Friday, June 5, 2026
Feast of Saint Boniface
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Next month we will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. While Catholics were very few in number in North America back then, they did have a presence. Today, in this fifth presentation, we reflect on one of the two members of the Carroll family who demonstrated great support for the American Revolution.
Talk #5: Charles Carroll
Charles Carroll was born in 1737 at Annapolis, Maryland, of a wealthy Catholic family. He attended Jesuit schools in Maryland and France and became quite talented at various languages. After his return to Maryland in 1765, his father gave him the Carrollton Manor, with its hundreds of slaves, and ever afterwards Charles was known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton. He himself became quite wealthy, some historians saying he was the richest man in the colonies. Yet, as a Catholic, he had no political rights.
When the double tax on Catholics in Maryland ceased in 1773, Governor Robert Eden tried to reimpose this duty in order to benefit the Anglican Church. Charles Carroll attacked this by-passing of the state legislature in newspaper articles under the pseudonym, “First Citizen,” a rather presumptuous title for a Catholic. In being so forthright, Carroll was risking his great wealth in a community which was decidedly anti-Catholic. Daniel Dulany, who titled himself, “Antillon,” called Carroll, “second citizen,” accusing him of being a Catholic and dismissing him because “He is not a Protestant.” Nonetheless, Charles bested this opponent in the series of articles and was soon elected to the Maryland Assembly as a member of the Patriot Party.
In 1774, Carroll wrote to his father: “In a civil war there is and ought to be no neutrality…. I will either endeavor to defend the liberties of my country or die with them.”
In 1776 Maryland granted freedom of religion and political office to all Christians. On July 1, 1776, the Maryland Convention voted for independence and Charles was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. While he arrived too late to vote for independence, he did sign the declaration on August 2, 1776, the only Catholic to do so. At his signing another delegate chimed in: “There go a few millions.” Clearly, he was risking his wealth and standing by opposing the King. In addition to that risk, he also provided an extensive amount of financial support to the war effort.
John Adams had written a letter to a friend in February of 1776 describing Carroll: “The last is not a member of Congress [he had not yet been elected], but a gentleman of independent fortune, perhaps the largest in America—150 or 200,000 pounds sterling; educated in some university in France, though a native of America; of great abilities and learning, complete master of the French language, and professor of the Roman Catholic religion; yet a warm, a firm, a zealous supporter of the rights of America, in whose cause he has hazarded his all.” During the war, Carroll remained a staunch supporter in the Congress of the colonial cause and especially of General George Washington.
After the war, he remained involved in Maryland politics and was elected to the first United States Senate and took his seat on April 13, 1789, and was a strong opponent to anything that seemed a regal coronation of President Washington or to titles for the senators. He was also a strong supporter in 1790 to move the seat of Federal Government to the Potomac River area.
Due to changes in Maryland law, Carroll withdrew from the senate on November 30, 1792 in order to focus on Maryland issues back home. He died in Baltimore on November 14, 1832, the last living signatory of the Declaration of Independence, at the age of 95. President Jackson wrote at the time: “none will cherish more sacredly his memory now that he is take from us by the Great Disposer of the affairs of this world.”
Sincerely yours in Christ,
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Below is a video version of the above talk. Please feel free to share with family and friends. Thank you.