March 25: The Ark and the Dove

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is March 25th, and our story is The Ark and the Dove. English Catholics needed safe harbor. That much George Calvert knew all too well. The fines imposed by the British government on dissenters were crippling Catholics in 17th century England, and saying goodbye to their homeland seemed the best hope for many.

What Calvert, the first Baron of Baltimore and a convert to Catholicism, didn't know was where English Catholics could find that safe harbor. In 1627, he thought perhaps they could find it in Newfoundland and financed a colony there, but the French and the harsh climate ended that attempt almost as soon as it began.

Next, in 1629, Calvert looked to Virginia. This time, too many powerful people in the region were adamantly anti-Catholic. Finally, in 1632, he settled on Maryland, obtaining a promise from his good friend King James I for a land charter. Two months before the land charter was granted, however, George Calvert died. His son Cecil carried through with the project, though, and on November 22, 1633, the Ark, a 400-ton merchant ship, departed for America. On board were two Jesuit priests, a lay brother, 16 Catholic families, about the same number of Protestant families, and Cecil's brother, Leonard.

Their intention was to found a colony in the New World where all Christian religions, Protestant and Catholic alike, were equally respected. The ark met up with a second ship, the Dove, in Barbados, and together the ships made landfall on an island in the Chesapeake Bay on March 25, 1634, the Feast of the Annunciation.

The passengers disembarked, and the first mass in the British colonies was offered that day on the beach of the newly christened St. Clement's Island. After Mass concluded, the Catholics took a cross, carved out of one of the island's trees, and completed their celebration with a procession across the beach. Then, as the Jesuit priest who celebrated the Mass, Father Andrew White, described in a letter, we erected a trophy to Christ the Savior, humbly reciting on our bended knees the litany of the sacred cross with great emotion.

By seeking religious freedom, these settlers laid the foundation for a society that values conscience and community. Reflect on a situation where you can act with moral courage this week. Take one deliberate step toward advocating for what is right.

Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, March 26th, for another story of faith and courage in America.