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July 4th Remembering America’s Catholic Heritage

Retold and presented by Deacon Dan Vaughn

A few years ago, I was attending Mass around the 4th of July in Kansas City, I can’t recall the name of the priest who celebrated Mass, but I do recall the overriding theme in his homily; freedom of religion expression and the debt of gratitude our nation owes to our First Catholic Family – the Carrolls.

Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832) was the most illustrious and best-known of the Carrolls. He was the only signer whose property Carrollton was mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. Carrollton was the 10,000-acre estate in Frederick County, Maryland, that Charles Carroll's father had given him on his return to America from his education in Europe.

At the time he signed the Declaration, it was against the law for a Catholic to hold public office or to vote. Although Maryland was founded by and for Catholics in 1634, in 1649 and, later, in 1689, England had placed severe restrictions on Catholics in both England and Maryland. Catholics could no longer hold office, exercise the franchise, educate their children in their faith, or worship in public.

With the Declaration of Independence, all this bias and restriction ended. Charles Carroll first became known in colonial politics through his defense of freedom of conscience and his belief that the power to govern derived from the consent of the governed. Carroll supported the war with his own private funds; he was widely regarded as the wealthiest of all the colonists, with the most to lose were the fight for independence to fail.

Daniel Carroll (1730-1796), Charles’ cousin, was a member of the Continental Congress (1781-1783), and a signer of the Articles of Confederation. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and one of only two Catholic signers of the United States Constitution. At the Convention, Daniel Carroll played an essential role in formulating the limitation of the powers of the federal government. He later became a member of the first United States Congress (1789-1791).

John Carroll (1735-1815), Daniel Carroll's younger brother, was educated in Europe, joined the Jesuit order, and was ordained a priest. He went on to be elected by all the Catholic priests in America to become America's first Catholic bishop. He later became archbishop of Baltimore. In 1789, John Carroll founded the college in Georgetown that later became known as Georgetown University.

John Carroll was an intimate of Washington. He wrote a prayer at the time of Washington's inauguration asking God's blessing on the president, Congress, and government of the United States a prayer still very much in use today.

Despite their enormous contributions to the American founding, the three Carrolls somehow fell below the radar screen of recognition as full-fledged founding fathers. Perhaps that was because they were Catholics in a country and a culture that for many years was overwhelmingly Protestant.

May all Catholics living in the United States, offer up prayers of thanks giving for the freedoms we have today, especially the freedom to live out our Catholic faith without repression.

Footnote: Information sourced from Catholic Education Resource Center

Author Bio:
Deacon Dan Vaughn