Even before America was a nation, Catholics have shaped its history. Some Catholics, like President John F. Kennedy or soon-to-be Blessed Fulton Sheen, are well-known. Other people to note may not be household names, but they shaped America — along with other pivotal Church moments. Read on to learn more.
10 Papal Trips to America: Popes have visited the United States 10 times so far. Pope Paul VI made the first papal visit to the U.S. in October 1965, traveling to New York City to address the United Nations. Pope John Paul II’s official visits were in 1979, 1987, 1993 (for World Youth Day in Denver), 1995 and 1999. Benedict XVI visited in April 2008, stopping in Washington and New York. Pope Francis came in 2015, visiting Washington, New York City and Philadelphia (for the World Meeting of Families).
Katharine Drexel Prayed for George Washington: According to St. Katharine Drexel: Friend of the Oppressed (Ignatius Press), a historical novel for middle readers, Philadelphia native Katharine prayed for our nation’s first president. Author Elizabeth Tarry includes this prayerful anecdote: “More than once, she went to sleep whispering: ‘Let perpetual light shine upon George Washington. May his soul rest in peace.’ It was a practice she was to continue for the rest of her life.”
Philadelphia’s Catholic Connection: Old St. Mary Church is part of the history of America’s birthday. On July 4, 1779, the first public religious commemoration of the Declaration of Independence took place here. Members of the first Continental Congress officially attended, one of the four times they attended services at this church from 1777 to 1781. George Washington was present, and the first president worshipped at St. Mary’s on at least two occasions. Again, in 1781, a Mass was celebrated in thanksgiving after British Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. In 1810, Old St. Mary’s was named the first cathedral in the newly created Diocese of Philadelphia. — Joseph Pronechen, staff writer
‘River of the Immaculate Conception’: “Immaculate” is not a word most people would use to describe the Mississippi River’s famously muddy waters. But Father Jacques Marquette was not most people. The Jesuit explorer, who came from France as a missionary to Canada in 1666, was one of the first Europeans to name the Mississippi, which he explored and mapped with his companion Louis Joliet beginning in 1673. And the name he gave to this vital artery of North America was “The River of the Immaculate Conception.” In 1846, the bishops of the now United States declared Mary, the Immaculate Conception, as the patroness of the country. Though forgotten by most, “River of the Immaculate Conception” endures in the memories of one community in particular: the congregation at Immaculate Conception Chapel in Kaskaskia, Illinois. — Jonah McKeown, Register staff writer
Catholic Astronaut: Mike Hopkins, a Catholic convert who addressed the National Eucharistic Congress in 2024, told the Register in 2017 what it’s like to receive the Eucharist in space during his 2013 mission to the International Space Station: “I was able to take the Eucharist up — and I was able to have Communion, basically, every week. There were a couple of times when I received Communion on, I’ll say, special occasions: I did two spacewalks; so on the morning of both of those days, when I went out for the spacewalk, I had Communion. It was really helpful for me to know that Jesus was with me when I went out the hatch into the vacuum of space. And then I received my last Communion on my last day on orbit in the ‘Cupola,’ which is this large window that looks down at the Earth, and that was a very special moment before I came home.”
Celebrity Convert: John Wayne converted to the Catholic faith on his deathbed in 1979.
A Chicago Priest Invented the First Bulletproof Vest: Father Casimir Zeglen, who emigrated from Poland after joining the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, was pastor to 40,000 souls at Chicago’s St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, the largest parish in the United States at the time, in the 1890s. Father Zeglen was concerned with violence in his adopted city — especially after Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison was assassinated in 1893. Having studied at Warsaw University of Technology, the priest was determined to save lives. After experimenting with various materials, he came across a novel concept: Weaving silk in a particular way could stop the bullets of the era. In 1897, Father Zeglen wore a woven-silk vest while a marksman shot him in the torso in a public square — proving his invention worked. Vests made by the priest and his inventing partner, Jan Szczepanik, were later worn by royalty in Europe.
