Roman Catholicism in the United States: Encyclopedia II - Roman Catholicism in the United States - History

Roman Catholicism in the United States - History

Roman Catholicism first came to the territories now forming the United States with the Spanish explorers and settlers in present-day Florida (1513) and the southwest. The first Christian worship service held in the current United States was a Catholic Mass celebrated in St. Augustine, Florida. The influence of the Alta California missions (1769 and onwards) forms a lasting memorial to part of this heritage.

Catholicism received a boost with the settling of Maryland (1634): this colony offered a rare example of the Catholic-oriented religious toleration in a fairly intolerant age, particularly amongst other English plantations which frequently exhibited a quite militant Protestantism. (See the Maryland Toleration Act, and note the pre-eminence of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Catholic circles.) However, at the time of the American Revolution, Catholics formed less than 1 percent of the population of the thirteen colonies.

Subsequent mass-immigration -- especially of Catholics from Ireland, Germany, southern Europe (Italy, Portugal), Poland, the Philippines, and Latin America -- has impacted the flavor of Catholicism in the United States. Some anti-immigrant movements, like the Know Nothings and the Ku Klux Klan, have also been anti-Catholic.

In the latter half of the 19th century, the first attempt at standardizing discipline in the American Church occurred with the convocation of the Plenary Councils of Baltimore.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki