Provincial Councils of Baltimore

The Provincial Councils of Baltimore were ten conferences of Roman Catholic priests and bishops in Baltimore, Maryland, during the first half of the 19th century. The first council convened in 1829 and the tenth council in 1869. The purpose of these councils was to set up standardized policies, rules and procedures for the growing Catholic Church in the United States. Their decrees covered topics such as the conduct of priests, the ownership of churches. the powers of bishops and the conduct of parishioners.

Although technically, the decrees issued by the provincial councils only applied to the Province of Baltimore, they were widely adopted within the new provinces being formed in the United States in the early 1800's. The first seven provincial councils served as models for the national Plenary Councils of Baltimore, which started in 1852. With the start of the plenary councils, the decrees from the last three provincial councils only applied to the Province of Baltimore.

Background

In 1789, several years after the end of the American Revolution, Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Baltimore, the first Catholic diocese in the new United States. The pope named Reverend John Carroll, who had been in charge of missions in Colonial America, as bishop of Baltimore. At that time, the new diocese covered the entire United States. However, most of the small Catholic population in the country was concentrated in the State of Maryland. In 1791, Carroll assembled 21 priests from the diocese in a synod, or meeting, to codify a set of decrees setting rules and procedures for the diocese. These wide ranging decrees covered the conduct of priests, parishes and parishioners.

By 1808, the Catholic population of the United States had grown enough that Pope Pius VIII elevated the Diocese of Baltimore to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He created four new dioceses in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Bardstown in Kentucky. These dioceses became part of what was now the Province of Baltimore. In 1810, Carrol convened a second synod of priests in Baltimore. The new bishops of Philadelphia, Boston and Bardstown also attended the synod.

After the Province of Baltimore was established, Carroll made plans to convene its first provincial council. However, those plans were delay by the outbreak of the War of 1812 and then by his death in 1815.

First Provincial Council (1829)

The First Provincial Council (council of the Province of Baltimore) was held in Baltimore in 1829. It was called by Archbishop James Whitfield of Baltimore and was attended by four bishops. The first goal of the council was to confirm the decrees issued by the synods of Baltimore of 1791 and 1810. The second goal was to address issues that had arisen since 1810.

Decrees from 1791

These are some of the decrees published after the synod

• (No. 3) If a person converts to Catholicism, but previously underwent a valid baptism, they do not need to be rebaptized.
• (No. 4) A child should not receive the sacrament of confirmation before they reach the "age of reason".
• (No. 5) The parish should divide the money offerings of its parishioners in three parts: to support the pastor, to help the poor and to support the parish.
• (No. 11) A bishop must approve the absolution of a priest.
• (No. 15) A parishioner wanting to be married by a priest must first understand the Christian Doctrine. For an enslaved person, they need to at least understand the principal truths of the Catholic Church.
• (No. 16) In mixed marriages, the non-Catholic partner must promise before witnesses to raise their children as Catholics.
• (No. 17) Parishioners are encouraged to sing and pray in the vernacular (not Latin) at evening services.
• (No. 20) A Catholic may work on a holy day if required by their employer, but they should still attend mass if possible.
• (No. 23) If a wealthy parishioner does not financially support their pastors, they are guilty of a grievous sin.
• (No. 24) A priest must consult his bishop first before refusing someone a Christian burial.

Decrees from 1810

The most significant decrees included{

• (No. 2) Priests could not leave their positions as pastors in churches to perform missionary work without the permission of their bishops.
• (No. 3) Priests could only use the Douay-Rheims version of the bible in their services.
• (No. 5) Priests should hold baptisms in churches whenever possible.
• (No. 6) If the parents cannot find a sponsor for their child's baptism, the priest should conduct the baptism in private.
• (No. 9) Priests should warn parishioners to avoid improper theatres, dances and novels.
• (No. 10) Freemasons were banned from receiving the sacraments.

New decrees

One of the new issues at the First Provincial Council was the ownership of church property. Heated disputes had been arising between bishops and parish trustees over who actually owned churches. Several lawyers, including future US Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, attended one session to advise the attendees on property law. A similar problem was over who had the right to hire or fire church pastors; the bishop or the trustees? These were some of the significant new decrees:

• (No. 1) Priests must accept mission assignments from their bishops.
• (No. 5) Due to past abuses by parish lay trustees, all new church buildings should be legally consigned to the bishop of the diocese.
• (No. 6) Lay trustees cannot appoint or fire a pastor. Only the bishop has that power.
• (No. 10) A priest may baptize the Infant child of non-Catholic parents if they promise to give the child a Catholic education. The sponsor for such a baptism must be Catholic.
• (No. 20) The priest must use Latin when administering the sacraments or conducting a burial service.
• (No. 31) A ceremonial written in English is to be drawn up.
• (No. 34) Bishops need to open more Catholic schools.

In addition to their decrees, the First Provincial Council sent three requests to Pope Pius VIII:

• Permission to baptize adults using the same ceremony as for infants
• Adoption of method for consecrating baptismal water that the Vatican previously approved for missionaries in Peru
• Extending the time allowed for parishioners to fulfill the paschal precept from the first Sunday of Lent to Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost.

Second Provincial Council (1833)

The Second Provincial Council, held in 1833, was also called by Whitfield. It was attended by nine bishops.

This council settled the boundaries for all the American dioceses. In 1821, a serious dispute had arisen between Bishop Ambrose Maréchal of Baltimore and the new bishop of Richmond, Patrick Kelly, over the border between their dioceses. The Council also established the mission roles of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It also addressed the need for more priests by urging bishops to establish their own seminaries instead of recruiting priests from Europe.

The main decrees were:

• (No. 3) Setting the geographic boundaries of dioceses in the United States. Pope Gregory XVI confirmed these borders in a papal bull entitled Benedictus Deus, issued in 1834.
• (No. 4) Creating a method for priests to select candidates for bishop (for appointment by the pope)
• (No. 5) Recommending that the Jesuits operate the missions to Native Americans in the western territories, outside of established dioceses
• (No. 6) Recommending the Jesuits run missions for formerly enslaved peoples who had been repatriated to Liberia
• (No. 8) Urging bishops to establish seminaries

Third Provincial Council (1837)

The Third Provincial Council was called by Archbishop Samuel Eccleston in 1837; it included eight bishops. Its decrees included:

• (No. 4) Bishops were responsible for using civil law to secure diocesan property.
• (No. 6) Bishops and priests could not sue each other, or sue dioceses, in civil courts.
• (No. 7) Priests were prohibited from soliciting money outside their own parishes.
• (No. 8) Pastors were warned against permitting unsuitable music during worship ceremonies.
• (No. 9) The two days following Easter and Pentecost were no longer days of obligation.
• (No. 10) Wednesdays in Advent no longer required fasting and abstinence.

The Third Provincial Council recommended to the Vatican the establishment of a separate diocese for the State of Tennessee. At that time, Tennessee part of the Diocese of Bardstown. Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Nashville, covering all of Tennessee.

Fourth Provincial Council (1840)

The Fourth Provincial Council in 1840 was convened by Archbishop Samuel Eccleston, with twelve bishops in attendance. One of these attendees was Bishop Charles Auguste Marie Joseph, Count of Forbin-Janson from the Diocese of Nancy and Toul in France, on a missionary tour of the United States mandated by Gregory XVI.

With the rise of public schools in the United States, many bishops were becoming unhappy with the discriminatory treatment of Catholic children by Protestant-led school boards. The issue of what bibles to use in public schools would spark a nativist-incited riot against Catholics in Philadelphia in 1844.

The Council issued the following decrees:

• (No. 1) When a priest is officiating at a mixed marriage, he should not wear his vestments or perform any sacred rites.
• (No. 5) Bishops and priests should recommend that parishioners joined Temperance societies, which advocated against alcohol consumption.
• (No. 6) Pastors must ensure that Catholic children attending public school do not use the Protestant Bible or sing sectarian hymns. They must lobby school boards to stop the introduction of such practices into the public schools.
• (No. 8) The bishop must control all church property in the diocese. Priests are not allowed to own any church property in their own names.

The Fourth Provincial Council sent a letter of consolation to the bishops of Poland; at that time, the Catholic church there was experiencing systematic persecution by the occupying Russian Empire. The Council also sent a letter of thanks to the moderators of the Leopoldine Society of Vienna in the Austrian Empire. Founded in 1829 to aid the growth of Catholicism in the United States, the society had already made many grants to American parishes by 1840.

Fifth Provincial Council (1843)

In 1843, the Fifth Provincial Council was attended by the archbishop and sixteen bishops. Among its enactments were: (No. 2) Laymen may not deliver orations in churches. (No. 4) It is not expedient that the Tridentine decrees concerning clandestine matrimony be extended to places where they have not been already promulgated. (No. 5) Pastors must observe the law of residence. (No. 6) Priests may not borrow money for church uses without written permission of the bishop.

Sixth Provincial Council (1846)

The Sixth Provincial Council (the archbishop and twenty-two bishops attending) in 1846, decreed: (No. 1) that the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived without sin is chosen as the patron saint of the United States. (No. 2) Priests ordained titulo missionis may not enter a religious order without permission of their ordinaries. (No. 3) The canons concerning the proclaiming of the banns of matrimony are to be observed. At the request of the fathers, the Holy See sanctioned a formula to be used by the bishops in taking the oath at their consecration.

Seventh Provincial Council (1849)

In 1849, two archbishops and 23 bishops held the Seventh Provincial Council. By 1849, the Catholic population had grown tremendously in different parts of the United States, but there were only two provinces, Baltimore and St. Louis. To meet this growth, the bishops wanted the pope to establish three more provinces and convene a national plenary council.

The main decrees were:

• (No. 2) The bishops asked the pope to define the teaching of the Immaculate Conception as official Catholic dogma.
• (No. 3) The election of bishops was altered.
• (No. 5) A bishop was forbidden to grant an exeat (educational sabbatical) to a priest unless the bishop in the destination diocese was willing to accept him.
• (No. 6) Priests were forbidden to assist at marriage ceremonies of couples who had already been married by a Protestant minister, or who intended to be.
• (No. 7) The bishops asked the pope to convene a national council of bishops in Baltimore in 1850. The bishops also requested that thee pope erect new provinces in New Orleans, Cincinnati and New York City, limiting the existing Provinces of Baltimore and St. Louis. Finally, the bishop asked that the pope designate Baltimore as the primatial see of the United States.

Pope Pius IX erected the Provinces of New York, New Orleans and Cincinnati in 1850. However, the bishops had to wait until 1858 for Pius IX to grant primacy to Baltimore. The pope also agreed to the convening of the First Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1852, which would include all four provinces

Eighth Provincial Council (1855)

The Eighth Provincial Council in Baltimore was assembled in 1855. The archbishop and seven bishops or their representatives attended it. With the advent of the First Plenary Council in 1852, the decrees of the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Provincial Councils now just applied to the Province of Baltimore.

This council enacted the following significant decrees:

• (No. 1) The Council acknowledged the definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as dogma, as requested by the Seventh Provincial Council in 1849.
• (No. 2) Reversing a decree from the First Provincial Council in 1829. adults could no long be baptized using the procedure for infants. They had to be baptized according to the rules set in the Roman Ritual.
• (No. 4) No tax is to be demanded for dispensations from matrimonial impediments.
• (No. 6) The Council suggested that each diocese have 10 or 12 consultors, priests appointed to advise the bishop. The decree stated that bishop only needed to consult three or four consultors on any one matter. When a bishop died, all the consultors must forward their top candidate to replace him to their archbishop.
• (No. 7) Each diocese, through a synod, should determine the best plan for supporting their bishop.

The Eighth Provincial Council expressed support for a plan by Cardinal Gaetono Bedini to establish an American college in Rome. This college would serve as residence and seminary for American priests studying theology, canon law and other advanced subjects at the pontifical universities in that city. In 1895, Pius IX opened the Pontifical North American College.

to see an American College erected in Rome. To the Acts of this council is appended a decree of the Holy See, sanctioning a mode of procedure in judicial causes of clerics.

Ninth Provincial Council (1858)

The Ninth Provincial Council in 1858 was attended by the archbishop and seven bishops. The main work of this synod consisted in drawing up petitions to the Holy See concerning a dispensation from abstinence on Saturdays; the conceding of certain honorary privileges to the Archbishop of Baltimore; the granting to the bishops the permission to allow the Blessed Sacrament to be kept in chapels of religious communities not subject to the law of enclosure. All of these petitions were granted by the Holy See.

That concerning the Archbishop of Baltimore granted to him, as ruler of the mother-church of the United States, an honorary pre-eminence, to consist in his taking precedence of any other archbishop in the country, without regard to promotion or consecration, and in his having the place of honour in all councils and conventions. The fathers also sent to Rome an inquiry as to the nature of the vows (solemn or simple) of religious women, especially of Visitation Nuns in the United States, an answer to which was deferred to a later time (1864).

The question was also discussed whether Archbishop Kenrick's version of the Bible should be approved for general use. It was finally decided to wait for Dr John Henry Newman's expected version, and then to determine along with the bishops of other English-speaking countries on one common version.

Tenth Provincial Council (1869)

In 1869, the Tenth Provincial Council enacted decrees that were signed by the archbishop, twelve bishops and one abbot. These decrees included:

• Bishops are exhorted to establish missions and schools for the Negroes of their dioceses.
• Priests are to be appointed to aid the bishops in administering the temporal concerns of the diocese. They are also to supervise the spiritual and material affairs of religious women.

See also

• Plenary Councils of Baltimore

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Provincial Councils of Baltimore — These councils have a unique importance for the Church in the United States, inasmuch as the earlier ones legislated for practically the whole territory of the Republic, and furnished moreover a norm for all the later provincial councils of the country. This article touches on only those parts of the legislation which may seem in any way to individualize the discipline of the Church in the United States or depict the peculiar needs and difficulties of its nascent period.

I. The First Provincial Council was held in 1829 and was attended by one archbishop and four bishops. Its decrees refer to the enactments of two previous conventions which may be summarized briefly. Bishop Carroll's Diocesan Synod of 1791 decreed: (No. 3) The ceremonies of baptism need not be supplied for converted heretics who had been previously validly baptized. (No. 4) As a rule children are not to be confirmed before the age of reason. (No. 5) The offerings of the faithful are to be divided into three parts: for the support of the pastor, the relief of the poor, and the sustentation of the church. (No. 11) The faithful are to be warned that the absolution of priests not approved by the bishop is invalid. (No. 15) None are to be married until they know the Christian Doctrine. Slaves, however, need know only the principal truths, if more cannot be acquired. (No. 16) In mixed marriages the non-Catholic must promise before witnesses to bring up the offspring of the union as Catholics. (No. 17) Hymns and prayers in the vernacular are to be encouraged at evening services. (No. 20) Catholics may work on days of obligation owing to the circumstances of place, but they must hear Mass if possible. (No. 23) The rich are to be warned that they sin grievously if, through their parsimony, pastors cannot be sustained and multiplied. (No. 24) When there is question of refusing Christian burial, the bishop must be consulted beforehand when possible.

The second series of enactments referred to are the articles concerning ecclesiastical discipline sanctioned by the common consent of the Archbishop of Baltimore and the other American bishops in 1810. The main articles are: (No. 2) Regulars should not be withdrawn from pastoral work without the consent of the bishops, if their assistance be deemed a necessity to the existence or prosperity of their missions. (No. 3) The Douay version of the Bible is to be used. (No. 5) Baptism must be conferred in the church where possible. (No. 6) If no sponsor can be obtained, private baptism only is to be administered. (No. 9) The faithful are to be warned against improper theatres, dances, and novels. (No. 10) Freemasons cannot be admitted to the sacraments.

Besides ordering the publication of these decrees along with their own synodical enactments, the fathers of the First Provincial Council decreed: (No. 1) Priests should labour in any mission assigned to them by the bishops. (No. 5) Owing to the abuses of lay trustees all future churches should be consigned to the bishop when possible. (No. 6) Trustees cannot institute or dismiss a pastor. No ecclesiastical patronage exists in this country. (No. 10) Infants of non-Catholics may be baptized if their parents promise to give them a Catholic education, but the sponsor must be a Catholic. (No. 20) In administering the sacraments and in the burial service, Latin and not English must be employed. (No. 31) A ceremonial written in English is to be drawn up. (No. 34) Catholic schools should be erected.

At one of the sessions of this council several lawyers (among them R. B. Taney, afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States) gave advice to the bishops on points of American law concerning property rights and ecclesiastical courts. In addition to their decrees, the bishops asked and obtained form Rome permission to use for adults the formula of infant baptism; to consecrate baptismal water with the form approved for the missionaries of Peru, and to extend the time for fulfilling the paschal precept, i.e. from the first Sunday of Lent to Trinity Sunday.

II. The Second Council, held in 1833, was attended by one archbishop and nine bishops. The main decrees were: (No. 3) A delimitation of the American dioceses. (No. 4) A method of selecting bishops, which a later Council (Prov. VII) modified. (No. 5) Recommending the entrusting to the Jesuits of the Indian missions in the West, as also (No. 6) the missions among former American slaves, repatriated in Liberia, Africa, to the same fathers. (No. 8) Bishops are exhorted to erect ecclesiastical seminaries.

III. The Third Council in 1837 was composed of one archbishop and eight bishops. Its decrees enacted: (No. 4) Ecclesiastical property is to be secured by the best means the civil law affords. (No. 6) Ecclesiastics should not bring ecclesiastical cases before the civil tribunals. (No. 7) Priests are prohibited from soliciting money outside their own parishes. (No. 8) Pastors are warned against permitting unsuitable music at Divine worship. (No. 9) The two days following Easter and Pentecost are to be days of obligation no longer. (No. 10) Wednesdays in Advent are not to be days of fast and abstinence.

IV. The Fourth Council in 1840 issued decrees signed by one archbishop and twelve bishops as follows: (No. 1) In mixed marriages no sacred rites or vestments are to be used. (No. 5) Temperance societies are recommended to the faithful. (No. 6) Pastors are to see that those frequenting public school do not use the Protestant version of the Bible or sing sectarian hymns. They must also employ their influence against the introduction of such practices into the public schools. (No. 8) Bishops are to control ecclesiastical property and not permit priests to hold it in their own name. Among those attending this council was the Bishop of Nancy and Toul, France, to whom the fathers granted a right to a decisive vote. A letter of consolation was sent by the council to the persecuted bishops of Poland, and another of thanks to the moderators of the Leopold Institute of Vienna, Austria.

V. In 1843, the Fifth Council was attended by one archbishop and sixteen bishops. Among its enactments were: (No. 2) Laymen may not deliver orations in churches. (No. 4) It is not expedient that the Tridentine decrees concerning clandestine matrimony be extended to places where they have not been already promulgated. (No. 5) Pastors are to be obliged to observe the law of residence. (No. 6) Priests may not borrow money for church uses without written permission of the bishop.

VI. The Sixth Council (One archbishop and twenty-two bishops attending) in 1846, decreed: (No. 1) that the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived without sin is chosen as the patron of the United States. (No. 2) Priests ordained titulo missionis may not enter a religious order without permission of their ordinaries. (No. 3) The canons concerning the proclaiming of the banns of matrimony are to be observed. At the request of the fathers, the Holy See sanctioned a formula to be used by the bishops in taking the oath at their consecration.

VII. In 1849 two archbishops and twenty-three bishops held the Seventh Council. The main decrees were: (No. 2) The Holy See is to be informed that the fathers think it opportune to define as a dogma the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (No. 3) A change in the election of bishops in introduced. (No. 5) Bishops are not to give an exeat at the request of a priest unless it be certain that another bishop will receive him. (No. 6) Priests are forbidden to assist at the marriages of those who have already had a ceremony performed by a Protestant minister, or who intend to have such ceremony performed. (No. 7) A national council should be held in Baltimore in 1850, by Apostolic Authority. The fathers moreover petitioned the Holy See to raise New Orleans, Cincinnati, and New York to metropolitan dignity and to make a new limitation of the Provinces of Baltimore and St. Louis. They desired likewise that Baltimore should be declared the primatial see of the Republic. The pope granted the first part of the petition, but deferred acting on the question of primacy.

VIII. The Eighth Council was assembled in 1855. One archbishop and seven bishops or their representatives attended it. This council enacted: (No. 1) The fathers joyfully receive the dogmatic decision of the pope defining the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (No. 2) Priests are warned that after August, 1857, adults must be baptized according to the regular formula for that service in the Roman Ritual and not according to that for infant baptism. (No. 4) No tax is to be demanded for dispensations from matrimonial impediments. (No. 6) Bishops are exhorted to increase the number of their diocesan consultors to ten or twelve. It will not be necessary, however, to obtain the opinion of all of them, even on important matters. For this, the counsel of three or four will suffice. On the death of the bishop, however, all the consultors shall send to the archbishop their written opinions as to an eligible successor for the vacant see. (No. 7) The various diocesan synods should determine on the best mode of providing for the proper support of the bishop. (No. 8) The fathers desire to see an American College erected in Rome. To the Acts of this council is appended a decree of the Holy See, sanctioning a mode of procedure in judicial causes of clerics.

IX. The Ninth Council in 1858 was attended by one archbishop and seven bishops. The main work of this synod consisted in drawing up petitions to the Holy See concerning a dispensation from abstinence on Saturdays; the conceding of certain honorary privileges to the Archbishop of Baltimore; the granting to the bishops the permission to allow the Blessed Sacrament to be kept in chapels of religious communities not subject to the law of enclosure. All of these petitions were granted by the Holy See. That concerning the Archbishop of Baltimore granted to him, as ruler of the mother-church of the United States, an honorary pre-eminence, to consist in his taking precedence of any other archbishop in the country, without regard to promotion or consecration, and in his having the place of honour in all councils and conventions. The fathers also sent to Rome an inquiry as to the nature of the vows (solemn or simple) of religious women, especially of Visitation Nuns in the United States, an answer to which was deferred to a later time (1864). The question was also discussed as to whether Archbishop Kenrick's version of the Bible should be approved for general use. It was finally decided to wait for Dr. John Henry Newman's expected version, and then to determine along with the bishops of other English-speaking countries on one common version.

X. In 1869, the Tenth Council enacted decrees that were signed by one archbishop, twelve bishops, and one abbot. Among these decrees we note: (No. 5) Bishops are exhorted to establish missions and schools for the negroes of their dioceses. (No. 7) Priests are to be appointed to aid the bishops in administering the temporal concerns of the diocese. They are also to supervise the spiritual and material affairs of religious women. At the request of the fathers, the Holy See extended for five years the privilege of using the short formula in the baptism of adults.

It should be remarked that the first seven provincial councils of Baltimore were practically, though not formally, plenary councils of the United States.

The numbers of decrees indicated in the text will be found conformable to any authorized edition of these councils; Acta et Decreta S. Conc. Receniorum. Collectio Lacensis. Auctoribus Presbyt., S. J. (Freiburg, 1875), contains in vol. III, the full text of the decrees of these ten councils; Concilia Provincialia Baltimori Habita ab Anno, 1829 ad 1849 (Baltimore, 1851), gives the acts of only the first seven provincial councils.