John England (bishop)

John England was born on September 23, 1786, in Cork, Ireland. As a child he attended a private school run by a Protestant teacher, who referred to him as "the little Papist". When he was older, England pursued a law career, studying with a barrister for two years.[1] Deciding to prepare for the priesthood, England entered the Theological College of Carlow in Carlow, Ireland on August 31, 1803.[1]

At age 19, in his second year at Carlow, England began delivering catechetical instructions to children in the parish chapel, but adults soon started attending also. He also started preaching to the soldiers of the Cork militia.[1] After leaving Carlow, England established a women's reformatory, which led to the concepts behind the Presentation Sisters. He also established schools for poor boys and girls. Out of these schools grew the Presentation Convent. Soon the Bishop of Carlow was having him deliver moral lectures during Lent at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow. In 1808, while England was still in seminary, Bishop Francis Moylan of Cork appointed him as director of the Theological School at Cork.

England was ordained a priest in Cork, October 10, 1809. After his ordination, England was appointed lecturer at the North Chapel in County Cork and chaplain of prisons.[2] At one point, England confronted a condemned prisoner 30 minutes before his execution, saying. "Stop, sir". You shall not go to Hell for half hour yet." England then persuaded the man to confess his sins before dying.[1] He was a popular preacher, drawing large crowds to his meetings. Pending the opening of the Magdalen Asylum, a workhouse for single women, he supported and ministered to many applicants.[3]

In 1809, England published the "Religious Repertory" and established a circulating library in St. Mary Parish in Shandon. He purchased the Cork Mercantile Advertiser, which he used to condemn the treatment of inmates In the 1812 general election, he maintained that "in vindicating the political rights of his countrymen, he was but asserting their liberty of conscience". Also in 1812, he was appointed president of the new diocesan College of St. Mary, where he taught theology.[3][1]

In 1814, England vigorously assailed the Royal veto of the appointment of bishops law. He frequently called for the abolition of discriminatory laws against Catholics in the United Kingdom which eventually culminated in Catholic Emancipation. To help this cause he founded "The Chronicle" which he edited until leaving Ireland.

in 1817, England was appointed as pastor of the parish in Bandon in County Cork. Bigotry against Catholics there was so strong that an inscription over the city gates read : "Enter here Turk Jew or Atheist, Every man except a Papist". At one point, he escaped an assassination attempt while visiting a dying boy late at night. Over the next several years, England worked to reconcile Protestants and Catholics in Brandon.[3][1] By this time, the church began considering England for appointment as a bishop. However, he made it clear that he would not accept an appointment in any nation in the British Empire, including Ireland.[1]

England was consecrated in Cork as bishop of the Diocese of Charleston in the United States on September 21, 1820.[4] The ceremony was held in St. Finbar's Church by Bishop John Murphy, with Bishop Patrick Kelly serving as co-consecrator. At the end of the ceremony, England refused to take the customary oath of allegiance to the British Crown, declaring his intention to become an American citizen.

On October 20, 1820, England and his youngest sister sailed from Belfast, arriving in Charleston on December 30, 1820. [5] The day after his arrival, England took charge of the diocese and almost immediately issued a pastoral letter .[4]

The new diocese consisted of the three states of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, with the Catholic population throughout them. The Catholic population of Charleston itself was composed of very poor immigrants from Ireland and refugees from the island of Hispaniola with their servants. The majority Protestant population in the region was unfavorable, if not antagonistic, to the growth of Catholicism there. When the local newspapers refused to publish England's sermons, he was forced to publish them in paid advertisements.

Soon after his arrival, England starting traveling through his large diocese to meet with his parishioners. He went wherever he heard there were Catholics. Once he found these groups, he ministered to their spiritual needs, appointed catechism teachers, and promoted the building of churches. During these pastoral visits, England preached in halls, court houses, and state houses. He even preached in Protestant chapels and churches, sometimes at the invitation of their pastors. During his first years in the diocese, he traveled to Savannah and Augusta in Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina. He spoke with African-Americans, Cherokees, Catholics who married non-Catholics and people who gave up their faith.[5] When in Charleston, England preached at least twice every Sunday and delivered lectures on special occasions.

In politics, England successfully advocated before the Legislature of South Carolina the granting of a charter for his diocesan corporation, which had been strongly opposed through the machinations of the disaffected trustees. England was instrumental in the founding of an Anti-Dueling Association.[1]

In 1822, England promoted the establishment of a book society in each congregation to encourage literacy and education. That same year, he also started the "United States Catholic Miscellany", the first distinctively Catholic newspaper published in the United States.[4] He reached out to civic leaders, both Catholic and non-Catholic.[4] In 1824, he established St. John the Baptist Seminary; its first student was future bishop Andrew Byrne. In 1826, England became the first Catholic bishop to address the US House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., with President John Quincy Adams in the audience.[6][7] In his speech, England strong deniedly that the Catholic Church was intolerant of other denominations. Regarding control of Catholic voters by clergy, he stated:

I would not allow to the Pope or any bishop of our church the smallest interference with the humblest vote at our most insignificant balloting box.[6]

England played a prominent role in convening the 1829 First Provincial Council of Baltimore, a gathering of bishops and clergy from across the United States. Bishops throughout the country were struggling both financially and theologically. England saw the value of their meeting to face challenges as a group.[1]

England also wrote a constitution for his diocese that defined its relationships to civil and canon law. This was incorporated by the State and adopted by the several congregations. He also organized conventions of representative clergy and laity in the three states in his diocese, to meet annually.[1]

In 1830, England founded a religious order in the diocese called the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy "to educate females of the middling class of society; also to have a school for free colored girls, and to give religious instruction to female slaves ; they will also devote themselves to the service of the sick". He modeled the order on the Presentation Sisters in Ireland. His sister, Mary Charles England, was superior of the Presentation Convent in Cork. He tried to bring Mary to Charleston to train the new congregation, but Bishop Murphy in Cork would not permit it, citing her age. England opened a school for African-America girls in Charleston in 1831 and held a synod of the clergy on November 21, 1831.

Experiencing a shortage of priests in his diocese, England established in 1832 the Philosophical and Classical Seminary of Charleston. His plan was to support the seminary with income from the college. He taught courses on the classics and of theology. At its height, the seminary had 130 students. However, the new college raised alarms among some Protestant clergy, who warned of Papist conspiracies. These attacks eventually reduced the student body to 30. [1] The seminary graduated many eminent laymen and priests. In the words of Chancellor Kent, "Bishop England revived classical learning in South Carolina". England also recruited some Ursuline nuns from a convent in Black Rock, Ireland, to come to Charleston that same year. In 1832, England estimated the population of the diocese at approximately 11, 000, with 7,500 in South Carolina, 3,000 in Georgia, and 500 in North Carolina. At one point, the pope offered England appointment as bishop of the Diocese of Ossory in Ireland, but he declined, stating that he remained an American citizen.[1]

England also compiled a catechism and prepared a new English edition of the missal, with an explanation of the mass. He was an active member of the Philosophical Society of Charleston, assisted in organizing the Antiduelling Society in Charleston to prevent dueling, and strenuously opposed Nullification in a community where it was vehemently advocated.

When in Charleston, England celebrated an early mass in the cathedral for African Americans every Sunday, preaching to them at the mass and at a Vesper service. He usually delivered two afternoon sermons; if unable to deliver both, he would cancel the sermon for the rich and educated in favor of one for the poor. During the cholera and yellow fever epidemics, he joined the priests and nuns in tending to the sick. England lived a very frugal existence, often seen on the streets of Charleston wearing worn out shoes. He frequently was exhausted and survived several serious illnesses. In 1834, England recruited a small group of Ursulines nuns from the convent at Blackrock, Cork to come to the diocese to teach and minister. During this time, some slaveowners invited England to their plantations to minister to their enslaved people.[1]

In 1835, England established more free schools for African-American children in Charleston. That same year, anti-Catholic agitators raised a mob that raided the Charleston post office. Its intent was to attack England's schools the next day. However, when the mob arrived, they were met by Charleston's Irish Volunteers, a militia created by Irish immigrants to protect themselves. Soon after this incident, England was forced to close his schools.[8]

In 1835, the Reverend William Clancy arrived in Charleston to serve as coadjutor bishop. In 1832, the Vatican had instructed England to travel to Haiti to serve as a papal negotiator. When England requested a coadjutor bishop to cover the diocese during his absence, the Vatican appointed Clancy. However, Clancy did not arrive in Charleston until 1835, by which time England's trip to Haiti had been cancelled. Clancy soon became bored, complaining that there wasn't enough work in the diocese for two bishops.[9] England wrote to the Vatican, saying about Clancy:

He is very distinguished for his character, zeal and piety, but in one year he has wrecked that whole constitutional system of church government which has taken me years to perfect. working in the diocese. [9]

Two year after his arrival in Charleston, Clancy was appointed vicar-general of Guiana. [9]

In 1835, provoked by the American Anti-Slavery Society, an anti-Catholic mob raided the Charleston post office. The next day, the mob marched on England's school for 'children of color.' However, it was thwarted by a group of Irish volunteers, led by England, who were guarding the school. Yet soon after this, when all schools for 'free blacks' were closed in Charleston, England was forced to concede,[8] but continued the schools for mulattoes and free blacks.

To obtain financial support for his diocese, England met with prospective donors in cities and towns throughout the United States. He made four fundraising trips to Europe, visiting the United Kingdom, France and Italy. He sought funding, vestments and books from the pope, the Propaganda Fide department of the Holy See and the Leopoldine Society of Vienna.

• John England, The Works of the Right Reverend John England, First Bishop of Charleston, edited by Sebastian G. Messmer, Archbishop of Milwaukee (7 vols., 1908).