BALTIMORE
235
BALTIMORE
means of a donation of Mr. Patrick McKenna (1884);
St. Stanislaus's (Polisli), founded in 1880 and taken
over in 1906 by the Franciscans; Corpus Christi, built
through the munificence of the sons and daughters of
Mr. Thomas C. Jenkins, in memory of their parents,
and dedicated 1 January, 1891; St. Leo's (Italian),
begun in 1880, by Rev. J. L. Andreis. During the
administration of Cardinal Gibbons 86 new churches
have been erected in the diocese. At present there
are 211 priests of the diocese and 273 of rehgious
orders. There are 128 dmrches with resident pastors
and 136 chapels. In Baltimore there are 44 (24 built
during the administration of Cardinal Gibbons) and
18 in Washington (10 built in the same period).
There are three universities, 11 seminaries, 13 colleges
and academies, 95 parochial schools with 21,711 pu-
pils, and 7 industrial schools. The Catholic popula-
tion is at present about 255,000. The increase (1906)
was 10,611, of whom 800 were converts.
Owing to the disinterested spirit of its archbishops, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Mother Church of the United States, has been subdivided until, in e.xtent of territory, it is one of the smallest. Yet it yields to none in its spirit of faith and in the generosity of its people. Whenever called upon by tfie voice of reli- gion its children have responded in a manner beyond their proportionate share. In support of the CathoUc University, it is surpassed by none in proportion to its population. In the gatherings of the prelates of the United States the Catholic homes of Baltimore have welcomed the visitors to their hospitality. Prob- ably no diocese has been so enriched by private do- nations for churches and institutions. The growth of the Catholic population is due first to natural increase, secondly to immigration, and thirdly to conversion. The large proportion of conversions must be attributed in a great measure to the personal popularity of its present archbishop. Cardinal Gib- bons, and to the influence of his convert-making book, "The Faith of Our Fathers".
She.\, History of the Catholic Church in Colonial Days (New York, 1886); Id., Life and Times of Archbishop Carroll (New York. 1888); Id., Hist, of the Cath. Church in the United States, 18i4-68 (2 vols., New York. 1892); Catholic Almanacs and Directories, 1834-1907; 0'GoRM.ix. The Roman Catholic Church in the United States (New York, 1S95); Davis, Day- Star of American Freedom; Scharf, Hist, of Maryland (Balti- more. 1879); McSherrt, History of Maryland (Baltimore, 1852): Scharf, History of Baltimore City and County (Philadel- phia. 1881); Theacy, OW Ca(Aoiic il/arj/jarui (Swedesboro. N. J., 1879): Knott, History of Maryland (Baltimore, s. d.); Stan- ton, History of the Church in IVestem Maryland (Baltimore, 1900): Riordan, ed.. Cathedral Records (Baltimore, 1906); Archives of Maryland Hist. Society (Baltimore); Diocesan Archives (ibid.); Hughes, Hist, of S. y. in N. .4m. (Cleveland, 1907). Willi AJi T. Rdssetx.
Baltimore, Lords. See C.vlvert.
Baltimore, Plenary Council.s of. — While the ecclesiastical province of Baltimore comprised the whole territory of the American Republic, the pro- vincial councils held in that city sufficed for the church government of the country. When, however, several ecclesiastical provinces had been formed, plenary councils became a necessity for the fostering of common discipline. As a consequence, the Fathers of the Seventh Provincial Council of Baltimore re- quested the Holy See to sanction the holding of a plenary synod. The petition was granted and the pope appointed Archbishop Kenrick of Baltimore as Apostolic Delegate to convene and preside over the council.
I. The First Plen.\ry Council of Baltimore was solemnly opened on 9 May, 1852. Its sessions were attended by six archbishops and thirty-five suf- fragan bishops. The Bishop of Monterey, California, was also present, although his diocese, lately sep- arated from Mexico, had not yet been incorporated with any American province. Another prelate in attendance was the Bishop of Toronto, Canada. The religious orders and congregations were repre-
sented by the mitred Abbot of St. Mary of La Trappe
and by the superiors of the Augustinians, Dominicans,
Benedictines, Franciscans, Jesuits, Redemptorists,
Vincentians, and Sulpicians. The last solemn session
was held on the 20th of May. The decrees were as
follows: (Xo. i) The Fathers profess their allegiance
to the pope as the divinely constituted head of the
Church, whose office it is to confirm his brethren
in the Faith. They also declare their belief in the
entire Catholic Faith as explained by the oecumenical
councils and the constitutions of the Roman pontiffs.
(Xo. ii) The enactments of the seven provincial coun-
cils of Baltimore are obligatory for all the dio-
ceses of the United States. (Xo. iii) The Roman
Ritual, adopted by the First Council of Baltimore,
is to be observed in all dioceses, and all are forbidden
to introduce customs or rites foreign to the Roman
usage. Sacred ceremonies are not to be employed
in the burial of Catholics whose bodies are deposited
in sectarian cemeteries; or even in public cemeteries,
if there be Catholic cemeteries at hand. (Xo. iv)
The Baltimore "Ceremonial " is to be used all through
the country. (Xo. v) Bishops are to observe the
canons concerning ecclesiastical residence. (Xo. vi)
Bishops are exhorted to choose consultors from
among their clergy and to ask their advice in the
government of the diocese. A monthly meeting of
these consultors to discuss diocesan affairs is praise-
worthy. (Xo. vii) A chancellor should be consti-
tuted in every diocese, for the easier and more
orderly transaction of business. (Xo. viii) Bishops
should appoint censors for books relating to religion.
(Xo. ix) European priests desiring to be received
into an American diocese must have written testi-
monials from their former bishops and the consent of
the ordinary here. (Xo. x) Our quasi-parishes
should hav-e well-defined limits, and the jurisdiction
and privileges of pastors should be indicated by the
bishops. The ordinary can change these limits and
it is his right to appoint the incumbents. (X'o. xi) Af-
ter next Easter, matrimonial banns must be pub-
lished, and bishops should dispense with this only
for grave reasons. (Xo. xii) Pastors themselves
should teach Christian doctrine to the young and
ignorant. (Xo. xiii) Bishops are exhorted to have a
Catholic school in every parish and the teachers
should be paid from the parochial funds. (Xo. xiv)
An ecclesiastical seminary should be erected in each
province. (Xo. xv) The bishops or their delegates
should demand every year an account of the admin-
istration of church funds from those who administer
them, whether laymen or clerics. (Xo. xvi) Laymen
are not to take any part in the administration of
church affairs without the free consent of the bishop.
If they usurp any .such authority and divert church
goods to their own use or in any way frustrate the
will of the donors; or if they, even under cover of the
civil law, endeavour to WTest from the bishop's hands
what has been confided to his care, then such laymen
by that very fact fall under the censures constituted
by the Council of Trent against usurpers of ecclesias-
tical goods. (Xo. xvii) When the title to a church is
in the bishop's name, pastors are warned not to ap-
point trustees or permit them to be elected without
the bishop's authority. (Xo. xviii) Benediction of
the Blessed Sacrament must be performed in all dio-
ceses in the manner prescribed by the Baltimore
"Ceremonial". (Xo. xix) Bishops should use their
influence with the civil authorities to prevent anyone
in the army or navy from being obliged to attend a re-
ligious service repugnant to his conscience. (Xo. xx)
A Society for the Propagation of the Faith, similar to
that in France, .should be fostered and extended.
(Xo. x.\i) The faithful are exhorted to enter into a
society of prayer for the conversion of non-Catholics.
(Xo. .xxii) A petition should be addressed to the Holy
See asking for extraordinary faculties concerning
