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{{Short description|English-born prelate}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Bishop
| type = Bishop
| honorific-prefix = [[The Most Reverend]]
| honorific-prefix = [[The Most Reverend]]
| name = James Whitfield
| name = James Whitfield
| title = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]]
| title = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]]
| image = JamesWhitfield.jpg
| image = JamesWhitfield.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| caption =
| caption =
| church =
| church =
| archdiocese =
| archdiocese =
| diocese =
| diocese =
| see = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Baltimore]]
| see = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Baltimore]]
| appointed = January 8, 1828 (Coadjutor)
| appointed = January 8, 1828 (Coadjutor)
| enthroned = May 25, 1828
| enthroned = May 25, 1828
| ended = October 19, 1834
| ended = October 19, 1834
| predecessor = [[Ambrose Maréchal]] SS
| predecessor = [[Ambrose Maréchal]], PSS
| successor = [[Samuel Eccleston]] SS
| successor = [[Samuel Eccleston]], PSS
<!-- Orders -->
<!-- Orders -->| ordination = July 24, 1809
⚫
| ordained_by = Claude Simon
| ordination = July 24, 1809
⚫
| consecration = May 25, 1828
⚫
| ordained_by = Claude Simon
⚫
| consecrated_by = [[Benedict Joseph Flaget]], PSS
⚫
| consecration = May 25, 1828
⚫
| rank = <!-- Personal details -->
⚫
| consecrated_by = [[Benedict Joseph Flaget]] SS
⚫
| birth_date = November 3, 1770
| rank =
⚫
| birth_place = [[Liverpool]], [[Lancashire]], England
⚫
<!-- Personal details -->
⚫
| death_date = {{death date and age|1834|10|19|1770|11|3|mf=y}}
⚫
| birth_date = November 3, 1770
⚫
| death_place = [[Baltimore, Maryland]], U.S.
⚫
| birth_place = [[Liverpool]], [[Merseyside]], England, [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]
⚫
| buried = [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary]], Baltimore, Maryland, United States
⚫
| death_date = {{death date and age|1834|10|19|1770|11|3|mf=y}}
⚫
| death_place = [[Baltimore, Maryland]], USA
⚫
| buried = [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary]], Baltimore, Maryland, United States
| previous_post = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond|Apostolic Administrator of Richmond]] (1828–1834)<br />[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Coadjutor Archbishop of Baltimore]] (1828)<br />[[Titular bishop]] of [[Apollonia (Illyria)|Appolonia]] (1828)
| previous_post = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond|Apostolic Administrator of Richmond]] (1828–1834)<br />[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Coadjutor Archbishop of Baltimore]] (1828)<br />[[Titular bishop]] of [[Apollonia (Illyria)|Appolonia]] (1828)
| signature = Bishop James Whitfield signature.png
| signature = Bishop James Whitfield signature.png
| honorific_suffix = PSS
}}
}}


'''James Whitfield''' (November 3, 1770 &ndash; October 19, 1834) was an [[England|English]]-born [[prelate]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in the United States. He served as [[Archbishop]] of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archdiocese of Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] from 1828 until his death in 1834.
'''James Whitfield''', PSS (November 3, 1770 &ndash; October 19, 1834) was an [[England|English]]-born [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] prelate who served as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]] from 1828 until his death in 1834. He was a member of the [[Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice|Sulpicians]].

A businessman from a wealthy English family, Whitfield enter a Catholic seminary in France as an adult in the early 1800s 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 [[Plenary Councils of Baltimore|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 Americans|African-American]] community.


==Biography==
==Biography==
James Whitfield was born in [[Liverpool]], [[Merseyside]], England, to James and Ann (née Genders) Whitfield. Following his father's death in 1787, James and his ailing mother traveled to Italy in the hope that the warmer climate would be better for her health; he there embarked in [[Commerce|commercial]] pursuits. During their return to England, they were detained in [[Lyon]]s, France, by one of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]'s [[embargo]]es against the [[Politics of the United Kingdom|English government]].<ref name=baltimore>{{cite news|work=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore]]|title=Most Rev. James Whitfield|url=http://www.archbalt.org/our-history/ordinaries-detail.cfm?customel_datapageid_999=2213|access-date=2007-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628074842/http://www.archbalt.org/our-history/ordinaries-detail.cfm?customel_datapageid_999=2213|archive-date=2010-06-28|url-status=dead}}</ref> Whitfield there studied [[theology]] under Rev [[Ambrose Maréchal]], [[Society of Saint-Sulpice|S.S.]],<ref name=clarke>{{cite news|work=Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States|title=Most Rev. James Whitfield, D.D.|last=Clarke|first=Richard Henry}}</ref> and upon the authority of [[William Gibson (bishop)|William Gibson]], Vicar Apostolic of the Northern District of England, was ordained to the [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priesthood]] by the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Grenoble|Bishop of Grenoble]], Claude Simon, on July 24, 1809. His mother died shortly afterwards and Whitfield then returned to England, where he became [[pastor]] of [[St Benet's Chapel, Netherton|St Benet's Chapel]] in Netherton in 1811.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=sFA_AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=James+Whitfield+(bishop)&source=bl&ots=GrliAZ8Ydu&sig=Hde7b3Ej5mfj4D8TLscPEvU6qms&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjIteDXhe7fAhUmh-AKHacnBDkQ6AEwBHoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=James%20Whitfield%20(bishop)&f=false Shea, John Gilmary. ''History of the Catholic Church in the United States'', 1890, p. 100]</ref>


=== Early life ===
⚫
In 1817 Whitfield accepted an invitation from [[Ambrose Maréchal]], then [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]], to come to the United States. Arriving in Maryland in September 1817, he served as a [[curate]] (and later [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]]) of [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary|Assumption Cathedral]].<ref name=clarke/> He was named [[Vicar General]] of the Archdiocese in 1818.<ref name=baltimore/>
James Whitfield was born in [[Liverpool|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 1800s, 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Most Rev. James Whitfield |url=https://www.archbalt.org/most-rev-james-whitfield/ |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Archdiocese of Baltimore |language=en-US}}</ref>


In Lyon, Whitfield met Reverend [[Ambrose Maréchal]], a French priest with the [[Sulpician Order]] who was teaching at their seminary in the city.<ref name="clarke">{{cite news|work=Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States|title=Most Rev. James Whitfield, D.D.|last=Clarke|first=Richard Henry}}</ref> Inspired by Maréchal to enter the priesthood, Whitfield started studying theology at the seminary, where he was considered an outstand student.<ref name="clarke" />
On January 8, 1828, Whitfield was appointed [[Coadjutor bishop|Coadjutor Archbishop]] of Baltimore and [[Titular bishop|Titular Archbishop]] of [[Apollonia (Illyria)|Apollonia]] by [[Pope Leo XII]]. Before he could be [[consecration|consecrated]], however, Maréchal died on the following January 29 and Whitfield succeeded him as the fourth [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]]. He was consecrated on Pentecost, May 25, 1828, by Bishop [[Benedict Joseph Flaget]], S.S., with Bishops [[Henry Conwell]] and [[John Dubois]], S.S., serving as [[Consecrator|co-consecrators]], at the [[Basilica_of_the_National_Shrine_of_the_Assumption_of_the_Blessed_Virgin_Mary_(Baltimore)|Baltimore Cathedral]]. In addition to his duties as [[Ordinary (Catholic Church)|Ordinary]] of the Baltimore Archdiocese, he served as [[Apostolic Administrator]] of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond|Richmond]], [[Virginia]], from 1828 to 1834.<ref name=hierarchy>{{cite news|work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org|title=Archbishop James Whitfield|url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bwhitf.html}}{{Self-published source|date=September 2015}}</ref>


=== Priesthood ===
Whitfield was invested with the [[pallium]], a [[vestment]] peculiar to [[metropolitan bishop]]s, on October 4, 1829, the same day as the opening of the [[Provincial Councils of Baltimore|First Provincial Council of Baltimore]].<ref name=catholic>{{cite news|work=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]|title=Baltimore|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02228a.htm}}</ref> At this time, the Archdiocese comprised around 87,000 Catholics and 52 priests. He later convened a [[synod]] for the diocesan clergy in 1831, and the [[Provincial Councils of Baltimore|Second Provincial Council of Baltimore]] in 1833.<ref name=baltimore/>
Whitfield was ordained to the [[Priesthood (Catholic Church)|priesthood]] in Lyon by Bishop Claude Simon on July 24, 1809. His mother died soon afterwards. By 1811, Whitfield was able to return to England, where the Sulpicians assigned him as [[pastor]] of [[St Benet's Chapel, Netherton|St Benet's Chapel]] in Netherton.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shea |first=John Gilmary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFA_AAAAMAAJ&dq=James+Whitfield+(bishop)&pg=PA100 |title=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 |date=1890 |publisher=J. G. Shea |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />


⚫
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 [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary|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.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="clarke" />
⚫
Throughout his tenure, Whitfield worked for the welfare of the [[African American]] community.<ref name=baltimore/> He supported and authorized the foundation of the [[Oblate Sisters of Providence]]. He once said:

On January 8, 1828, Pope Leo XII appointed Whitfield as [[Coadjutor bishop|coadjutor archbishop]] of Baltimore and [[Titular bishop|titular archbishop]] of [[Apollonia (Illyria)|Apollonia]] to assist a gravely ill Maréchal. However, on January 29, before Whitfield could be [[consecration|consecrated]] as adjutor, Maréchal died.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="clarke" />

=== Archbishop of Baltimore ===
Whitfield was consecrated as the fourth archbishop of Baltimore on May 25, 1828, by Bishop [[Benedict Joseph Flaget|Benedict Flaget]], with Bishops [[Henry Conwell]] and [[John Dubois]] serving as [[Consecrator|co-consecrators]], at Assumption Cathedral. In addition to his duties as archbishop, the Vatican appointed Whitfield as [[Apostolic Administrator|apostolic administrator]] of the [[Diocese of Richmond]], holding that post from 1828 to 1834.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Archbishop James Whitfield [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bwhitf.html |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> Also in 1828, Whitfield laid the cornerstone of a building to house the St. Mary's Catholic Female Orphan Asylum in Baltimore.<ref name="clarke" />

On October 4, 1829, Whitfield opened the [[Provincial Councils of Baltimore|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.<ref name="catholic">{{cite news |title=Baltimore |work=[[Catholic Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02228a.htm |access-date=December 4, 2023}}</ref>

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 of France|Charles X]], both of whom sent money to the archdiocese.<ref name="clarke" /> During his period, Whitfield used his own funds to build a residence for the archbishop.<ref name="clarke" /> He convened a [[synod]] for the diocesan clergy in 1831.<ref name=":0" /> Whitfield convened the [[Provincial Councils of Baltimore|Second Provincial Council of Baltimore]] of American bishops in 1833.<ref name=":0" />

⚫
Throughout his tenure, Whitfield worked for the welfare of the [[African American]] community.<ref name=":0" /> He supported and authorized the foundation in the archdiocese of the [[Oblate Sisters of Providence]], a religious community of African-American women. He once said:


<blockquote>How distressing it is to be unable to send [[Missionary|missionaries]] to [[Virginia]], where there are five hundred thousand [[Negro]]es! 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 [[Conversion to Christianity#Conversion through baptism and confirmation/chrismation|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 [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Blessed Sacrament]] the first Sunday of every month. It is the same throughout Maryland, where there are a great many Catholics among the Negroes.<ref name=clarke/></blockquote>
<blockquote>How distressing it is to be unable to send [[Missionary|missionaries]] to [[Virginia]], where there are five hundred thousand [[Negro]]es! 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 [[Conversion to Christianity#Conversion through baptism and confirmation/chrismation|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 [[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Blessed Sacrament]] the first Sunday of every month. It is the same throughout Maryland, where there are a great many Catholics among the Negroes.<ref name=clarke/></blockquote>


At one point, a community of [[Carmelites|Carmelite]] sisters in [[Port Tobacco, Maryland]], were experiencing great financial difficulties. Whitfield facilitated their move to Baltimore, where they were able to start a girls school that provided them income. In 1832, Baltimore experienced a cholera outbreak. Two priests and three sisters, including an Oblate sister, died while attending to the sick.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shea |first=John Gilmary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRMWnZPvE2MC&dq=Francis+Patrick+McFarland&pg=PA255 |title=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 |date=1886 |publisher=Office of Catholic Publications |language=en}}</ref> When Whitfield was struck by cholera, Sister Anthony Duchemin from the Oblate Sisters, the order he had founded, nursed him back to health.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MATYSEK JR. |first=GEORGE P. |date=2023-10-31 |title=Long overdue: After 191 years, Oblate Sisters honored for heroic ministry during cholera epidemic |url=https://catholicreview.org/long-overdue-after-191-years-oblate-sisters-honored-for-heroic-ministry-during-cholera-epidemic/ |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Catholic Review |language=en-US}}</ref>
Whitfield, along with his priests and the sisters, was untiring in his devotion to those afflicted during the 1832 cholera outbreak. Two priests and three sisters, including an Oblate Sister of Providence, died while attending to the sick.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LRMWnZPvE2MC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=Francis+Patrick+McFarland&source=bl&ots=FxRqnlAVHo&sig=ACfU3U0znlqz39dHnW1xNJO-LP2OeEwBqA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjqtqneyo_kAhVJxVkKHaHzDFY4ChDoATAMegQIChAB#v=onepage&q&f=false Shea, John Gilmary. "Most Reverend James Whitfield", ''The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church'', Office of Catholic Publications, 1886, p. 71]{{PD-notice}}</ref> He built at his own expense [[St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church]] in Baltimore


His health failing, Whitfield received [[Samuel Eccleston]] as his coadjutor in 1834, and died some months afterward, aged 64.<ref name=catholic/>
In 1833, Whitfield laid the [[cornerstone]] for [[St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church]] in Baltimore, which he paid for at his own expense.<ref name="clarke" />

=== 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.<ref name="catholic" />


==See also==
==See also==
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{{s-bef|before=[[Ambrose Maréchal]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ambrose Maréchal]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]]|years=January 29, 1828–October 19, 1834}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]]|years=January 29, 1828 – October 19, 1834}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Samuel Eccleston]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Samuel Eccleston]]}}
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{{RC Archdiocese of Baltimore|state=collapsed}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, James}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, James}}
[[Category:1770 births]]
[[Category:1770 births]]
[[Category:1834 deaths]]
[[Category:1834 deaths]]
[[Category:Churchpeople from Liverpool]]
[[Category:Clergy from Liverpool]]
[[Category:English emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:English emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Archbishops of Baltimore]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Baltimore]]
[[Category:English Roman Catholic archbishops]]
[[Category:19th-century English Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States]]
[[Category:Burials at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary]]
[[Category:Burials at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary]]

Latest revision as of 19:48, 13 December 2024

The Most Reverend

James Whitfield

PSS
Archbishop of Baltimore
SeeBaltimore
AppointedJanuary 8, 1828 (Coadjutor)
InstalledMay 25, 1828
Term endedOctober 19, 1834
PredecessorAmbrose Maréchal, PSS
SuccessorSamuel Eccleston, PSS
Previous post(s)Apostolic Administrator of Richmond (1828–1834)
Coadjutor Archbishop of Baltimore (1828)
Titular bishop of Appolonia (1828)
Orders
OrdinationJuly 24, 1809
by Claude Simon
ConsecrationMay 25, 1828
by Benedict Joseph Flaget, PSS
Personal details
BornNovember 3, 1770
Liverpool, Lancashire, England
DiedOctober 19, 1834(1834-10-19) (aged 63)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
BuriedBasilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
SignatureJames Whitfield's signature

James Whitfield, PSS (November 3, 1770 – October 19, 1834) was an English-born Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1828 until his death in 1834. He was a member of the Sulpicians.

A businessman from a wealthy English family, Whitfield enter a Catholic seminary in France as an adult in the early 1800s 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

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

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 1800s, 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 Ambrose Maréchal, a French priest with the Sulpician Order who was teaching at their seminary in the city.[2] Inspired by Maréchal to enter the priesthood, Whitfield started studying theology at the seminary, where he was considered an outstand student.[2]

Priesthood

[edit]

Whitfield was ordained to the priesthood in Lyon by Bishop Claude Simon on July 24, 1809. His mother died soon afterwards. By 1811, Whitfield was able to return to England, where the Sulpicians assigned him as pastor of St Benet's Chapel in Netherton.[3][1]

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 coadjutor archbishop of Baltimore and titular archbishop of Apollonia to assist a gravely ill Maréchal. However, on January 29, before Whitfield could be consecrated as adjutor, Maréchal died.[4][2]

Archbishop of Baltimore

[edit]

Whitfield was consecrated as the fourth archbishop of Baltimore on May 25, 1828, by Bishop Benedict Flaget, with Bishops Henry Conwell and John Dubois serving as co-consecrators, at Assumption Cathedral. In addition to his duties as archbishop, the Vatican appointed Whitfield as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Richmond, holding that post from 1828 to 1834.[4] Also in 1828, Whitfield laid the cornerstone of a building to house the St. Mary's Catholic Female Orphan Asylum in Baltimore.[2]

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 African American community.[1] He supported and authorized the foundation in the archdiocese of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, a religious community of African-American women. He once said:

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 Carmelite sisters in Port Tobacco, Maryland, were experiencing great financial difficulties. Whitfield facilitated their move to Baltimore, where they were able to start a girls school that provided them income. In 1832, Baltimore experienced a cholera outbreak. Two priests and three sisters, including an Oblate sister, died while attending to the sick.[6] When Whitfield was struck by cholera, Sister Anthony Duchemin from the Oblate Sisters, the order he had founded, nursed him back to health.[7]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Most Rev. James Whitfield". Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b "Archbishop James Whitfield [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  5. ^ a b "Baltimore". Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
[edit]
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Archbishop of Baltimore
January 29, 1828 – October 19, 1834 		Succeeded by
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