First Bishops Meeting in America, 1829

On this day in 1829, the First Provincial Council of Baltimore assembled. It was the first gathering of the American hierarchy in the nation’s history. While the ecclesiastical province of Baltimore comprised the whole territory of the early American Republic, the provincial councils held in that city sufficed for the church government of the country. When, however, several ecclesiastical provinces had been formed, a plenary council became a necessity for the fostering of common discipline. As a consequence, the Fathers of the Seventh Provincial Council of Baltimore (1849) requested the Holy See to sanction the holding of a plenary synod. The petition was granted and the pope appointed Archbishop Kenrick of Baltimore as Apostolic Delegate to convene and preside over the council. Three plenary councils were held: in 1852, in 1866, and in 1884. The last gave rise to the Baltimore Catechism. In 1917, the Bishops of the United States formed a national organization that came to be known as the National Catholic Welfare Conference. In 1966, it was replaced by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

(Adapted from the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia)