They have served in battle, founded communities of priests and Sisters, and much more
By Deacon Bob Hunt
This year the United States of America celebrates the 250th anniversary of our founding, or the Semiquincentennial for those out there enamored of the sometimes-grandiose overloading of the English language.
Catholics have contributed much to the founding and history of this great nation, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill. This column will focus on the good. Those who fought with General Washington’s army, for instance, and made it into an army capable of outlasting the greatest military in the world at the time, included Commodore John Barry, who is known as the “Father of the American Navy,” and Thomas FitzSimons, who served in the Continental Army and became one of two Catholics to help frame and sign the U.S. Constitution.
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence, while Charles’ brother, Daniel, was the other Catholic active in the framing of the U.S. Constitution, which he signed. A third brother, John Carroll, became the first bishop of the United States. Mary Waters was an Irish American nurse from Philadelphia who worked tirelessly caring for the wounded of the war. After the war, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton established some of the first parochial schools in the country, founding the Daughters of Charity to teach the children. She is the first American-born canonized Catholic saint.
Then there are the Polish generals, Casimir Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who were responsible for whipping the ragtag American misfits into a genuine, disciplined army. George Washington’s favorite, the Marquis de Lafayette, was Catholic, though only devoutly so later in life. Still, he made a significant contribution to the Revolutionary War effort and was hailed as a hero by the people of the United States for the rest of his life.
Catholics who had an impact on 19th-century America include Archbishop John Hughes of New York, who ministered to immigrants, began the Catholic parochial school system, and was a fierce defender of the Catholic faith, so much so that he was given the nickname “Dagger John”! Bishop St. John Neumann was the first to establish a diocesan-wide parochial school system when he was bishop of Philadelphia. Orestes Brownson was a well-respected Catholic intellectual who hoped to mold a consistent thought between Catholic theology and American ideals.
Father Isaac Hecker, founder of the Paulist Fathers, some of whom serve the Diocese of Knoxville, sought to reconcile Catholic faith and American culture. Father Hecker was responsible for converting many American Protestants to Catholicism. Terence Powderly was an Irish-born American Catholic who founded the Knights of Labor, a union that campaigned for the eight-hour workday, child labor laws, and equal pay for women.
Catholics contributed to both sides during the Civil War. Gen. William Rosecrans was a convert who carried his rosary into battle for the Union, and Philip Sheridan was the great cavalry leader whose victories in Appalachia were instrumental in bringing the war to a close. Perhaps the most famous of Catholics who fought for the South is Gen. Pierre Beauregard, victor of the First Battle of Bull Run who, after the war, became a leader in the campaign to win suffrage for Blacks in New Orleans.
James Longstreet, who fought alongside Robert E. Lee in the Army of Northern Virginia, supported his friend President Grant in Reconstruction and became U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Longstreet converted to Catholicism in 1877 and remained a devout Catholic for the rest of his life. The greatest contribution of Catholics during the Civil War doubtless was that provided by the women religious orders, such as the Daughters of Charity and Sisters of Mercy, who nursed the thousands of wounded on both sides during our country’s greatest conflict.
Hawaii did not become part of the United States until 1898, but the Church in America considers the ministry of St. Damien de Veuster thoroughly her own. Father Damien served the lepers of Molokai with courage and passionate dedication for several years in the middle of the 19th century, losing his own life to the dreaded disease. He is one of four Catholic priests honored in Statuary Hall in our nation’s Capitol Building.
No accounting of the history of Catholicism in the United States is complete without mentioning Father Michael McGivney who, in response to the financial plight of immigrant widows and orphans, founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 as a mutual aid and insurance company.
As the 19th century turned into the 20th, the great Catholic figure spanning the transition was Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore. Cardinal Gibbons, a friend of Theodore Roosevelt, was instrumental in convincing the Holy See to allow Catholics to join labor unions. A strong supporter of the separation of church and state, he relieved many Protestants of the fear that Catholics wanted to take control of the government.
After founding the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891, St. Katherine Drexel dedicated her life and fortune to assisting Native and Black Americans. She founded Xavier University in New Orleans, still the only Black Catholic university in the country. Another towering figure of the Church in America spanning the 19th to 20th centuries was St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who arrived from Italy in 1889 and founded almost 70 institutions to serve the poor in New York, Chicago, New Orleans, and other cities. The first American citizen to be canonized, Mother Cabrini is the patron saint of immigrants.
In 1921, Father Edward Flanagan, an Irish immigrant, established Boys Town in Omaha, which has become a beacon of hope for troubled boys and girls. Dorothy Day, along with French Catholic immigrant Peter Maurin, founded the Catholic Worker in 1933, a pacifist lay ministry that participated in the labor movement and the Civil Rights movement, and provided housing and food to the destitute. Dozens of Catholic Worker houses now dot the country, inspired by Day’s unwavering ministry and philosophy of non-violence, peaceful civil resistance, and service to the poor.
Dr. Tom Dooley was consistently named one of the most admired men by Americans for his work providing medical care to the victims of communist aggression in Vietnam during the 1960s. Archbishop Fulton Sheen graced the TVs of Americans for decades with his program “Life Is Worth Living,” teaching millions about the Catholic faith and giving inspiration to all.
Famous American Catholic converts of the 20th century include figures such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Black Elk, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Dave Brubeck, Thomas Merton, Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade), Tim Conway, Dominique Dawes, Abby Johnson, Patricia Neal, Richard John Neuhaus, and Jeb Bush.
Demonstrating that the Church is an instrument of redemption, one unlikely convert was Mildred Gillars, better known during World War II as “Axis Sally.” Gillars ran Nazi propaganda radio programs, hoping to inspire despair among Allied soldiers. After the war, she was caught and imprisoned. During her confinement, she repented, converted to Catholicism, and, upon her release in 1961, became a nun and taught at a Catholic school in Ohio.
American Catholics contributing to civil life today are numerous. Six of the nine Supreme Court justices are Catholics, including Chief Justice John Roberts. Of course, Vice President J.D. Vance is a convert to Catholicism. Marco Rubio, secretary of state, is a devout Catholic, as is Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation. Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida are two prominent Catholic governors.
The list of American Catholic intellectuals is long and prestigious: Father John Courtney Murray, Cardinal Avery Dulles, Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon, George Weigel, Robert George, Peter Kreeft, Justice Antonin Scalia, Bishop Robert Barron, and Francis Beckwith. Catholics have contributed to the tradition of American literary genius, as well, with names such as Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, Joyce Kilmer, and Dean Koontz.
It is impossible to name all the Catholics who made significant contributions to the political, military, artistic, literary, and civic history of this great nation. Suffice it to say that Catholics have earned their place in America and graced this country with an intellectual, political, and spiritual heritage equal to any.
Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.
Deacon Bob Hunt is a husband, father, grandfather, and parishioner at All Saints Church in Knoxville.