Archbishop Francis Kenrick and the history of the Catholic church in the U.S.
Francis Patrick Kenrick was a diocesan priest from Ireland. He became the sixth bishop to head the entire Catholic church in the U.S. He reigned from 1851–1863.
CONTENTS
- The growth of the Know-Nothing party
- Popular anti-Catholic speakers
- Election-Day Riots
- Aftermath of the Riots
1. Early Years
Francis Patrick Kenrick grew up in Ireland.
Then he attended the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, also known as the Urbaniana. He built a reputation as a theologian and scholar.
After being ordained as a priest, he taught theology in the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky. Later, he became president of the seminary.
2. The Sixth Bishop
In 1830, Kenrick became the Coadjutor Bishop of Philadelphia. Later, he was the Bishop of Philadelphia.
In 1851, he became the Archbishop of Baltimore. He was the sixth bishop to head the entire Catholic church in the U.S.
Kenrick was the first diocesan priest to become the bishop who headed the entire Catholic church in the U.S. Prior to him, all the archbishops were members of religious orders:
- John Carroll – Jesuit
- Leonard Neale – Jesuit
- Ambrose Maréchal – Sulpician
- James Whitfield – Sulpician
- Samuel Eccleston – Sulpician
Kenrick served as the Archbishop of Baltimore until his death in 1863.
3. Trouble in Louisville
The growth of the Know-Nothing party
After the Bible Riots in Philadelphia, the American Republican Party transformed itself into a national party called the Native American Party.
Their use of the term “Native” had nothing to do with Indigenous People. Rather, they intended to enact policies that favored native-born citizens over immigrants.
In 1847, an ordained Presbyterian minister named Robert Jefferson Breckenridge became the Superintendent of Schools for the state of Kentucky. He was a slaveholder who opposed slavery. Following his resignation in 1853, he shifted his party affiliation from Whig to Know-Nothing.
In 1849, the Know-Nothing movement renamed itself as the American Party.
That said, the members initially called it the Order of the Star Spangled Banner. It was partially a political party and partly a secret society. Membership was open only to white, native-born citizens.
The American Party became known by the colloquial nickname of the “Know Nothings” That was because members were required to say “I know nothing” whenever they were asked about its specifics by outsiders.
Between 1851 and 1860, two million immigrants arrived in the U.S. That equated to 13% of the white population in the U.S. This fanned the flames of anti-Catholic hatred.
In 1854, Bishop John Lancaster Spalding of Peoria was concerned about the Know-Nothings. He delivered a series of lectures against them.
The Germans formed a political group called the “Say Nothings.”
By 1854, the Know-Nothing party felt it could be a major player in the upcoming national election. That was because the Whigs were in decline and there was a power-vacuum. Thus the Know-Nothings put 75 members in Congress, and got many elected to state governments.
Popular anti-Catholic speakers
There were several popular anti-Catholic speakers.
In 1853, Alessandro Gavazzi (1809–1889) arrived in the U.S. He was a former Catholic priest and a provocative speaker against Catholicism.
Also arriving in the U.S. was Archibishop Gaetano Bedini (1806–1864). He was sent by Rome to make a report on the Catholic church in the U.S. He became the first Papal Nuncio in the United States. His visit triggered the Cincinnati Riot of 1853.
In each town, Gavazzi managed to arrive a few days earlier than Bedini. He was able to stir up the crowds against Bedini, calling him a butcher and manufacturing all sorts of claims.
Election-Day Riots
On election day in 1855, there were riots. Eight to ten people were murdered in the riots!
The most violent battle was in Louisville. One third of the population in Louisville were immigrants. There was a union for Free Germans. They supported Women’ Suffrage and Abolition.
After the election, a German fire company was sent out to put out a fire. A No-Nothing fire company attacked them.
A rumor circulated that Catholics were storing arms in their churches.
The No-Nothings decided to hold a rally in the Irish ward.
The editor of the Louisville Journal was George D. Prentice (1802-1870). He condemned the fights that ensued and called for more police presence.
The No-Nothings got control of the election boxes for the next election. They prevented citizens from voting unless they deemed the citizen acceptable.
A No-Nothing named George Berg prevented some Irish immigrants from voting. They stabbed him.
Nativist mobs moved into the Irish Ward and the German Ward to get revenge. Gunshots were fired at three locations:
- Armbruster’s Brewery
- St. Martin of Tours Church
- The Irish homes on Quinn’s row
It was a one-day event that killed 20 people and wounded 100.
Aftermath of the Riots
Bishop Spalding asked the mayor to inspect the Cathedral for Arms. He told the mayor that he expected the city to protect the all the Catholic churches.
In the press, Prentice blamed Bishop Spalding and the Catholic priests for directing the riots.
The situation in Louisville was very tense. It lasted two years. In one year, almost 10% of the Catholic population left town.
After this “Bloody Monday,” the No-Nothings lost their national power:
- Restricting immigration no longer made sense
- Their secrecy seemed dangerous to democracy
- They backed Leonard Fillmore for president, but James Buchanan became president
Shortly after that, the Republican Party was formed. It attracted many disfranchised No-Nothings.
4. Our Observations
Observation 1. The impact of decades of anti-Catholic hatred
Decades of anti-Catholic hatred impacted the entire population of the U.S.:
- The U.S. Catholic churches were forced into a defensive posture.
- Catholics themselves adapted a ghetto mentality
- To most people, Catholic faith seemed incompatible with democracy itself
- The patriotism of Catholics waned
- Catholic bishops had to devote a lot of attention to the huge waves of immigrants
- Catholics felt unwanted
Observation 2. With Liberty and Justice for Some
U.S. culture enshrines the expression “With Liberty and Justice for All.” However, the reality is “Liberty and Justice for Some.”
In the decades of anti-Catholic hatred, it is quite clear that the Protestants wanted Catholics to have NO liberty. In some cases, they killed Catholics.
Christian hatred in the U.S. isn’t restricted to Catholics. It extends to many minority people-groups:
- Recall the centuries of white Christian hatred for Jewish people in the U.S. Even in our day, some Christians in the U.S. are members of groups that thoroughly hate Jewish people.
- Recall the centuries of white Christian hatred for African-Americans in the U.S. Consider that even in our day, some Christians in the U.S. are members of hate-groups that are highly motivated to go back to the atrocities of the past.
- Recall the centuries of white Christian hatred for Indigenous People in the U.S. That hatred produced what historians call the Native American genocide in the United States, with four million deaths by 1776, a 96% population drop, and a 98% loss of ancestral homelands. See for example Wikipedia.
- Recall that racism among white Christians is higher than among the nonreligious. See for example NBC News.
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
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