Celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with a fascinating look at the often-overlooked Catholic roots of the nation on Catholic Review Radio. Host Rita Buettner speaks with Dr. Dennis Castillo, professor of Church history at St. Mary’s Seminary, to explore how a small but influential Catholic community helped shape the founding of the United States.

Archbishop William E. Lori said that when Redemptorist Father Patrick Woods invited him several months ago to celebrate an Independence Day Mass on the grounds of the Carroll House, “I knew this is the place I had to be on the Fourth of July.”

Unable to receive a Catholic education in the British colonies in North America, three young men from wealthy families were sent to Saint-Omer, France, to study at the College of the English Jesuits.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Venerable Mother Mary Lange were towering figures in the history of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Working in the early decades of the republic, both women recognized unmet needs in American society and responded by creating institutions that would endure long after their lifetimes. 

With the rise of more rigorous federal immigration enforcement in the city, the Archdiocese of Baltimore is encountering immigrant parishioners across all its parishes facing precarious situations.

Endings can be hard and beginnings can be scary. No one knows that better than the students who are leaving the familiarity of their current schools and heading off to high school in the fall. Although that transition can be daunting and filled with concerns, people who have already gone through it said it doesn’t have to be.

At the time of the American Revolution, Catholics may have comprised only 1 percent of the total population of the colonies – with the majority of them living in Maryland. Despite their small numbers, Catholics played a role in the founding of the United States of America.

In this episode of Catholic Review radio, Carol Glatz sat down with Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty for a wide-ranging discussion on the joys and hardships of covering the Vatican and the popes.

Extraordinary students graduated from Catholic high schools across the Archdiocese of Baltimore at the end of this academic year. The Catholic Review highlights four of them.

A total of 2,250 students graduated this year from Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, marking an increase from 2,156 last year and continuing a steady trend of strong academic achievement across the system.