January 21: The Hands of a Woman

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is January 21st, and our story is The Hands of a Woman. In 1648, the existence of the Catholic colony in Maryland depended on one woman, Margaret Brent. A decade earlier, Brent and three of her siblings, all Catholics, fled Great Britain for America, looking to escape the religious troubles of post-Reformation England.

In 1645, however, the troubles from which they'd fled came to them. That year, Richard Ingle, an industrious Puritan sea captain, set sail along the Maryland coast in the ship Reformation, attacking Catholic settlements, imprisoning two priests, and ultimately exiling Maryland's governor, Leonard Calvert, to Virginia. There, Calvert hired mercenary soldiers who returned with him to Maryland, defeated Ingle's men, and executed Ingle. All should have been well, but Calvert fell ill and died before he could pay the mercenaries. That task he entrusted to the unmarried but wealthy landowner, Margaret Brent, telling her to take all, sell all.

Unfortunately, as his executrix soon discovered, Calvert's property wasn't sufficient for payment. With the mercenaries threatening to wipe out the colony they just saved, the Maryland Provincial Court took action. Rather than tax themselves to pay the mercenaries, they named Brent the attorney for Calvert's brother, Cecil, the absent Lord Baltimore, granting her the authority to sell his property as well.

Brent, who appeared before the council on January 21, 1648, protested and demanded a vote in the proceedings. She knew their decision would not please Baltimore. Although her request was denied, she dutifully carried out the court's order. Her prediction of Baltimore's displeasure, however, proved correct. In a letter defending their decision, the court wrote him, saying, We do verily believe that your estate was better for the colony's safety at that time in her hands than in any man's else, for the soldiers would never have treated any other with civility and respect.

Brent, the first woman to appear before a court of common law in the American colonies, died in 1671. Margaret Brent's courage knew no bounds. Her ability to navigate a male-dominated legal and political system highlights how faith, prudence, and courage intersect to produce real-world impact.

Brent's story presents a challenge. Identify a situation where you can take initiative to help others or protect a greater good. Plan a step you can take today or this week. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, January 22nd, for another story of faith and courage in America.