American Catholic History

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  Babe Ruth 23.07.2026 23min

  George Herman "Babe" Ruth was born in Baltimore in 1895. He was one of eight children, but only he and one sister survived childhood. His parents both had to work, and his father kept a saloon. He had little supervision and grew up skipping school, hanging out in his dad's saloon, and generally getting into trouble. This was all before he was seven. At seven his parents accepted they could not rein him in, so they put him in St. Mary's Industrial School. There he was taught baseball and the Catholic faith by the Xaverian Brothers, especially Brother Matthias Boutlier. In 1913 the St. Mary's team played a travel ball game at Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he was spotted by big leaguers. He signed to the minor league Baltimore Orioles in February 1914, but by July he had been picked up by the Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox he established himself as one of the most dominant pitchers of the day, but in his seven years with the Red Sox he and the team realized he had even greater potential as a hitter, so they moved him to first base and then to the outfield so his bat could be in the lineup every day. He was sold to the Yankees in 1919 (yes, due to Broadway debts, but no, not for No, No Nanette). In New York he became The Babe of legend. To this day he holds or is in the top 15 of nearly every offensive category, as well as a number of pitching categories. He is widely regarded as the greatest baseball player ever. But his off-field antics and lifestyle were nearly as notable as his on-field accomplishments. He got married in 1914. His wife, Helen, was also Catholic and she tried to help him live a good stable life. But he was incapable of controlling his appetites. He lived life hard and fast — women, booze, and partying were too tempting for him to resist. Helen died tragically in a fire in 1929, and Ruth married again in just three months — though he was no more faithful to his second wife, Claire.  But Ruth never forgot what the Xaverian Brothers had done for him, nor what his Catholic faith meant. He gave generously to charity, organized barnstorming tours for charity, helped raise money to rebuild St. Mary's Industrial after it suffered a devastating fire, played sandlot baseball with neighborhood kids, and spent many hours signing every baseball, hat, and scorecard offered him, no matter what.  He retired in 1935 which allowed him to spend even more time raising money for charity until throat cancer took his life in 1948. He died with the Sacraments, and with a Miraculous Medal — sent to him by a seventh grader who said the whole class was praying for him — pinned to his pajamas.  The Babe lay in state in the rotunda of Yankee Stadium for two days before Francis Cardinal Spellman offered his requiem Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral. More than 100,000 stood in the rain to line the route to Gate of Heaven Cemetery. 
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  LtCol John Fitzgerald, Loyal Friend of Washington 14.07.2026 16min

  George Washington relied on multiple Catholics during the Revolutionary War. One of the most important was his dear friend Lt. Col. John Fitzgerald , who served as an aide de camp in some of the most crucial moments of the war. During the winter in Valley Forge he helped to root out the Conway Cabal, which was an effort among some to discredit Washington and get him replaced as commander-in-chief. But Fitzgerald's relationship with Washington extended before and after the War for Independence. They had been friends for years before the War, when Washington was a planter at Mount Vernon and Fitzgerald was a merchant in Alexandria. It is likely that Fitzgerald met his wife through Washington. And after the war they worked together closely on many business and government matters. One of the most enduring is the Basilica of Mary in Old Town Alexandria, which was the first Catholic Church established in Virginia. The effort to build the first St. Mary's church began in Fitzgerald's home, at a St. Patrick's Day dinner, and the first donation was made by George Washington, who was in attendance. Fitzgerald died less than two weeks before his old friend and commander, George Washington, and he is buried on his wife's family's former estate, which is, fittingly, directly across the Potomac from Mount Vernon, where Washington's remains lie. 
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  Fr. Stephen Badin, Proto-Priest of the USA 15.06.2026 20min

  Father Stephen Badin was the first priest ordained in the United States. Born in France, he was a deacon completing his seminary studies when the French Revolution compelled him to flee France. He arrived in the United States in 1792 and was ordained by Baltimore's first bishop, John Carroll, in 1793. While he would have preferred to stay in Baltimore, Carroll sent him to be a missionary priest in the Kentucky wilderness where a concentration of Catholic families had moved recently and who needed a priest. He worked as a missionary all over Kentucky and the midwest for most of the rest of his life. He was a cantankerous, rigorous man who nonetheless had a tender concern for the souls of his flock. He built many churches, acquired much land, helped to establish religious communities, welcomed the Dominicans, and made the way ready for Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget when Bardstown, Kentucky was made a diocese in 1808. Eventually his gruff style and strong opinions about how things should be run put him at odds with Bishop Flaget and he moved to Cincinnati, where he lived out his days. Along the way, however, one of the plots of land he purchased in north-central Indiana made its way into the hands of Fr. Edward Sorin, who was looking for a place to establish a college. That college is the University of Notre Dame, and Father Badin is buried in a replica of the cabin he had built near one of the two lakes on that land. 
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  St. Elizabeth Ann Seton: Mother, Widow, Educator, Foundress 27.05.2026 21min

  Elizabeth Ann Seton was an Episcopalian and a wealthy socialite in New York. She married the scion of a wealthy shipping family, and they started a family. Life was wonderful. But tragedy struck: her father in law and her husband died, and the family shipping business failed. At 29 she was a widow with five children and no means of support. While seeking solace she became Catholic after being struck by the example of the Filicchi brothers, who had been business associates of her husband. Her conversion cost her her friends and brought about hardship. She moved to Baltimore to work with Father William Louis Dubourg and Bishop John Carroll to establish a school for girls. Eventually she took religious vows and became the first mother superior of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. The new order moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland where they built a home and a school near Mount St. Mary's. The parochial school system in the United States traces its roots to her pioneering work. She died at just 46 years old, and became the first American-born person to be canonized in 1975.
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  Mother Spalding and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth 20.05.2026 24min

  Mother Catherine Spalding spent 45 years leading and building the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth in Louisville and central Kentucky. Born in Maryland in 1793, her family moved to the Bardstown, Kentucky area when she was very young. She became an orphan at an early age, and lived with relatives until joining the fledgling order in 1813. She was elected the first Mother Superior that year, when she was 19 years old. She died in 1858, after her order had grown significantly, and was responsible for dozens of schools, orphanages, infirmaries, and homes for the homeless and destitute. In the 21st century she was named one of the 16 most influential persons in the history of Louisville and Jefferson County — the only woman on the list — and a statue of her was unveiled in 2015. It stands outside the Cathedral of the Assumption, and it is the only statue of a woman erected in a public place in Kentucky.
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  The Carmelites of Port Tobacco: First Women's Religious in the USA 14.05.2026 14min

  In 1790 four Carmelite nuns — three native Marylanders and a woman originally from England — came from Hoogstraeten in what is not Belgium to establish a Carmelite monastery in Port Tobacco, Maryland. The native Marylanders were members of the Matthews family, one of the earliest and most prominent Catholic families in Maryland. This was the first women’s religious community established within the United States of America. They were aided by members of the Neale family — another prominent early Catholic family in Maryland. One of those Neales, Charles Neale, had been the chaplain of the Carmel in Hoogstraeten, and his family was happy to make a plot of land available on which the Carmelites could build their new monastery. The Carmel flourished initially, but eventually the sisters were compelled to move to a Carmel in Baltimore. The original Carmel fell into disrepair until local residents kicked in to maintain the buildings and the grounds in the hope that the Carmelites might return. They finally did. 
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  Margaret Haughery: The Bread Woman of New Orleans 04.05.2026 28min

  Margaret Haughery came to America as a child in 1818 and promptly lost her entire family to disease and desertion. She married and had a child, but before her 24th birthday she lost her husband and daughter to disease. Through the help of her parish priest she turned this tragedy and pain into energy to work hard and help others. For the next 40-plus years she became one of the most prominent philanthropists in New Orleans, turning a dairy business, and then a bread empire, into orphanages, homes for indigent mothers and elderly, and schools. She became known as "The Bread Woman of New Orleans." Her death in 1882 was a public calamity. The archbishop, many priests, many politicians, and even the Pope honored her at her funeral. Two years later a public monument to her was erected, the first statue honoring a woman erected on public land in the United States.
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  America's First Cathedral, The Baltimore Basilica of the Assumption of Mary 23.04.2026 26min

  The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, more commonly known as “The Baltimore Basilica,” was the first cathedral built in the United States. Archbishop John Carroll conceived of the idea of building a grand cathedral in Baltimore in 1792, but his plans didn’t come to fruition until the early 1800s. And in spite of being a poor diocese, Carroll believed this cathedral was important to build because of “Amplitude.” This cathedral was designed by the great American architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe and is considered his masterpiece — even moreso than the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.  Listen to learn more.
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  Blessed Carlos Rodriguez: ¡Vivimos Para Esa Noche! 31.03.2026 16min

  Carlos Manuel Rodriguez came from a humble but devout family in Puerto Rico. He suffered from a terrible illness for most of his life. He barely graduated high school and couldn't complete college. But he had a deep love of Christ and of the Liturgy, particularly the Easter Vigil. He would say of that liturgy, "¡Vivimos para esa noche!", "We live for that night!" He engaged in great catechetical works and organized groups at the University of Puerto Rico and in many parishes to discuss the liturgy. He believed that the faithful needed to be helped to learn about the liturgy, so they might know their faith better. He also advocated for small changes to the liturgy, including including the vernacular in places, and making it easier for the faithful to engage in full active participation. His health deteriorated in early 1963, when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died in July 1963. Students who had learned from him carried on his legacy and eventually organized to promote his cause of canonization. A miracle was approved in 1999 which led to Pope John Paul II declaring him Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodriguez in 2001. He is the first Caribbean layman to be beatified, and only the second layman in the western hemisphere
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  Ben Franklin Taps John Carroll as First Bishop of Baltimore 16.03.2026 17min

  Benjamin Franklin and Father John Carroll, SJ became friends on an ill-fated mission to Canada in 1776 during the opening stages of the Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress sent Franklin, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Samuel Chase, and Father John Carroll on a mission to try to persuade the Canadians to join in the rebellion. Franklin was already ill when the trip began, and his condition worsened. He chose to leave Canada early when it was obvious that the mission would not succeed, so Father John Carroll decided to accompany him to help nurse him on the voyage. Franklin credited Carroll's ministrations with saving his life, and he never forgot Carroll's kindness and care. Because of this friendship, when Ben Franklin was the American ambassador to France, and the Church was looking to establish a hierarchy in the new American nation, he was in a position to put in a good word for Carroll. In 1784 Carroll was named "Superior of the Missions," and then in 1789 he was named the first bishop of Baltimore. He became archbishop of Baltimore in 1808, and died in 1815
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  History of St. Patrick's Day Festivities 03.03.2026 21min

  The first St. Patrick's Day Festivities were held, oddly enough, in St. Augustine, Florida in 1600. More than 130 years later the first permanent St. Patrick's Day celebrations as we know them began in Boston, and then 25 years later in New York City, both in the 18th century. The first St. Patrick's Day Parade was held by Irish soldiers in the British army stationed in New York City, who got up on March 17, 1762 and paraded through the streets of Manhattan to a tavern for breakfast. The tradition has stuck. The celebration remained and grew because it was a way for Irish, particularly Irish Catholics, to assert their presence in the New World, and to celebrate their own native culture in this land where they were a minority, not always trusted, but who were intent on staying and being part of this new nation. Since the mid-20th century the American phenomenon of St. Patrick's Day celebrations has both returned to Ireland, where it is a major four-day event, and it has spread throughout the world wherever Irish can be found in large numbers.
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  The Josephites: Dedicated to Serving Black Americans 25.02.2026 16min

  The Josephites, formally the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, were founded in 1892 when priests of the “Mill Hill” priests from England separated from the mother order. The Mill Hill priests had been founded in England in 1866 by Father Herbert Vaughn — later the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster — who desired to establish a missionary society. In 1871 Pope Pius IX gave the Mill Hill priests the mission of evangelizing the millions of blacks in America who were recently freed slaves in the wake of the American Civil War. They did amazing work, but, in spite of fact that the American bishops, led by Archbishop Martin Spalding of Baltimore, had specifically requested aid from Rome to help with the difficult challenge of these newly freed slaves, the Church in America, at all levels, still included many people with frankly un-Catholic understandings of their obligation of charity and justice toward their fellow man. Many black Catholics, and those who helped them, like the Josephites, faced terrible racism and segregation, for decades. However, the persistence of the Josephites, and the good will of a few very important figures, put the Church at the forefront of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. The Josephites are the first, and still one of the few, religious orders that work exclusively to aid black Catholics and preserve and promote a uniquely black voice in Catholicism in America.
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  Mother Mathilda Beasley: Fearless Black Educator and Foundress 19.02.2026 13min

  Episode 36 Mother Mathilda Beasley was born Mathilda Taylor in New Orleans, Louisiana in either 1832 or 1834. Her mother was enslaved, and her father was not known, though he may have been James Taylor, her mother's slave owner. She may have been baptized in the Cathedral of St. Louis in New Orleans, and she was educated as she grew. By 20 years old she was a free woman of color and had moved to Savannah, Georgia. There she worked as a seamstress and took the very risky step of educating the children of slaves.  This was forbidden by George law, and it carried harsh penalties. After the Civil War she married Abraham Beasley, but when he died she donate all of her money to the Catholic Church — perhaps because her husband, though he was black, had made money in the slave trade. She went back to working as a seamstress, but she wanted to educate children and to become a religious sister. She eventually founded one of the first Catholic religious orders for Black women in the US, and it was the first in Georgia. She died in 1903 while praying before a statue of the Blessed Mother. Her funeral was packed with Catholics and Protestants alike. 
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  Daniel Rudd, Journalist, Publisher, Civil Rights Pioneer 02.02.2026 17min

  Daniel Rudd was born a slave in Bardstown. His family was Catholic, as was the family who enslaved them. They all worshiped God together at St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral, the first cathedral of the Diocese of Bardstown which had become the Diocese of Louisville by the time he was born. St. Joseph was right across the street from the house where he grew up. He reflected later in life about how at St. Joseph he learned that in the sacraments of the Church, all were equal before God, regardless of race or class. He was freed after the Civil War and went to live with his brother in Ohio. He worked for civil rights for blacks beginning in the late 1860s. He founded the first newspaper published by a black man for black people. His paper eventually went national. He had the approbation of many bishops and cardinals in the USA and from abroad. Eventually he worked with Father Augustus Tolton to establish the Colored Catholic Congress, the precursor to the modern National Black Catholic Congress. Daniel Rudd died in 1933 in his childhood home in Bardstown, and he is buried in the graveyard at the Proto-Cathedral.
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  Annie Moore, the First Immigrant Through Ellis Island 08.01.2026 21min

  Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892, and the first immigrant to be welcomed was Annie Moore, who was either a 15 or 17 year-old Catholic girl from Ireland. She and her younger brothers traveled over from Cobh, County Cork to join their parents who were already in American. Moore went on to marry a German and have a bunch of kids in New York City, contrary to some popular myths. Twelve million immigrants passed through Ellis Island during its 62 years of service, most of them from historically Catholic countries. Ellis Island was the first central immigration point set up by the federal government after nearly 100 years of immigration being controlled by the states.
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  The Founding of Regina Laudis Abbey: A Story Made for Hollywood 23.12.2025 22min

  Mother Benedict Duss hid from the Nazis in her French Benedictine monastery during World War II. After General Patton's Third Army liberated her abbey she pledged to return to the United States to establish a Benedictine monastery to pray for and bless her homeland. Through the assistance of two future popes — both of whom would eventually be canonized — and a number of other providential happenstances, the Abbey of Regina Laudis was finally established in Bethlehem, Connecticut. The story of the founding eventually became the basis for the acclaimed movie Come To The Stable, which was nominated for eight Oscars, including for the screenplay written by Clare Booth Luce. Regina Laudis has been the home of Mother Dolores Hart since she left a budding Hollywood acting career in the 1960s, and it was the place where the actress Patricia Neal found solace and healing after her tumultuous life. 
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  Fr. Aloysius Schmitt, Hero of Pearl Harbor 11.12.2025 15min

  Father Aloysius Schmitt was a Navy Chaplain assigned to the USS Oklahoma at the outset of World War II. He had just finished the 7 a.m. Mass on the Second Sunday of Advent when the  first torpedoes from the surprise Japanese attack struck the ship. He aided men to escape, at the cost of his own life during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was the first chaplain to die in World War II.
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  Ven. Henriette Delille 25.11.2025 16min

  Venerable Henriette Delille overcame great opposition to establish the second religious community for black women in the United States. She was an octroon born in New Orleans in 1813. Her mother was a kept woman within the plaçage system. After Henriette learned the truth about marriage she became implacably opposed to the plaçage system, and she rejected the trajectory of her life. In her 20s she started the second religious community for black women, but it took years for the authorities to approve her religious order. Since its founding in the 1840s the community has opened the first Catholic nursing home for the elderly in the United States, as well as one of the oldest Black Catholic high schools in the USA. Henriette Delille died in 1862. Her cause for canonization opened in 1988, and she was declared venerable in 2010.
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  Pope Night in the American Colonies 05.11.2025 17min

  "Pope Night" was the American version of the British "Guy Fawkes Night," the annual commemoration of the Gunpowder Plot. The night of mischief and mayhem and anti-Catholic demonstrations came over with sailors and grew to include demonstrations up and down the New England coast. It was ended by George Washington, who had an affinity for Catholics — and who needed Catholic support in the war against Great Britain
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  The Haunting at Wizard Clip 28.10.2025 21min

  In the late 1700s, Adam Livingston, who was Lutheran, moved with his family to a farm near Smithfield, Virginia. After a stranger, who turned out to be Catholic, died in his home, manifestations of a demonic infestation of their home began to disturb his family. The sound of invisible horses galloping loudly, crockery flying off shelves, a clipping sound accompanied by articles of clothing being damaged, and other disturbing occurrences. The clipping is what gave the area the name "Wizard Clip." The manifestations continued until two Catholic priests, including Father Demetrius "Prince" Gallitzin, intervened to exorcise the demons. Livingston's family became Catholic as a result. Following their conversion, a consoling heavenly voice instructed the Livingston family in the faith, led them in prayer, and inspired Livingston to do good things for others in need. When the Livingstons moved back to Pennsylvania in 1802, Adam Livingston donated 34 acres to the Catholic Church, and that land is, since 1978, the Priestfield retreat center for priests in modern day Middleway, West Virginia.