Bishop John England (1786-1842)

Today in 1842 marks the death of Bishop John England, first Bishop of Charleston, South Carolina. Born in Cork, Ireland, he was ordained in Ireland in 1809. He served there until 1820 when he came to America as Bishop of Charleston. At that time his diocese comprised North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. In 1822, he founded the United States Catholic Miscellany, the first Catholic newspaper in the United States. He twice visited Haiti as Apostolic Delegate, in which capacity he became the first American bishop to ordain a Black man, Charles Paddington of Dublin. In 1826 he became the first Bishop to address the United States Congress, apeaking on the compatibility between the Church and democratic institutions. In Charleston he implemented a unique system of Church governance. He devised the idea of an annual diocesan convention, comprised of a House of Clergy and a House of Lay Delegates (elected from the parishes). He also created a Constitution for his diocese. Unfortunately, none of these survived his death in 1842.