No city is as integral to the history of the Catholic Church in the United States as Baltimore .
In 1789, Pope Pius VI established Baltimore as the first diocese in the new nation and appointed John Carroll as the first American bishop. Carroll's brother Daniel was one of the signers of the Constitution , and his cousin Charles was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
In the years, decades, and centuries after, the Catholic community of the U.S. grew and grew, and Baltimore was largely supplanted as the center of American Catholicism as immigrants, primarily from Italy and Ireland, flooded the northeastern cities of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. But the history and cultural significance of Baltimore to the Catholic Church in the U.S. never changed.
Recently, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced it intends to close dozens of churches in this historic center of Catholicism in America. Some of these churches have been part of the Baltimore community since the 1800s, but due to declining church attendance, the archdiocese said they must be closed.
Take St. Vincent de Paul Church in Baltimore's Jonestown neighborhood. Built in 1841, it is the "oldest parish church in continuous use in Baltimore." At one point in the late 1800s, the parish had the largest congregation in the archdiocese. But under the latest plans, this historic house of worship will soon close its doors.
One of the most beautiful churches that would close its doors is the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Baltimore's Mount Washington neighborhood. Dedicated in 1917, this historic church is a unique architectural and artistic marvel designed in the Victorian style and has served quite a diverse community during its many years in service.
While St. Vincent's and the Shrine of the Sacred Heart are just two of the churches that will be closed by the archdiocese's plan, I mention them because they offer a snapshot of the deep history and community ties these parishes have developed and maintained over many, many decades. Indeed, it is a history that transcends denomination and ethnicity and helps tell the story of the people who built this community and formed the backbone of its cultural heritage.
As church attendance, irrespective of denomination, declines from the streets of Boston to the beaches of Los Angeles, more and more communities will see the shuttering of historic churches that held communities together through some of the most trying or triumphant times in history.
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St. Vincent de Paul surely welcomed worshippers who prayed for the end of the Civil War in 1863 and then celebrated its end in 1865. Likewise, the Shrine of the Sacred Heart brought the community together in November 1918 to celebrate and thank God for the end of the Great War, only to fill again in December 1941 to mourn for the lives lost at Pearl Harbor and pray for God's protection for a nation entering a new and even worse war. These churches served as a comfort during the pains of the Great Depression and helped awaken the moral conscience of the community to oppose segregation.
The stories of these churches are the story of the public. But as the people of today forget or malign those who came before them, it is no surprise they also cast aside the faith that built the communities they live in. From the Baptist churches of Mobile, Alabama, to the missionary shrines of California and city churches of Baltimore, these historic structures built out of love will continue to fall into ruin and neglect, reflecting the attitudes of a people who no longer care for the culture and heritage that built them.
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