American Catholic History

Father Henry Duranquet, SJ: Apostle to the Tombs

Father Henry Duranquet, SJ, earned the moniker “Apostle of the Tombs” because of his 25-plus years ministering to the convicts of New York’s prisons, including the prison known as “The Tombs.” His patient Christlike work won over thousands of souls for Christ, including notorious murderers like Albert Hicks, whose hanging in 1860 was a major public event. Father Duranquet also won over the guards, doctors, and leadership of the prison system, many of whom were anti-Catholic Know Nothings. Father Duranquet spent his last few years as a spiritual guide to the Jesuits first at Worcester, Massachusetts, then at Woodstock, Maryland, where he died in 1891 at 82 years old.

Mother Mary Lange, OSP

Mother Mary Lange, OSP founded the Oblates of the Sisters of Providence, the first religious community for black Americans. She was born Elizabeth Clarisse Lange in the Caribbean, either on Hispaniola or Cuba, in the 1780s or 1790s. Her mother was the daughter of a wealthy planter and her father was a slave. She received an excellent education in Cuba. Eventually she immigrated to the United States, settling in Baltimore. She inherited a large sum of money and was able to support herself. But she also had a desire to teach. Maryland was a slave state, but Baltimore at the time had more free black persons than enslaved. Many of them were from the Caribbean like she was, and most were poorly educated. There were no public schools that admitted blacks, and not enough private schools to serve the need. Elizabeth and a friend opened a school for black girls in Elizabeth’s home, funded entirely by her inheritance. After about ten years the money was running out. Fortunately, Father James Joubert, a Sulpician who had been helping to catechize black youth, stepped in. With the support of Baltimore’s archbishop, James Whitfield, Father Joubert aided Elizabeth Lange and her friends to keep their school going, and he helped them fulfill another dream: to found a religious community for black women. In 1829 the Oblate Sisters of Providence was established with Elizabeth Lange taking the name Mary and being named the first superior. For the next 50 years, Mother Lange labored to do whatever needed to be done to support the school, to educate children, and to help the community in whatever way was needed.

Buffalo Bill Cody

Buffalo Bill Cody was, more or less, evangelized by the Indians who were part of his Wild West show, plus through a meeting with Pope Leo XIII in 1890. He was one of the most famous people on earth in his day. He was a legitimate Western scout, a natural showman, and a man of principle and action. He and his wife, Louisa, had four children. Two died in childhood. One of his sisters, Julia, was a strong Christian — though not Catholic — and she encouraged him to become Christian for many years. But he resisted until the day before he died. Through the intervention of friends, who were Catholic, he was baptized by a Catholic priest in Denver the day before he died in 1917.

Eucharistic Congresses in the United States

Before 2024 there had been ten national eucharistic congresses and two international eucharistic congresses held in the United States. The first was in 1895. But what is a eucharistic congress? In this episode we talk about that and give some highlights from many of the eucharistic congresses of the past.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol was one of the most significant artists of the 20th century. He was born and raised in a devout Byzantine Catholic family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but most of his life was far from a model of Catholic sanctity. He became a leader and innovator of pop art, and drew his subject matter from the celebrity idols and crass commercialism of his day. He was a fixture of the high end social scene of 60s and 70s New York, and his style influenced countless other artists. But very few knew how important Catholicism really remained in his life. He went to Church regularly, prayed often, and paid for a nephew to go to seminary. After his death at 58 in 1987, he received a Catholic funeral and was buried near his parents. His estate carries on and preserves his work in the Andy Warhol Foundation and Museum, based in Pittsburgh.

Fr. Joseph T. O’Callahan, Savior of the USS Franklin

Father Joseph T. O’Callahan, SJ, was head of the mathematics department at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and a professor of mathematics, physics, and philosophy. But when war broke out in 1939, he signed up to be a Navy Chaplain — the first Jesuit to do so. In March of 1945 he was assigned to the USS Franklin, which steamed out of Pearl Harbor on March 3. Just 16 days later, while preparing to launch bombing runs on the Japanese mainland, the Franklin was struck by two armor-piercing bombs. The bombs penetrated to the hangar bay. The chain reactions of explosions and fires which ensued killed hundreds almost immediately, and hundreds more over the next eleven hours. But Father O’Callahan kept his wits about him, and organized the men into firefighting squads. He personally led some men into gun turrets and ammunition magazines to remove hot rounds and toss them overboard, and to hose down some with fire hoses to keep them cool. If any of these had exploded the ship would have been torn to bits, and all the men would have died. Thanks to his actions — and those of a few others — the Franklin was saved, and made it back to Brooklyn, New York for major repairs. Father O’Callahan initially refused the Navy Cross approved for him, but eventually President Truman convinced him to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor — the award his actions truly merited. Father O’Callahan eventually went back to teaching at Holy Cross. He died in 1964.

Catholics Fight Segregation in Florida

In 1913 the Florida legislature passed a law forbidding white teachers from teaching in black schools. This wasn’t the first time the Florida legislature had passed laws trying to keep their schools segregated. This law, however, was aimed squarely at Catholic schools like St. Benedict the Moor School in St. Augustine, Florida. The Sisters of St. Joseph, who had been teaching black children in Florida since 1867, were not willing to comply with the unjust law. Their bishops, first William Kenny, then Michael Curley, backed them to the hilt and, when the governor of Florida ordered the sisters arrested, Bishop Curley took the matter to court. The law was thrown out after a short trial and the sisters returned to the classroom. Bishop Curley and the sisters had to resist more attempts to undermine their freedoms, until Florida abandoned its Jim Crow ways.

Samuel Sutherland Cooper

Samuel Sutherland Cooper is perhaps the most important person in the early Church in America whom you’ve never heard of. He was a convert, born Anglican, and was a successful sea captain and merchant based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He traveled the world, tried many of the world’s delights, and became wealthy. But in in the early 1800s, illness and a strange voice from heaven compelled him to reconsider his vaguely Christian beliefs. He eventually became Catholic, and then entered seminary. His friends thought his conversion and decision to enter seminary were a reaction to a bad experience with a woman — or that he’d just lost his mind. But he persevered, was ordained, and became one of the most important priests in the early Catholic Church in America. The names of the Catholic figures with whom he was associated is a “who’s who” of the early Church in America: John Carroll, William DuBourg, Elizabeth Ann Seton, John Dubois, Gabriel Simon Brute, John England, the Hogan Schism, and John Cheverus. He likely also knew a young John Hughes, the future Archbishop of New York, while he was a professor at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He even reportedly experienced a eucharistic miracle, when the host turned to bleeding flesh in his hand during Mass, while he was stationed in Augusta, Georgia. He was a man of energy, resourcefulness, and a deep desire to save souls who worked tirelessly and zealously to that end. When illness sapped his energy he moved to Bordeaux, France, where his old friend, John — Jean — Cheverus had become the cardinal archbishop. Cardinal Cheverus died in his arms, and he died a few years later of pneumonia, being buried in the cathedral near the tomb of Cardinal Cheverus.

Perry Como

Perry Como sold over 100 million albums, had dozens of songs reach the charts, and won 5 Emmys over a 19-year television career. Como was one of the most successful and beloved entertainers of the 20th century. But unlike contemporaries like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, or Dean Martin, he didn’t seek the limelight. Born to poor Catholic immigrant parents in bleak circumstances in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Como first made his mark as a barber. He would sing while cutting hair, in part to bring joy into the bleakness, and in part because it brought in the customers. Eventually his fiancée, Roselle Belline, some friends, and his father, pushed him to try out a career as a singer. He was a hit almost overnight. But as he went from success to success, his gentleness, humility, and genuineness won him fans and admirers where it really mattered: among his colleagues, friends, family, and the countless people whom he helped in ways large and small along the way. In spite of his success, he always seemed to want to just go back to being the best barber between Canonsburg and Cleveland. That never happened. A man of deep faith and humility, Como died in 2001, three years after his beloved Roselle. They had been married for 65 years.

Bob Newhart

Bob Newhart is one of the most influential and beloved comedians of the last 60 years, who set records with his comedy albums and TV shows. Tom and Noëlle Crowe tell us how Newhart attributes both his 60-year marriage and successful career, in part, to his Catholic faith.