This Month: The Early Years

What was the Brooklyn Diocese a part of before 1853?

• Well, it worked like this: until 1789 there were no Dioceses in the United States. The closest ecclesiastical authority was the Vicariate in London (since the Reformation, there were no Dioceses in England, and wouldn't be until 1850).
  
• In 1789, Pope Pius VI created the Diocese of Baltimore, with John Carroll as the first Bishop (his cousins, Charles Carroll and Daniel Carroll were signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution). So at the time, this Diocese covered the whole United States!
  
• In 1789, there were 30,000 Catholics in the U.S., but by the start of the next century the numbers had grown and were growing (immigration and unrest in Europe were big factors therein). So in 1808, Pope Pius VII created the Dioceses of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Bardstown, Kentucky. After 1808, Brooklyn was part of the Diocese of New York (in 1850, New York becomes an Archdiocese) until 1853.
  
• The Bishops of New York were Richard Luke Concannen (1808-1810), John Connolly (1815-1825), John DuBois (1826-1838), John Hughes (1838-1864).

OK, What was the first Catholic Church in New York City?

• St. Peter's on Barclay Street, in 1785. After the anti-Catholic laws were repealed in the wake of the Revolution, it became possible for Catholics to band together and worship publicly. The first pastor was Father Charles Whelan, an Irish Capuchin who had served as a chaplain with the French Navy during the Revolution.
  
• Until the establishment of the first Catholic Church in Brooklyn, Brooklynites took the ferry to Manhattan where they attended Mass at St. Peter's.

When did Brooklyn get its first Catholic Church?

• In 1822. After 1801, with the establishment of the Navy Yard in Brooklyn, more Catholics, mainly Irish laborers, started to come to Long Island. As the numbers began to grow, Brooklyn Catholics started to talk about getting their own church.
  
• The first known Mass in Brooklyn probably took place at the house of Mr. William Purcell, at York and Gold by Rev. Philip Laricy, O.S.A., ca. 1820 or 1821.
  
• On January 1, 1822, Peter Turner sent out a petition to Brooklyn Catholics: "Whatever we do in word or in work, let us do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: giving thanks to God the father through him. Therefore, in the name of the Lord, and with the advice and consent of the Right Reverend Bishop, let the Catholics of Brooklyn having common interests to pursue, and wants to relieve, establish an Association the better to attain these desirable objects. In the first place, we want our children instructed in the principles of our Holy Religion, we want more convenience in hearing the word of God ourselves.
  
  "In fact we want a Church, a Pastor, and a place for Interment - all of which with the assistance of Divine Providence, we have every reason to expect by forming ourselves into a well-regulated Society - and as we have not only cheerfully assisted in building the Churches in this Diocese, from time to time, but nearly all the Churches in the United States lately erected, we have every reason to expect the cheerful assistance of the Laity, as well as the Right Rev. Bishop and all his clergy."
  
• They started the Roman Catholic Society of the Town of Brooklyn, and in March they bought land for a church. In April Bishop Connolly consecrated the ground: "April 25, a warm day... In the morning about 11 o'clock I went to see the Roman Catholic Church Yard of the Village (Brooklyn) consecrated. The ceremony was performed by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Connolly and two priests, one of the priests [Father Richard Bulger] delivered a handsome address, very apropos to the occasion."
  
• The cornerstone for St. James was laid July 25, 1822; the building for St. James was completed and consecrated by Bishop Connolly on August 28, 1823. It was the sixth Catholic Church in the state, the third in New York City (present boundaries) and the first on Long Island and Brooklyn. The first school and cemetery began in September 1823.

Who decided to create the Diocese of Brooklyn, and why?

• In 1852, the Bishops of the United States met in Baltimore for what is known as the First Plenary Council of Baltimore. They decided that the presently existing Dioceses had to be divided to meet the rising numbers of Catholic immigrants, and they recommended this to Pope Pius IX. In 1853, new Dioceses were erected: Brooklyn, Newark, and Burlington. Hughes made it clear that he wanted Loughlin and no one else!
  
• Pope Pius IX issued the brief De Incolumitate Christiani Gregis on June 29, 1853 (Text in Tablet's Anniversary Book, p. 20).
  
• Rev. John Loughlin, the 36 year old Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of New York, was named first Bishop on June 29, 1853. On October 30, 1853, he was consecrated a Bishop in Old St. Patrick's Cathedral by Archbishop Bedini (whose presence caused riots throughout the U.S.).
  
  On November 9, 1853, he was installed as Bishop of Brooklyn in St. James'.
  

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