ARCHBISHOP CARROLL VISITS EMMITSBURG

by Kristen West McGuire

Archbishop John Carroll visited Emmitsburg on October 20, 1809. At age seventy-four, every clump of the horse’s hooves must have jolted his brittle backbone. He was anxious to see the foundation of the first American nuns. But he also needed to assess the spiritual problems reported to him by Mother Seton.

The sisters were largely settled by the end of July 1809. After their first community retreat, Fr. Dubourg, the first provincial, decided the sisters were too dependent upon one priest, Fr. Babade. To Elizabeth’s shock, Dubourg forbade them to correspond with Babade, nor to go to him for confession.

She immediately appealed directly to Archbishop Carroll. “Accustomed though I am to sacrifice...I should have acquiesced quietly…but the others could not bear it in the same way…and the idea [surfaced] that our Superior was acting like a tyrant.” Carroll’s diplomatic response resolved nothing, and people began taking sides.

Angry at the controversy, Dubourg resigned. The contrite Elizabeth immediately sent him a conciliatory letter. At the same time, she clearly was not giving in, for she penned yet another appeal to Carroll.

For his part, Babade kept away from the sisters except for events that his superiors approved. Aside from the leadership question, Mother Seton followed solid spiritual practices supplied by Fr. Babade in the first place.

The Sulpician superior, Fr. Nagot, appointed Fr. John Baptist David as superior, who clashed with Elizabeth at their first meeting. David shrewdly chose to keep his distance, making decisions without her counsel.

Carroll had achieved the unity of his diocese by interfering sparingly in squabbles. Outwardly, his visit to Emmitsburg was largely a liturgical visit. However, it seems likely he needed to see for himself how the controversy was affecting the daily life of the nuns. We may infer from his inaction that he liked what he saw.

Elizabeth appealed to him again a fortnight later. “The truth is, I have been made a Mother before being initiated, and that must excuse all…You will see how good a child I am going to be. Quite a little child…” The words are the oblation of a desperate woman reduced to begging for the sake of her spiritual children. Carroll still left the matter in Nagot’s hands, who firmly rebuked Mother Seton in writing.

Mother Seton’s steady leadership enabled the community to thrive. David was the least of her worries. Many of the sisters fell ill, and by Christmas 1810, several had died, including her sisters-in-law Harriet and Cecelia Seton.

Meanwhile, dictatorial Fr. David schemed to send Elizabeth to Baltimore. He also took steps to unite the order with the French Daughters of Charity, whose rule of life forbade motherhood in the convent. Carroll refused to intervene, stating, “its ultimate success under God depends on your sacrificing yourself…and continuing in your place of Superior.” Elizabeth undertook to obey as she could, and resist the worst ideas as providence allowed.

After two years of intrigue and dissension, David skulked away to the newly formed diocese of Bardstown, Kentucky. For Elizabeth, the victory was in the unity of her order, remaining independent of the French, and prospering in its new school and ministries. Through it all, Carroll seemingly had not helped her, but in truth, she had not needed his help. His trust in her was well-placed.

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