August 24: America's Architect

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is August 24th, and our story is America's Architect. In 1792, Thomas Jefferson anonymously entered the design competition for his future home, the U.S. Presidential Mansion. What Jefferson didn't realize, however, was that before the competition even began, it was as good as won by the Catholic architect James Hoban. Born to a poor tenant farmer in Ireland, Hoban worked as a carpenter until the age of 20, when he secured admission to Ireland's most prestigious architectural school.

After completing his studies, he set up a successful practice in Ireland and an even more successful practice in America, his home after 1785. Hoban settled in Philadelphia before moving to South Carolina. There, while completing work on the Charleston County Courthouse in 1791, he met President George Washington, who knew talent when he saw it. The following spring, the President summoned Hoban to Philadelphia and asked him to enter his design competition. Hoban complied.

When the time came for Washington to choose the winner, he didn't linger long over the decision. Construction began, according to Hoban's proposed designs, that October. Jefferson never forgot his loss, though, nor did he accept it. In 1800, when he moved into the recently completed presidential mansion, he quickly redesigned it, with elements of his earlier plans. Fourteen years later, on August 24, 1814, the British torched the now popularly named White House.

After the war, President James Madison called on Hoban to oversee the reconstruction. Proving himself a more gracious loser than Jefferson, Hoban replicated the third president's modifications in his restoration. When he wasn't working at the White House, Hoban kept busy raising a large family, including one son who became a Jesuit priest, designing other buildings across the new nation, and helping found Catholic institutions in his adopted home of Washington, D.C., including Georgetown University, St. Patrick's Parish, the city's first Catholic church, and St.

Peter's Parish on Capitol Hill. He died in Washington in 1831. Hoban's story encourages us to recognize the value of applying our gifts not just for personal gain, but for the benefit of others and the glory of God. Consider a skill or talent you can use to serve your community or support your parish today.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, August 25th, for another story of faith and courage in America.