January 13: The Dominican Bishop

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is January 13th, and our story is The Dominican Bishop. Bishop Edward Fenwick, O.P., inherited a love of his country from his father, the revolutionary war hero, Colonel Ignatius Fenwick. From his mother, Sarah Taney, he inherited a love of his Catholic faith. And from both, Bishop Fenwick inherited a vast fortune that he used to build the first Dominican priory in the United States, and the first Catholic educational institution west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Born in Maryland and educated in Belgium, the young Father Fenwick spent several years teaching at a Dominican college near Albuquerque. Antwerp, before the advent of the French Revolution, led to the college's closing and Fenwick's imprisonment. When he was released, he traveled to England, where he continued teaching for the Dominicans.

Fenwick's dream, however, was to return home and help evangelize the United States. In 1804, his superiors finally granted him permission, and with three companions, Fenwick journeyed across the Atlantic to Maryland. There, he met with Bishop John Carroll, who asked the Dominicans to evangelize the American frontier, including the territories acquired through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

In 1806, with Fenwick as their superior, the foursome arrived in Washington County, Kentucky, where Fenwick used his inheritance to purchase a 500-acre farm and begin construction of St. Rose Priory. In 1809, construction of the church was complete. Three years later, the doors to St. Thomas Aquinas College opened, and in 1816, its first four graduates were ordained to the Dominican priesthood.

In St. Rose Catholic Church on January 13, 1822, Fenwick became Bishop Fenwick, the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Cincinnati, a diocese that then encompassed all of Ohio, Michigan, and the Northwest Territories. He went on to build 22 churches, including the diocese's first cathedral, established St. Francis Xavier Seminary, and founded the Catholic Telegraph, the oldest continually published Catholic newspaper in the United States. A cholera epidemic took the 64-year-old bishop's life 10 years later, in 1832.

Bishop Fenwick's life reminds us that faith and resources are best used to serve others. His dedication to education, evangelization, and communication strengthened the church in a growing nation. True leadership combines vision with action, and Fenwick's work still shapes the church in America today.

Think of a way you can invest your time, talent, or treasure in the service of your parish or community this week. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, January 14th, for another story of faith and courage in America.