A look at some landmark milestones in American Catholic history, from the early Church in the colonies to milestones in leadership, education, religious life, sacraments, and public life.
PARISHES, JURISDICTIONS, & EDUCATION
First Diocese & Archdiocese: The Archdiocese of Baltimore was erected as the first diocese in 1789 and elevated to the first archdiocese in 1808.
First Native-Born Archbishop: Samuel Eccleston, born in Maryland, became the archbishop of Baltimore in 1834, making him the first native-born American citizen to head the mother church of the United States.
First Parish in the 13 Colonies: St. Francis Xavier Church (also known as “Newtown Manor”) in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. Established as a Jesuit mission in 1640, it was officially organized as an independent parish in 1661. Because practicing Catholicism was later outlawed under British rule, its 1731 rebuilding was disguised as a commercial brick manor house.
First Cathedral: The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Baltimore Basilica) is the first Catholic cathedral built in the U.S. Bishop John Carroll laid the cornerstone in 1806.
First Catholic University: Georgetown College (now Georgetown University) was founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 in Washington, D.C., as the first Catholic institution of higher learning.
First Seminary: St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore was established in 1791 by Sulpician priests specifically to train native-born American clergy.
CLERGY & LEADERSHIP
First Bishop & Archbishop: John Carroll was appointed the first American Catholic bishop on Nov. 6, 1789, by Pope Pius VI. He oversaw the Diocese of Baltimore. In 1808, he was elevated to become the nation’s first archbishop. His brother, Charles, was the only Roman Catholic out of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.
First Priest Ordained in the U.S.: Father Stephen Theodore Badin, a refugee from the French Revolution who became an American citizen, was ordained on May 25, 1793, by Bishop John Carroll in Baltimore.
First Native-Born American Priest: Father William Matthews was ordained in Baltimore on March 29, 1800. Born in Maryland in 1770, he was the first person born in the United States to be ordained a priest in the U.S.
First American Cardinal: John McCloskey, the archbishop of New York, was elevated to cardinal in 1875, making him the first American to receive the red hat.
First Black Catholic Priest: Father Augustus Tolton was ordained in Rome in 1886. Born into slavery in Missouri, he returned to the U.S. to serve in Illinois as the first publicly recognized African American priest.
First American Pope: Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, was elected pope on May 8, 2025, becoming the first American — and first North American — to lead the Catholic Church.
RELIGIOUS ORDERS & SAINTS
First Native-Born American Saint: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was canonized in 1975. She was a widow who converted to Catholicism, founded the Sisters of Charity in 1809, and established the U.S. parochial school system.
First Religious Orders Founded in the U.S.: The Sisters of Loretto and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth were both founded in Kentucky in 1812, making them the first distinct religious communities founded in America without European roots.
FIRST AMERICAN-BORN BISHOPS OF EARLY MAJOR CITIES
Boston: Benedict Joseph Fenwick was the first American-born bishop of Boston, serving from 1825 to 1846. Born in Maryland, he guided the diocese through a period of intense anti-Catholic nativism and founded the College of the Holy Cross.
New York: John McCloskey (who was born in Brooklyn) became the first native-born ordinary to lead New York when he was appointed in 1864.
Philadelphia: James Frederick Wood (who was born in Philadelphia) was appointed in 1860, becoming the first strictly native-born ordinary of the Philadelphia diocese.
THE SACRAMENTS (POST-INDEPENDENCE CITIZENS)
Holy Orders (Ordination): Confirmed on May 25, 1793, when Bishop John Carroll ordained Father Stephen Theodore Badin in Baltimore, Maryland.
Confirmation: Bishop John Carroll administered the first confirmations in 1790, traveling through Maryland and Pennsylvania to confirm citizens who had gone decades without the sacrament due to the Colonial ban on Catholic bishops.
Baptism: Infant baptisms of American citizens under a diocese began in 1789, with the founding of the Diocese of Baltimore. Prior to this, Colonial baptisms were largely done in secret to protect families from British anti-Catholic laws.
The Holy Eucharist (First Mass by an American Bishop): On Sept. 22, 1790, Bishop John Carroll celebrated his first Mass on American soil as an official bishop at the estate of the governor of Maryland in Annapolis.
Penance (Reconciliation) & Anointing of the Sick: These sacraments became legally and publicly available to American citizens in 1789 following the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed religious freedom.