff St. Thomas Seminary in

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the list of counties in Kentucky, county seat of Nelson Count ...

. Then one of the youngest priests at the university, Kenrick volunteered for the assignment. Once in Bardstown, Kenrick taught theology at St. Thomas for the next nine years. He also taught

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and history at St. Joseph's College in Bardstown. He also engaged in

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

work in the diocese and held public debates on religion with

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

ministers. He earned a reputation as an eloquent preacher and effective

apologist Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their fa ...

, and was a recognized theologian and

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

scholar. Flaget soon appointed Kenrick as his private secretary. When Flaget traveled to the

First 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 1829 in Baltimore, Maryland, Kenrick came along as his personal theologian. Kenrick also served as an assistant secretary at the provincial council.

Bishop of Philadelphia

On February 25, 1830,

Pope Pius VIII Pope Pius VIII (; born Francesco Saverio Maria Felice Castiglioni; 20 November 1761 – 30 November 1830) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 31 March 1829 to his death in November 1830. Pius VIII's pontificate wa ...

appointed Kenrick

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 ...

of the Diocese of Philadelphia, and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Arath'' to assist the ailing Bishops Henry Conwell. Kenrick received his episcopal consecration on June 6, 1830, from Flaget, with Conwell and Bishop

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

, in Bardstown.

Trustee controversies

Kenrick immediately assumed full administrative control of the diocese, which had been in turmoil from a schism at St. Mary's Parish in Philadelphia. The parish trustees had rebelled against Conwell, who had removed their pastor due to his personal lifestyle. As bishop, Kenrick wanted to establish St. Mary's as his

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

, with himself as pastor. The trustees refused. In response, Kenrick placed St. Mary's under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

. In a dramatic move, he celebrated mass at St. Mary's the next Sunday and exposed the machinations of the trustees to the congregation. After losing support in the parish, the trustees in May 1831 sent a letter to Kenrick, pledging their obedience. Kenrick faced a similar trustee dispute in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, then part of the Diocese of Philadelphia, over the ownership of St. Paul's Church. When the trustees told him that they built the church and it belonged to them, Kenrick replied:

The church is yours. You have a perfect right to do what you please with it. I claim no right to interfere with any appropriation of it you wish to make. You may make of it, if you will, a factory, and I will not interfere. But there is one thing which I do tell you, and it is this: if you wish it to be a Catholic Church you must comply with the requirement of the law, which I have laid before you. Now do as you please.

To forestall future trustee conflicts with other parishes, Kenrick obtained passage of a law transferring church property from parish trustees to the bishop of Philadelphia.

Growth of diocese

In June 1832, Kenrick founded St. Charles Borromeo Seminary for the preparation of seminarians, locating it at his personal residence in Philadelphia. The next month,

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

broke out in the city. The administrator of Blockley Almshouse, a

homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...

and hospital in the city, asked Kenrick if the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

in Emmitsburg, Maryland, could send nurses to help. Reverend Michael Hurley, pastor of St. Augustine's Parish in Philadelphia, converted his church into a temporary hospital. After the epidemic passed in September 1832, Philadelphia Mayor John Swift praised Kenrick for his assistance. With the strong growth of the Catholic population in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...

, Kenrick petitioned the Vatican to create a new diocese there in 1835. The Vatican was leaning toward creating the new diocese and also appointing Kerick as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of New York. When Kenrick expressed his opposition to the appointment, the Vatican dropped the coadjutor issue, along with that of the new diocese. The Vatican finally erected the Diocese of Pittsburgh on August 11, 1843.

Bible Riots

As the Irish Catholic population rose in Philadelphia during the early 1840s, Protestant Scotch-Irish workers in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia started worrying about losing jobs and housing. On November 10, 1842, Kenrick wrote to the Board of Controllers of public schools, asking the Philadelphia school system to allow Catholic children use the Catholic Douay Bible in class instead of a Protestant bible. He also asked that teachers excuse these children from non-Catholic religious teachings. As a result, the Board ordered that the schools make all religious activities optional and allow children to read whichever Bible was approved by their parents. However, nativist groups twisted these policy changes into misinformation to stir up their followers against the Irish. On May 7, 1844, the American Republican Party, a nativist group, stage a rally near Kensington that triggered three days of rioting and bloodshed in the city. During the riot, nativist mobs burned St. Michael's and Saint Augustine's Catholic Churches. The theological library and rectory at St. Augustine's were also lost. The state militia quelled the disturbances on May 8. The riots reignited on July 6, 1844, lasting for two days Throughout the violence, Kenrick encouraged Catholics "to follow peace and have charity." He closed all Catholic churches in Philadelphia and suspended the celebration of mass there. He encouraged his priests to avoid wearing clerical clothing when on the streets. Following the Bible riots, Kenrick realized that Catholic children needed to attend schools run by the church. He then initiated a parochial school system in Philadelphia to be administered by the archdiocese. Between 1830 and 1850, the number of churches in the diocese grew from 22 to 92; priests from 35 to 101; charitable institutions from two to six; and the Catholic population from 35,000 to 170,000. In 1849, he purchased a farm in West Philadelphia for construction of Cathedral Cemetery. He also began construction on the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and oversaw the rebuilding of St. Michael and St. Augustine following the Bible riots.

Archbishop of Baltimore

Following the death of Archbishop Samuel Eccleston on April 22, 1851,

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 ...

named Kenrick as archbishop of Baltimore on August 19, 1851. His installation took place in Baltimore on October 9, 1851. He presided over the First Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1852. As archbishop, Kenrick introduced free parochial schools in the archdiocese for all students, supported directly by the parishes. In 1854, Pius IX invited Kenrick to attend the

promulgation Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statute, statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final Enactment of a bill, approval. In some jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary ...

of the dogma of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

in Rome. In 1858, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, with the approval of Pius IX, conferred a "prerogative of place" on the archbishop of Baltimore. This meant that the archbishop of Baltimore had precedence over all other American archbishops and bishops, regardless of seniority in promotion or ordination. With the outbreak 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 1860, Kenrick told his priests to avoid all involvement in politics during the conflict, a position that he took also.

Death and legacy

Kenrick died at age 66 in Baltimore on July 8, 1863. According to reports, he was greatly distressed while reading earlier in the day about the carnage from the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, which had taken place earlier that week in nearby

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people. Gettysburg was the site of ...

. Kenrick is interred in the crypt of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Bishop Kenrick High School, opened in 1955 in

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough with Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located ...

, was named in honor of Francis Kenrick. It was succeeded in 1993 by Kennedy-Kenrick High School.

Publications

* A new translation of the ''Douay Bible'', with a commentary * ''Theologia Moralis'' (3 Vols) (1860) * ''The Primacy of the Apostolic See, Vindicated'' (1848) * ''A Treatise on Baptism'' (1852) * ''Theologia dogmatica. Secundis curis auctoris'' (1858) * ''A Vindication of the Catholic Church, in a Series of Letters Addressed to the Rt. Rev. John Henry Hopkins'' (1855)

Notes

Parts of Francis Kenrick's Bible Translation
*Marschall, John P.,''Francis Patrick Kenrick, 1851-1863: The Baltimore Years'' (Ph.D. diss., Catholic University of America, 1965) *Spalding, Thomas W. ''The Premier See: A History of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, 1789-1989.'' Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989

References

External links

*
Kenrick's Bible Editions

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenrick, Francis 1796 births 1863 deaths 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Christian clergy from Dublin (city) American biblical scholars Irish biblical scholars Roman Catholic biblical scholars Irish emigrants to the United States 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Roman Catholic bishops of Philadelphia Roman Catholic archbishops of Baltimore Translators of the Bible into English Burials at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 19th-century translators Bishops appointed by Pope Pius VIII