Catholics come to America

Note: The source of much of the information in the next posts comes from a book entitled “The Faithful: A History of Catholics in America,” by James M. O’Toole.

This part of the American Catholic story belongs not so much to the clergy as to the laity. The people who immigrated to what became the Thirteen Colonies, and eventually the United States, came for a better life and for freedom. All types of freedom, including religious freedom.

The Catholic Faith (institutionally speaking) at this point was a faith completely entangled with empire. In England, this had taken the form of years of bloody conflict between Catholics and Protestants.

In 1534, Henry VIII, enraged because the Church would not allow him to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, disavowed the Catholic Church, confiscated Church property across England, and declared himself head of a new church, the Church of England. The Catholic Church, in retaliation, excommunicated him. Thus began 30 years of brutal, bloody conflict between the Church and the English crown that didn’t end, for the most part, until Elizabeth I ascended to the throne.

Catholics and Protestants in England during this time were in a struggle to the death, and there was a lot of collateral damage. This disease affected all the Catholic kingdoms of Europe - Spain, Portugal, France. Only the English and Dutch were less under the sway of the Church at this point - and they were considered "heathen nations" themselves.

So, when British colonists, the main newcomers to what would become the Thirteen Colonies, emigrated to America, they did so in part to leave behind many years of bloody religious wars between Catholics and Protestants. They had little interest in bringing that conflict to their new world and many emigrated to America to start fresh.

The first Catholics that came to the Colonies were few in number and widely dispersed. Contrary to the Spanish and French missionaries that came before them, they did not view themselves as explorers or colonizers or evangelizers, but as refugees in search of a better life. They had no interest in bringing organized religion with them with all its troubles. They were more interested in living in peace with their new neighbors than converting them.

So, the first Catholics in what became the US kept their heads down and their faith pretty much to themselves. This is what O'Toole called the “Priest-less Church.” Small groups of Catholics worshipped the best they could in their own homes with the prayers and the devotions they brought with them.

This was a group of Catholics that was responsible for maintaining their faith on their own, the best way they could. Circuit-riding priests occasionally came through to briefly serve their needs. These roaming priests heard confessions, said Masses, legitimized marriages, baptized children, etc. Then they rode on to the next community where Catholics lived. And so it went.

What I take away from this chapter in American Catholic History:

Early American Catholics learned to make do without priests (and bishops and the pope!). Instead, they maintained their faith on their own using prayer books and devotional guides and gathering with family and neighbors. This kind of independent, egalitarian way of practicing their faith - retaining essentials but getting along without hierarchy and formal structure - suited the American Catholic experience at this point. In addition, the old European Church's identification with empire and colonization were themes that were explicitly rejected in the new American democracy that was being formed.

Next time I’m going to post about Catholics involvement in the founding of our nation.