John Carroll was born in 1735 in Maryland and was the first Roman Catholic bishop and archbishop in the United States. He founded Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic university in America. Carroll joined the Society of Jesus at age 18 and was ordained as a priest in 1769. In 1789, he was elected as the first bishop of Baltimore and oversaw the growth of the Catholic church in early America until his death in 1815.

2. John Carroll was
Born on January 8,
1735. He was the first
Roman Catholic
Bishop and
Archbishop in the
United States. He
founded Georgetown
University, which is
the oldest Catholic
school in the U.S.

3. John Carroll was
born in Upper
Marlboro,
Maryland as the 3rd
son to Daniel and
Eleanor Carroll.
Their first son died
quickly after birth
and their 2nd son
died during the
revolutionary war.
John Carroll was
baptized at Boone’s
Chapel.

4. When John Carroll
was 12 he began a
Jesuit grammar
school. After that he
went to college for 6
years at St. Omer’s
College where he
studied a liberal
education.
Statue of John Carroll in front of Healy Hall on the
campus of Georgetown University.

5. Carroll joined the Society of Jesus as a postulant at the
age of 18 in 1753. In 1755, he went to the Liege to began
his studies of philosophy and theology. In 1969 he was
ordained as a priest and until the age of 40 he taught at
St-Omer and Liege.

6. When the Pope Suppressed the Society of
Jesus in 1773, Carroll returned to him
home in Maryland.

7. Carroll was elected as
Bishop of Baltimore in
April of 1789. The
election was approved
by Pope Pius VI. He was
Ordained as a Bishop on
August 15,1790. (the
Feast of the Assumption)
In 1808, the pope made
Baltimore the first
Archdiocese in the U.S.

8. This is the inside of the chapel of
Lulworth cast in Dorset, England

9. Carroll Died in Baltimore
on December 3, 1815. His
remains are at the Basilica
of National Shrine, which
is open to the public.

10. In 1886 John Carroll
University was founded
which was at that time
called St. Ignatius
College. It ran separately
from St. Ignatius High
School. In 1923 St.
Ignatius College bought
land in University
Heights. In September of
1923 the school’s name
was changed to John
Carroll University in
honor of Archbishop
John Carroll.