A Few Firsts for US Catholics

Catholics from the founding of our country on have faced discrimination. Think of the FBI targeting a Catholic Church that used a Latin service. Think Catholic presidents. I thought there was only one, JFK, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, but it turns out there was  a second…Joe Biden.

When I was growing up, it was common knowledge… don’t date Catholics. Why? If you married a Catholic, you’d be forced to raise your children that way too. BTW, I dated two.

But there’s a new first for US Catholics…a Catholic Pope from the US. The discrimination came from the Church itself. For decades, they feared too much American control of society, religion, and even politics, if an American was Pope. Read on, here’s a little background on the newest Pope, Leo XIV. 
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My sources:
Biography of Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost - Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV - Wikipedia
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​Part 1 – The First US Pope – A Brief Biography: See the man in the middle? That’s our new pope, the Bishop of Rome, Robert Francis Provost. He was born in September 1955, near Chicago Illinois. He’s not a coastal elite. He’s a man from the heartland who’s only four years older than me. His parents had French, Italian, and Spanish roots. Mine had German, French, and English ones. He had 2 older brothers. I had a younger brother and sister. All of those things make him relatable to people like me. 

See the house? It’s tiny, but that’s where young Robert grew up. I wonder if his neighbors ever dreamed that they lived beside a future pope. I imagine not.

‘Bob’ grew up in Dolton, Illinois. It’s on Chicago’s South Side. As a kid he was part of the parish of St. Mary of the Assumption. That’s where he went to school, sang in the choir, and served as an altar boy. Would you believe he dreamed of becoming a priest? He even played Mass at home with his older brothers. Wow!

His first step, moving to Michigan for high school. It's where he studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers. For college he moved to Pennsylvania to study at Villanova, an Augustinian University. His first degree was in math, but he also studied philosophy.

Later in 1977, he moved to Missouri to become a novice/novitiate in the Order of Saint Augustine. Four years later he made his solemn vows. Think of it like graduation, but Bob wasn’t a priest. Not yet. The next school meant another move, back to Chicago for his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union. By 1982, his superiors sent him to Rome to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. By mid-June, he was officially ordained as a priest. Congratulations, Father Prevost!
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This is South America. That’s where Father Prevost moved next. He was a missionary in Chulucanas, Peru from 1985-1986.  Peru is on the western central coast of South America. It’s in olive green.  Prevost returned to Illinois in 1987 to finish his doctorate.

In 1988 Prevost flew back to Peru. This time he went to Trujillo to serve the Augustinians as a missionary. He also took on ten different roles over eleven years. In 1999 he returned to Chicago where he served in five different jobs. He stayed put until 2013.

In 2014 Pope Francis sent Prevost to Peru again. This time to Chiclayo. Within a month Prevost was ordained as a Titular Bishop of Sufar.  He picked an episcopal motto, ‘in the one Christ we are one.’ Less than a year later Pope Francis appointed him Bishop of   Chiclayo. As bishop, Provost served in six other positions from 2015-2023 too, until the Pope found him a new job. Did you know Prevost also has dual citizenship? From Peru and the US.
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Becoming a Bishop!In 2023 the Pope called Provost to Rome. His job, to recommend new bishops to Pope Francis, who’d have to approve them of course. His last job was Cardinal. From 2023-2025, he served in fifteen other roles as well.

Pope Francis died on April 21, and Provost was elected on May 8. From what I’ve seen and heard, I believe our new pope will talk the talk and walk the walk as a servant of Christ. Robert will grow and change as he adjusts to his new job, as Pope Leo XIV, just like everyone else who gets a promotion.



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 Part 2 – The Only Catholic Signer – A Brief Biography: See the young man? He is only 26, but great things lie ahead. His name is Charles Carroll of Carrollton. He’s the main character of my middle grade novel, and he has two claims to fame. First, he was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence. And the second, he was the last founder standing. Here’s his story…
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​Charley was born in September1737, in Annapolis, Maryland. He was the only son and heir to a wealthy family who suffered discrimination because they were Catholics. At age ten he and his cousin John were sent to study secretly at Bohemia Manor in Cecil County. At age twelve the cousins were sent to study publicly at St. Omers, a Jesuit school in France. He wouldn’t return home for sixteen years, until he was 26. In between Charley studied the classics in Paris; then law at the Inner Temple in London. This portrait was painted before he came home in 1765.
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When Charley returned, he found himself the owner of 10,000 acres. The property’s name, Carrollton, became part of his name too. Why? To make himself different from all the other Charles Carrolls in the family. Within three years Charley married. He had seven children, but he only watched three grow up.

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Politically Motivated! As a Catholic, Charley couldn’t run for office or serve as a lawyer, but he knew how to write. He entered politics in 1773 when he wrote some letters as ‘First Citizen’ for the Maryland Gazette. He became known as a citizen patriot. A year later his fellow citizens elected him to the 2nd Maryland Convention, and that ended the ban on Catholics in politics.

Charley’s next assignment, traveling to Canada with Samuel Chase, Ben Franklin, and his cousin John. Their job, to get Canadians to join us in fighting the British. They said no thanks. Charley and Chase returned home. They convinced hesitant Maryland delegates to vote for independence, and Charley became a delegate to the 2nd Continental Congress. He was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration.
Here’s his signature…
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Charley didn’t stop there. He helped write Maryland’s first state Constitution and Declaration of Rights. It was adopted in 1776. He went on to serve in the state Senate from 1776-1800. (Wikipedia said he started in 1781.)

Charley continued to serve in the Continental Congress until 1778. He left when his term ended so he could spend more time with family and join in state government. In 1789 Charley became one of Maryland’s first two US Senators. He left at the end of 1792 because he had to choose where to serve. Maryland made a law that its representatives could only serve one government—state or national. Charley chose Maryland, of course. 
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I’m not sure when this painting was done. The internet tour guide for Charley’s Annapolis house said it was painted for his granddaughters. They married English aristocrats and wanted a painting to remember him.
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Charley left the Maryland Senate in 1800. That’s the year Thomas Jefferson was elected President, and his party too. They swept to victory in Maryland and across the country. 

But don’t worry! Charley didn’t wither away. He invested in banks, canals, turnpikes, bridges and water companies. AND, he helped build the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Think B&O! Charley never wasted money—he used it to grow more.

Charley spent his final years on Lombard Street in Baltimore. It’s now the Carroll Mansion and museum. He also built St. Mary’s Catholic Church on his land in Annapolis. It became the city’s first official Catholic Church.

On July 4, 1826, Charley became the last living signer when both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on the same day. Charley lived another six years, dying in November 1832. The country gave him a National Day of Mourning. He’s buried at his country home, Doughoregan Manor.

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My Sources:
Charles Carroll of Carrollton – The Signer | Charles Carroll House
Charles Carroll of Carrollton - Wikipedia
 

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​Part 3 – The First Catholic Bishop – A Brief Biography: See the older man? At 71, he’s watched America grow from a colony into a country. John Carroll is a minor character in my middle grade novel… he’s Charley Carroll’s cousin. His claim to fame, he became the first Catholic Bishop in the US. Here’s his story…
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John was born in January 1735, in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He was the third son of a wealthy Catholic family. His oldest brother died as a baby. Daniel was born second and became the family heir. He played a part in writing the Constitution. John was the youngest, but two years older than Charley Carroll. The cousins studied at Bohemia Manor; a grammar school run by Jesuit priests.
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A year later John and Charley traveled to St. Omer’s College in France. John stayed for six years. When he turned 18, he joined the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus. Within two years John began studying philosophy and theology at Liege, another Jesuit school. He joined the priesthood at 34. His first job, teaching his two favorite subjects at Liege and St. Omer’s. John’s path reminds me of Pope Leo’s.

Father John’s life changed when Pope Clement XIV disbanded the Jesuits in 1773. With his job gone, John left Europe for Maryland. There was no church, but Catholics could still worship at home. So John traveled through Maryland and Virginia serving as a Jesuit missionary.
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In the spring of 1776 Charley invited Father John on a trip to Canada. Why? The Continental Congress hoped the Jesuit priest could convince French Canadian Catholics to join the fight for independence. He didn’t change their minds. Charley stayed for the Battle of Quebec, and John traveled home with Ben Franklin. John said it was a fortunate experience. It was… Years later Ben recommended John as the first American Bishop.


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After the war Father Carroll met with five other Jesuits. They wanted to keep working as missionaries and hold onto their homes too. They asked the pope for someone, like a bishop, but without the title and all the power. The pope agreed. In 1784 he picked Father John as the Superior of the Missions in the United States.

John moved to Baltimore. He championed schools, Catholic or not. He also championed freedom of religion and played a role in shaping the first amendment, the one about religious freedom. He was lucky. His brother Daniel could pass John’s ideas onto the delegates writing the Constitution.

Problems within the church led Maryland priests to ask for a bishop. They even had a say on who it would be. Would you believe John got 24 out of 25 votes? In November 1789, Pope Pius VI made John the first American Bishop.
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​See John become a bishop at Lulworth Castle, England in August 1790. John arrived home in December and made St. Peter’s in Baltimore his home church. A year later he held a synod, a meeting of 22 priests from five countries. His biggest concern—training new priests. That was the reason St. Mary’s College and Seminary was established in 1791.

Not everything came easily. In 1798, Bishop John won an important lawsuit, the Fromm Case. Evidently a few Catholics were questioning his authority. The decision said, “The Bishop of Baltimore has the sole episcopal authority of the Catholic Church in the US.” It’s good to get moral support when others are questioning your judgement.

When John suggested a Catholic priest as a minister to the Indians, Washington not only agreed. He got Congress to hire and pay a small yearly salary for one. After his death, February 22 was set aside as a day to celebrate Washington’s life. Bishop John sent word to his clergymen that Catholics could participate too.

​See Bishop John build a cathedral. John laid the cornerstone in July 1806 after he paid $20,000 for the land. John wanted his church just right—B.H. Latrobe drew seven designs before John finally approved one. 
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Remember the painting of John? It’s from 1808. That’s when he became the Archbishop of Baltimore. John’s bishops lived in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown. Archbishop John was a beloved figure. Would you believe he was asked to lay the cornerstone for Washington’s Monument in Baltimore in the fall of 1815? He said no; he knew his end was near.

On November 22, he received the last sacraments. His funeral Mass was held at St. Peter’s, his home church. Archbishop John was laid to rest at St. Mary’s Seminary. Nine years later in 1824 his cathedral crypt was ready to receive him. My guess, Charley Carroll came to say goodbye to his cousin. They’d come a long way from grammar school at Bohemia Manor.
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My Sources:
John Carroll | Catholic Answers Encyclopedia
Baltimore-cornerstone - John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore) - Wikipedia