Howard County parish explores patriotism’s Catholic roots for America’s 250th July 14, 2026By Carole Norris Greene Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: America's 250th anniversary, Feature, Local News CLARKSVILLE – A nearly full audience filled St. Louis Church’s social hall in Clarksville July 9 to hear Matthew Spalding, dean of Hillsdale College’s Graduate School of Government, make a case for falling back in love with America through its founding document. “The most loving thing about our country is … what we aspire to,” Spalding told the crowd, describing the nation’s highest ideals. Matthew Spalding, dean of Hillsdale College’s Graduate School of Government, speaks July 9, 2026, at St. Louis Church in Clarksville. (Carole Norris Greene/Special to the Catholic Review) The lecture was part of a yearlong initiative by the Howard County pastorate of St. Louis and St. Francis of Assisi in Fulton, marking America’s 250th anniversary with events recommitting to the idea of a nation under God. “We’ve been trying to distinguish between patriotism and nationalism,” explained Father Michael DeAscanis, pastor. “Patriotism is love of one’s country and love of one’s neighbor, a sense of responsibility to serve your country; love of place. Nationalism is love of your political system, right or wrong. My country, right or wrong. That’s not a virtue. Patriotism is a virtue.” For Father DeAscanis, the framing is rooted in Catholic teaching: the Catechism calls Catholics to serve the nation despite its imperfections by being informed citizens, voting and defending it when necessary. “Patriotism is the motivation to make your country better,” he added. “If you see a problem, fix it. It’s like the Catholic Church. You see problems in the church, fix them. Don’t leave. Be part of the solution.” The America 250 activities were designed to rise above politics. As Americans, “we know that we’ve committed sins as a nation in the past and in the present,” Father DeAscanis acknowledged. “But what do we love about our nation? We love its ideas.” The Declaration as ‘symphony’ Spalding, who oversees Hillsdale’s Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, referenced St. Augustine of Hippo’s belief that nothing can be truly loved unless known in its essence – “that includes our spouses, children and country,” he said, pointing to St. Augustine’s teaching on the proper order of love. Information and a relic of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton are featured at St. Louis in Clarksville as part of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America. (Carole Norris Greene/Special to the Catholic Review) “That suggests to me that if we are to love our country we ought to know something about it,” Spalding reasoned. “I think that means we need to know the Declaration of Independence,” written by Thomas Jefferson. Spalding described the Declaration as being like a symphony. “It has different movements and different sounds, different rhythms, different harmonies; it’s one complete work,” said Spalding, author of “The Making of the American Mind, The Story of the Declaration of Independence,” published by Hillsdale College. Spalding argued that the Declaration’s opening phrase, “When in the course of human events,” reflects the Founders’ belief that history is shaped by human choices rather than fate. He also noted the Declaration’s assertion that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed,” and when they “become destructive of these ends,” the people have the right to alter or abolish them. “There are only two individual characters in the whole document,” Spalding observed. “One is an all-powerful king,” George III, who had both executive and legislative powers. The other is God, “who has the legislative powers, the executive power, and the judicial power, but is not a tyrant. In 1776, any reader would have seen that comparison.” The colonists were “severing their relation with England, they were starting a new nation based … on the laws of nature and of nature’s God.” Spalding recalled Abraham Lincoln’s July 10, 1858, Chicago speech describing the Declaration as “an electric chord that connected and links the hearts of patriotic liberty loving men everywhere.” “This is what unites us,” Spalding said. “We are a particular people in this particular place dedicated to truth, universal ends. … This is what makes America great. It makes it worthy of our affections. I invite all of you to join me, to fall in love with your country again.” Volunteers participate in the “Freedom2Serve” retreat held for teens and featuring a service project at the Little Portion Farm in Ellicott City. (Courtesy Maria Santo) A yearlong commitment Maria Santo, a St. Louis parishioner and organizer of the initiative, said the pastorate hopes to unite parishioners around patriotism through a shared love of family, cultural traditions, and American and Catholic history. “Father DeAscanis has encouraged a year of reflection and learning to bridge political divides and acknowledge our struggles while celebrating our freedoms and unique American ideals to draw us closer together,” she said. The yearlong observance has included a tour of the church’s historic stained-glass windows (originally located at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore). Teens volunteered in a service retreat at Little Portion Farm in Ellicott City. Parishioners have also participated in a Southern Maryland pilgrimage on Maryland Catholics’ role in religious freedom and participated in the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage at the Baltimore Basilica, with an August patriotic oratorio and a multicultural Mass still ahead. Three centuries of local history A detail from a stained glass window at St. Louis in Clarksville depicts Benjamin Franklin accompanying Bishop John Carroll on a journey to Canada, a Catholic nation, to seek its support against England during the American Revolution. The window is part of a set originally located at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. (Carole Norris Greene/Special to the Catholic Review). St. Louis Parish also has a unique connection to Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. A church exhibit includes a White House-produced video about Carroll and the other founders. Carroll “has an estate a few miles from our church called Doughoregan Manor and his family built a Catholic Chapel in 1737,” Father DeAscanis explained. “Until the Revolutionary War, it was illegal to build a public Catholic church in the 1700s. So Catholics in Howard County who wanted to go to Mass would have to go to Charles’ … house church. Charles, when he died, was buried in the chapel in the sanctuary floor. … “The Carroll family still live in the house and are still parishioners at St. Louis Parish 300 years later.” Also see When the American pope comes for July 4 dinner, here’s what happens Radio Interview: Catholicism, religious freedom and the early United States Pope visits U.S. embassy July 4 for discussion on peace and freedom, with a side of apple pie Mass of Thanksgiving for America’s 250th anniversary held at National Shrine in Washington Pope Leo to pilgrims: ‘Strong eucharistic heritage of US must continue as source of renewal, unity’ In Independence Day Mass, Archbishop Lori calls for continued witness to human dignity Copyright © 2026 Catholic Review Media Print
