History of Leonardtown, (Saint Mary's County) Maryland United States of America

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Benedict Joseph Fenwick, R.C. bishop, was born at Leonardtown, St. Mary's county, Md., Sept. 3, 1782. He was descended from the Fenwicks of Fenwick Tower, Northumberland, England. His first ancestor in America, Cuthbert Fenwick, was a prominent jurist of Maryland. His cousin, Edward Dominic Fenwick (1768-1832), was a pioneer Dominican missionary. Benedict was educated at Georgetown college, 1793-1805, and at the College of St. Sulpice, 1805-08. He was ordained to the priesthood at Georgetown, D.C., March 12, 1808, and was stationed at St. Peter's church, New York city, 1808-17. He visited Thomas Paine during his last illness at the urgent request of the dying man. He founded the New York literary institute and made the plans and designs for St. Patrick's cathedral, of which he began the erection in Mulberry street. In 1816 he was made vicar-general and in 1817 was president of Georgetown college and rector of Trinity church, Georgetown, D.C. He was sent to Charleston, S.C., in 1818, to reconcile differences between the French and English Catholics in the diocese and on his return to Georgetown in 1822 he was appointed procurator general of the Society of Jesus in the United States. On Nov 1, 1825, he was consecrated at Baltimore, Md., by Archbishop Marechal, bishop of the diocese of Boston, which at that time embraced the whole of the territory of New England, but had only four churches. He opened parochial schools in Boston, built the convent and academy of St. Benedict in Charlestown and made a visitation of his diocese in 1827, organizing congregations and marking out sites for churches. He provided missionaries and churches for the Indians and witnessed rapid progress in their civilization. By 1831 he had erected seventeen new churches, but under considerable opposition and persecution. In 1834 the convent at Charlestown was burned by a mob during the night, but the nuns escaped without injury. He founded the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., in 1843, and at his death his diocese contained fifty prosperous churches, an orphan asylum and numerous parochial schools, academies and colleges. In 1835-36 he was administrator sede vacante of the diocese of New York. His brother Enoch was also a Roman Catholic priest. He died in Boston, Mass., Aug. 11, 1846.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Leonardtown, (Saint Mary's County) Maryland

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