Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal and the history of the Catholic church in the U.S.
Ambrose Maréchal was a Sulpician priest from France. He became the third bishop to head the entire Catholic church in the U.S. He reigned from 1817 to 1828.
CONTENTS
4. The Norfolk Trustee Controversy
1. Early Years
Ambrose Maréchal was born at Ingré in France. He entered the the Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice, also known as the Sulpicians. He was ordained as a priest in 1792 and then sent to Baltimore to help staff St. Mary’s Seminary.
Whilst there, he happened to meet a young man named James Whitfield, and inspired him to enter the priesthood. Whitfield went on to become the fourth bishop to head the entire Catholic church in the U.S.
Ambrose Maréchal was soon assigned to pastoral work in Bohemia in Maryland. After a few years he was back to teaching at the seminary. In 1801, he was sent to teach philosophy at the new Georgetown College in Washington, D.C.
However, due to the ascension of Napoleon Bonaparte as first consul of the new French Republic, it became safer for Catholic clergy to be in France. In 1803, the Sulpicians ordered Maréchal to return home. He taught in Sulpician schools in France for nine years.
In 1812, he was sent back to Baltimore, where he taught at the seminary. Later, he served as the president of the seminary.
2. The Third Bishop
In 1816, Pope Pius VII named Maréchal as Bishop of Philadelphia. However, Maréchal did not want the appointment and the Vatican allowed him to decline it.
Then in 1817, Pius VII appointed him as titular bishop of Stauropolis and coadjutor archbishop of Baltimore. This was to assist the current Archbishop Leonard Neale, who was ailing. However, Neale died before Maréchal could be consecrated.
Instead, Maréchal was consecrated archbishop of Baltimore at the St. Peter’s Pro-Cathedral in Baltimore on December 14, 1817.
3. The First Report to Rome
In 1818, Maréchal wrote a detailed report to Rome on the condition of the Catholic church in the U.S. Here is a summary of his findings:
- There were 100, 000 Catholics
- There were 52 priests
- Baltimore had 10,000 Catholics
- Mount St. Mary college in Emmitsburg had 80 students
- Georgetown College had 33 scholastics and novices
- The Carmelites had 33 sisters
- The Visitation Nuns had 50 sisters
- The Daughters of Charity had 32 sisters
- Maréchal wanted to establish ten new parishes plus some free schools
The report also touched on general life in the U.S.:
- The Anglican Church was tottering
- Anti-Catholic sentiments were diminishing
- Some 200 immigrants were arriving in the U.S. each day
- Common vices included desire for unlimited riches as well as drunkenness
- Catholics in Baltimore were faithful in receiving the sacraments
- Most people could read and write
- But there are many books, such as novels, that distract people from faith
Concerning the priests:
- Maréchal had high praise for the priests from England
- The U.S. priests lack depth of studies in humanities and letters
- Maréchal was positive about the priests from France, Germany and Belgium
- The Irish priests tended toward drunkenness
- The Irish priests were only effective among lower-class Irish immigrants
- Sometimes the drunken Irish priests accused the bishops of trying to establish a French hierarchy
- All drunken priests were ineffective
The Trustees in Norfolk sent a team to Rome to complain about Maréchal, and he scolded Rome for giving them a listening ear.
Maréchal saw great potential for the Catholic church in the U.S. Externally, there was no persecution. But internally, the threat was from the Trustees. Catholics in Charleston had published a book calling parishes to put their Trustees in charge.
Difficulties to overcome include lack of clergy, effective vocational recruiting, and schisms. Influenced by civil and Protestant concerns for liberty, congregations can be influenced to think they have a right to elect their pastor.
Maréchal expressed a willingness to have a diocese erected in Charleston. The government was selling land there, and it was a growth area. He wanted an English priest, one who knows some French, and no older than 40.
4. The Norfolk Trustee Controversy
In these days there were no more than a thousand Catholics in Virginia. Most were in Norfolk and Alexandria. In 1815, the pastor of St. Mary parish in Norfolk died.
The archbishop appointed a French priest named James Lucas as pastor. However, Oliviera Fernandez, head of the Trustees, rejected Father Lucas and the way he had been appointed.
Fernandez was a medical doctor and a close friend of the regent Prince of Portugal. Fernandez had arrived in Norfolk in 1810, and became Chief Trustee by 1816. He returned to Portugal in 1820.
In April of 1816 the Trustees sent their views to Archbishop Neale. Neale responded. Several letters were exchanged.
In 1817 the Trustees sent a Petition to Rome. It asked for the creation of a new Diocese of Virginia, with governance by a board consisting of the bishop, the priests, and lay representatives. In addition, they wanted to elect their own first bishop.
Doctor Fernandez described the church as a Union of Christians, and not just the hierarchy. He cited saints and Councils to back his points. His letter painted a portrait of the Christian as a Citizen of the Republic. He wanted a Dominican priest named Thomas Carbry as the first bishop.
Cardinal Lorenzo Litta, the head of the Propaganda Fidei in Rome, replied. He revealed to Doctor Fernandez that Rome was considering making Norfolk a diocese.
By this point, Ambrose Maréchal had become the archbishop. Cardinal Litta wrote to Archbishop Maréchal, asking him to name Father Carbry as pastor of Norfolk.
Archbishop Maréchal objected. Cardinal Litta replied, saving they wouldn’t do anything more without Marachal’s advice.
In March of 1818, Archbishop Maréchal began his visits to the diocese. He attempted to meet the Trustees in Norfolk. There were around 200 of them in the congregation; 55 refused to show up.
Archbishop Maréchal advised Father Lucas to refuse the sacraments to the Trustees until they repented.
In June, Rome decided to create the Diocese of Charleston. But not Virginia.
In mid-July, Archbishop Maréchal ordered Father Carbry to not go to Norfolk, under pair of excommunication.
In December 1818, the Trusters sent a pamphlet to all the members of Congress, and also to Thomas Jefferson. They claimed the French were conspiring to control the church.
They wanted Congress to take control of the church. That is, they wanted Congress to suspend the First Amendment’s separation of Church and State.
In May 1819, Archbishop Maréchal sent Kerney to Norfolk to act as an assistant. This should have defused the anti-French sentiments against the pastor.
However, Father Carbry went to Norfolk, against the will of Archbishop Maréchal, and accepted the job of pastor himself. That was possible because the Trustees had locked Father Lucas out of his own church.
The Trustees threatened Archbishop Maréchal that if he did anything about it, they would go to the press with the whole story. And also to the courtroom!
In June of 1819, Rome was considering making Virginia a separate diocese. In August, Rome had decided to make Virginia a separate diocese, but they had not decided upon the See City.
In September 1819, Archbishop Maréchal sent a lengthy letter of some 63 to 85 pages to the Trustees. He praised the members who had not participated in the Schism. Then he went through the history of the use of episcopal authority and the selection of a pastor.
Archbishop Maréchal said Father Carbry had no authority whatsoever, not having received an appointment from the Holy See.
After this letter, the Trustees began to loose steam. And the Protestants were scandalized by their dissension.
5. The Diocese of Richmond
In 1820 Rome turned Virginia into a diocese. It was to be called the Diocese of Richmond. The city of Richmond was to be the See City. And the first bishop was Patrick Kelly from Ireland.
Kelly was 40 years old when he was named as bishop. He was a former teacher. On July 22 of 1820, the Propaganda Fidei wrote Kelly, advising him of the history of the situation with Archbishop Maréchal, Father Carbry, and the Trustees.
In November, Rome sent a letter to the Catholics of the area, introducing them to the changes. They also wrote to Archbishop Maréchal, asking for his cooperation. But in fact Archbishop Maréchal hated the decision. He cooperated most begrudgingly.
Bishop Kelly went to Richmond. He restored Father Carbry’s faculties, and put a ban on the congregation that was still going to Father James Lucas, who was the former pastor. He opened conversations with Dr. Fernandez.
The former pastor Father Lucas was to be suspended it he continued having services in the makeshift chapel.
Eventually Father Lucas left Norfolk in 1821. Simultaneously Father Carbry got into an argument with Bishop Kelly and left.
Archbishop Maréchal went to Rome in mid-1821. He complained vigorously against the bishops of Ireland and their interference in the affairs in the U.S.
The Roman officials said that Archbishop Maréchal had not been forthcoming in the relevant matters. They told him he had no right to name bishops.
Rome named Archbishop Maréchal as the Administrator of Richmond. They allowed Bishop Kelly to transfer. Rome admitted that the creation of the diocese of Richmond may have been a mistake.
In January of 1822, Bishop Kelly transferred from Richmond in Virginia to Waterford in Ireland.
In February of 1822 Archbishop Maréchal officially became the Administrator of Richmond. Walsh acted as his assistant. Father Hore became pastor of Norfolk. Many of the trustees accepted these actions, and things finally settled down.
The U.S. bishops asked Rome to suppress the Diocese of Richmond. But Rome declined.
6. Trouble in Charleston
In the early years, the people of the Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina always had a contentious relationship with their ordained leaders.
From the 1790s to the Civil War, Charleston had a number of Trustee battles. Later, when they had a bishop, they always had a troubled relationship with their bishop.
In 1793, Father Gallagher was assigned as pastor. But then a few years later, in 1799, Archbishop Carroll in 1799 heard that Father Gallagher had a drinking problem. So Archbishop Carroll asked Father Gallagher to resign and become pastor of a college.
However, Father Gallagher wrote an indignant letter to Archbishop Carroll. He had the Trustees write a letter to Archbishop Carroll.
This particular controversy was centered around Father Gallagher’s canonical rights as a Pastor. The Code of Canon Law grants many rights and responsibilities to the Pastor of a parish.
A bishop may not violate those rights of a Pastor without substantial process. However, Archbishop Carroll said Father Gallagher had no rights as a Pastor since he was a missionary priest.
7. Conflict with Protestants
In 1816 a group of prominent American Protestants founded the American Bible Society. They published the Bible. It was a venerable translation called the King James Version. They did not include any commentary or notes.
However, Catholics opposed it. Protestants interpreted that Catholic opposition as opposition to the Bible itself.
Catholic opposition to the Bible is not at all surprising, as most Catholics in those days had little to no exposure the Bible itself.
Plus Catholics in those days were not able to convincingly explain what it was that they were opposed to. Very few were trained in the ministry of Ecumenism. In part, Ecumenism means to interact winsomely with Christians from other denominations.
In those days a number of Protestant newspapers were founded.
One purpose of the newspapers was to defend Protestant actions against Catholic opposition. In so doing, they became megaphones for hatred against Catholics.
HISTORY – U.S. CATHOLIC
MAJOR ERAS:
- The Spanish Missions in New Mexico: 1540 to 1616
- The Spanish Missions in Florida: 1549 to 1763
- The English Missions in the Mid-Atlantic region: beginning in the 1570s
- Catholics and the American Revolutionary War: 1775–1783
- Archbishop John Carroll: 1774-1815
- Archbishop Leonard Neale: 1815-1817
- Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal: 1817 -1828
- Archbishop James Whitfield: 1828 to 1834
- Archbishop Samuel Eccleston: 1834-1851
- Archbishop Francis Kenrick: 1851–1863
SEE ALSO: References, Church History
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.