James Whitfield (bishop)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | |
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Buried | Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
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James Whitfield (November 3, 1770 – October 19, 1834) was an
An businessman from a wealthy English family, Whitfield enter a Catholic seminary in France as an adult in the early 1800's and was ordained a priest in the Sulpician Order in 1809. After serving as a priest in England for several years, he traveled to Maryland in 1817 to serve in the Diocese of Baltimore. He was rector of the cathedral and vicar general of archdiocese until being appointed archbishop in 1828.
Whitfield is known for hosting the first two provincial councils of American bishops, where policies for running the new American Catholic Church were established. He is also known for spending his personal fortune to build churches and sponsor priests, and for his assistance to the African-American community.
Biography
Early life
James Whitfield was born in Liverpool, England, to James and Ann (née Genders) Whitfield. His father was a successful merchant who educated his son in business. After James Whitfield senior died in 1787, James Whitfield junior and his mother traveled to Italy in hopes of improving her health. While in Italy, Whitfield worked in commercial business. During the early 1800's, the Whitfields decided to return to England. However, while traveling in France, the mother and son were detained in Lyon because France, then at war with England, had banned travel there. [1]
In Lyon, Whitfield met Reverend
Priesthood
Whitfield was ordained to the
In 1817, Whitfield accepted an invitation from Maréchal, now archbishop of Baltimore, to come to the United States. After arriving in Maryland in September 1817, Maréchal assigned him to the pastoral staff of St. Peter's Church in Baltimore. Whitfield also served as a curate and then rector of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. Maréchal named him vicar general of the archdiocese in 1818. In 1825, Whitfield received a Doctor of Divinity degree by special indult from the Vatican.[1][2]
On January 8, 1828, Pope Leo XII appointed Whitfield as
Archbishop of Baltimore
Whitfield was consecrated as the fourth archbishop of Baltimore on May 25, 1828, by Bishop
On October 4, 1829, Whitfield opened the First Provincial Council of Baltimore, the first meeting of American Catholic prelates to establish policies for the American Catholic Church. On that first day of the council, Whitfield was awarded his pallium from the pope. [5]
When Whitfield became archbishop, the archdiocese comprised around 87,000 Catholics and 52 priests. Whitfield used his personal wealth to build churches in the archdiocese, He also appealed for donations from King Louis XVIII of France and his successor, King Charles X, both of whom sent money to the archdiocese.[2] During his period, Whitfield used his own funds to build a residence for the archbishop.[2] He convened a synod for the diocesan clergy in 1831.[1]Whitfield convened the Second Provincial Council of Baltimore of American bishops in 1833.[1]
Throughout his tenure, Whitfield worked for the welfare of the
How distressing it is to be unable to send missionaries to Virginia, where there are five hundred thousand Negroes! It is indubitable that had we missionaries and funds to support them, prodigies would be effected in this vast and untilled field. In Maryland blacks are converted every day, and many of them are good Catholics and excellent Christians. At Baltimore many are frequent communicants, and three hundred or four hundred receive the Blessed Sacrament the first Sunday of every month. It is the same throughout Maryland, where there are a great many Catholics among the Negroes.[2]
At one point, a community of
In 1833, Whitfield laid the cornerstone for St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church in Baltimore, which he paid for at his own expense.[2]
Death and legacy
With his health failing, Whitfield requested that the Vatican appoint a coadjutor archbishop to assist him. On March 4, 1834, Pope Gregory XVI appointed Reverend Samuel Eccleston as coadjutor archbishop of Baltimore. James Whitfield died on October 19, 1834, at age 64.[5]
See also
- Catholic Church hierarchy
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of Catholic bishops of the United States
- Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Most Rev. James Whitfield". Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Clarke, Richard Henry. "Most Rev. James Whitfield, D.D.". Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States.
- ^ Shea, John Gilmary (1890). History of the Catholic Church in the United States ...: From the division of the diocese of Baltimore, 1808, and death of Archbishop Carroll, 1815, to the fifth provincial council of Baltimore, 1843. 1890. J. G. Shea.
- ^ a b "Archbishop James Whitfield [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ a b "Baltimore". Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
- ^ Shea, John Gilmary (1886). The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the United States: Embracing Sketches of All the Archbishops and Bishops from the Establishment of the See of Baltimore to the Present Time. Also, an Account of the Plenary Councils of Baltimore, and a Brief History of the Church in the United States. Office of Catholic Publications.
- ^ MATYSEK JR., GEORGE P. (2023-10-31). "Long overdue: After 191 years, Oblate Sisters honored for heroic ministry during cholera epidemic". Catholic Review. Retrieved 2023-12-04.