Bishopswear, 1800’s Style

Following up an earlier post on 1800’s priests’ garb, I recently discovered this rare photo of a 19th century bishop in civvies. Shown here is Baltimore Archbishop Martin John Spalding (1810-1872) wearing a bishop’s pectoral cross over his suit. Spalding came from an old Kentucky Catholic family that’s given quite a few sons and daughters to the Church. Among his relatives was Mother Catherine Spalding (1793-1858), who founded the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Spalding University in Kentucky was named in her honor. The Archbishop’s nephew, John Lancaster Spalding (1840-1916) played a leading role in founding The Catholic University of America, the nation’s only pontifical university. He also became an Archbishop and headed the Diocese of Peoria. Archbishop Spalding the elder brought the Xaverian Brothers to the United States in 1854. One of the best historians of American Catholicism was the late Brother Thomas Spalding, who wrote a biography of his ancestor Martin, and a history of the Baltimore Archdiocese. Quite a family!