American Religion Timelines
Catholic Events and People - Events by Date
| Date (Year-Month-Day) | Event | Introduction | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1769-07-16 | Junipero Serra Establishes First Missions in California | Junipero Serra established Mission San Diego on July 16, 1769. This helped extend Spanish control in California and brought Christianity to Native Americans. | |
| 1774-10-07 | Quebec Act | The Quebec Act of 1774 led to a resurgence in anti-Catholic sentiment in the American colonies and increased tensions between colonists and the British government. | |
| 1789-01-01 | Georgetown Founded | In 1789, Georgetown University became the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the United States. | |
| 1789-11-06 | Diocese of Baltimore | On November 6, 1789, the first diocese in the United States was established in Baltimore, Maryland. | |
| 1790-01-01 | First Convent of Nuns in America | The first Catholic convent in America was founded in 1790 in Maryland by four contemplative Discalced Carmelite Nuns who came from a convent in Belgium. | |
| 1829-01-01 | Oblate Sisters of Providence Founded | The Oblate Sisters of Providence, founded in Baltimore, Md., in 1829, was the first Roman Catholic congregation founded by women of African descent. | |
| 1834-08-11 | Ursuline Convent Riots | In 1834, an anti-Catholic mob burned down a convent and school run by Ursuline nuns in Charlestown, Mass. | |
| 1836-01-01 | Publication of Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery | Maria Monk's controversial Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery (1836) depicted illicit encounters between priests and nuns, rape, infanticide, and murder. | |
| 1839-01-01 | Papal Condemnation of Slave Trade | In 1839, Pope Gregory XVI condemned the slave trade in the papal bull entitled In supremo apostolatus, but American Catholics were tentative about ending slavery. | |
| 1842-01-01 | University of Notre Dame Founded | French Priest Edward Sorin founded the University of Notre Dame in 1842. It became the most renowned Catholic university in the world. | |
| 1852-05-09 | Plenary Councils of Baltimore | The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were a series of meetings of the American Catholic bishops held in 1852, 1866, and 1884. | |
| 1882-01-01 | Knights of Columbus | The Knights of Columbus is a fraternal organization for Catholic men that formed in Connecticut in 1882. | |
| 1886-04-24 | Augustus Tolton Becomes Ordained Catholic Priest | On April 24, 1886, Augustus Tolton became the first fully and recognizably African-American Catholic priest. | |
| 1891-05-15 | Publication of Encyclical Rerum Novarum | Rerum Novarum, an 1891 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII on protecting the working class, is a foundational text in modern Catholic social thought. | |
| 1899-01-22 | Publication of Encyclical Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae | Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae, an 1899 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII, condemned the heresy of Americanism. | |
| 1907-09-08 | Publication of Encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis | Pascendi Dominici Gregis, a 1907 encyclical by Pope Pius X, defined Modernism as "the synthesis of all heresies." | |
| 1915-01-01 | Xavier University of Louisiana Founded | Xavier University of Louisiana (est. 1915) is the only historically black Catholic institution of higher learning in America. | |
| 1917-01-01 | National Catholic War Council | The National Catholic War Council in 1917 allowed the Catholic hierarchy to display its patriotism and to unite on a national level. | |
| 1919-01-01 | Bishops' Program for Social Reconstruction | The "Bishops’ Program for Social Reconstruction" (1919) was a Catholic initiative supporting guaranteed wages, health insurance, and worker protections. | |
| 1920-01-01 | Bureau of Immigration | In 1920, the National Catholic Welfare Council gave aid and guidance to new Catholic immigrants through its Bureau of Immigration. | |
| 1928-11-06 | Al Smith Presidential Campaign | Alfred E. "Al" Smith became the first Catholic nominee for president when he ran as a Democrat in 1928 against Herbert Hoover. | |
| 1933-05-01 | Catholic Worker Movement | In 1933, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin founded the Catholic Worker Movement, a group of Catholic communities promoting social justice and hospitality toward the poor. | |
| 1960-11-08 | Election of John F. Kennedy | John F. Kennedy became the first Catholic President of the United States when he defeated Richard Nixon in the 1960 election. | |
| 1962-10-11 | Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) | The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was a Catholic ecumenical council that attempted to reconcile Catholicism with the challenges of modernity. | |
| 1965-01-01 | Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 | The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (i.e., Hart-Celler Act) permitted more Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu immigrants into the United States, changing the U.S. religious landscape. | |
| 1965-12-07 | Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration | The Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of 1965 revoked the mutual excommunications of 1054 that led to the Great Schism. | |
| 1967-01-01 | Catholic Charismatic Renewal at Duquesne University | The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement influenced by both Catholicism and Pentecostalism and whose American roots can be traced to Duquesne University in 1967. | |
| 1968-07-25 | Publication of Encyclical Humanae Vitae | Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae reaffirmed the Catholic Church's ban on artificial birth control and serves as a continuing source of controversy. | |
| 1983-05-03 | Publication of "The Challenge of Peace" | In 1983, the Catholic bishops of the United States published the "Challenge of Peace," which denounced the arms race during the Cold War. | |
| 1986-01-01 | Publication of "Economic Justice for All" | The United States Catholic bishops wrote the pastoral letter entitled "Economic Justice for All" (1986) to promote the economic well-being for all citizens. | |
| 1997-06-25 | City of Boerne v. Flores | In this 1997 case, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had overstepped its constitutional powers in enacting the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. | |
| 2002-01-01 | Catholic Church Abuse Scandal | The Catholic Church has recently been the subject of a widespread scandal involving Catholic officials accused of sexual abuse and cover-ups. |
