The "Immaculate" Connection

Most Reverend John Carroll, of Baltimore, was America's first Roman Catholic Bishop. In 1792, he consecrated the newly-created nation of these United States under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the title of the “Immaculate Conception”.

On May 13, 1846, the U.S. Bishops proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of “Immaculate Conception”, as the patroness of the United States of America. One year later, Pope Pius IX would finally recognize Bishop Carroll's original consecration of 1792 by proclaiming the “Immaculate Conception” as the “Patroness of the United States”. And, so it was until it was re-confirmed in 1959 when the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated in Washington, D.C. after facing so many obstacles to completion (the project was nearly abandoned entirely in the 1930’s until an unlikely figure emerged to help save it ).

These consecrations are not mere symbols taken lightly by the Holy men who conduct them but they are the product of deep thought and discerning wisdom. As the roots of Our Lady of America are deep within the walls of this fabulous property She chose to announce herself to a young nun, so is the thread that ties the Immaculate Conception, all the way back in 1792 with Bishop Carroll, to the Diocese of Fort Wayne and this property in Rome City, IN.

Let us go back to the Catholic Church’s beginnings on this continent, and in particular, the diocese where Rome City, IN is located.

What we would consider the Fort Wayne area was first placed under the care of the Bishop of Quebec from 1674 -1789.

Then, with the establishment of the Diocese of Baltimore, the Fort Wayne area was under the jurisdiction of Bishop Carroll from 1789 until 1810.

In 1810 it was under the Bishop Flaget, the Bishop of Bardstown, Kentucky.

From 1834 to 1857 the Fort Wayne area was governed as part of the Vincennes Diocese. Vincennes would later become the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

The earliest accounts of Catholic Mass being said in the Fort Wayne (called Miamitown at the time) area was on December 20, 1789 by a Fr. Louis Payet, a priest from Detroit conducted, "eight services of worship in as many days." At this time, Miamitown would have still been under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Quebec and there really were not that many settlers in the fort itself. The missionary priest only expected to say Mass a few days, gather provisions, and continue on his journey through the still-unsettled territory.

Word quickly spread throughout the area of the good priest's availability and many trappers and woodsmen made their way to the fledgling settlement area to attend Mass and receive Our Lord in The Eucharist. Times were harsh for these settlers and having a priest available to offer sacraments was not that common an event. These people dropped what projects they had in progress to journey to this settlement so that they could partake in the sacraments they sorely missed on the frontier (imagine your own life in their circumstances).

Shortly after these Masses were held, the Diocese of Baltimore was started and the Fort Wayne area (Miamitown) became part of Bishop Carroll’s jurisdiction. Three years later, in 1792, Bishop Carroll would issue his consecration of the United States under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the title of the “Immaculate Conception”.

In 1857, the northern half of Indiana was broken off from the Vincennes Diocese and the Cathedral in Fort Wayne, IN (established 1836) was consecrated as The Cathedral to The Immaculate Conception, thus placing this entire newly-formed diocesan area under the mantle of Our Lady’s protection.

To be continued…