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Martin John Spalding
Martin John Spalding (May 23, 1810 – February 7, 1872) was an American Catholic prelate who served as archbishop of Baltimore from 1864 to 1872. He previously served as bishop of Louisville from 1850 to 1864. He advocated aid for freed slaves following the American Civil War. Spalding attended the First Vatican Council, where he first opposed, and then supported, a dogmatic proclamation of papal infallibility.
Martin Spalding was born on May 23, 1810, in Rolling Fork, Kentucky, the sixth of eight children of Richard and Henrietta (née Hamilton) Spalding. His ancestors came to the American colonies from England and Ireland, settling in the British Province of Maryland around the mid-17th century. Spalding's paternal grandfather, Benedict Spalding, moved to Kentucky from St. Mary's County, Maryland in 1790. His mother's family, also from Maryland, moved to Kentucky in 1791. Martin was a distant cousin of Mother Catherine Spalding, co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
Richard and Henrietta married in 1801. Their son Martin went through many illnesses as a young child. When he was only five or six years of age, Henrietta died; his oldest sister and paternal grandmother then cared for him. Richard remarried twice, and had a total of twenty-one children. When Martin Spalding reached age eight, his family sent him in 1818 to a country school in the area. While at the school, Spalding learned his multiplication tables in one day. He received his first communion in 1820 at age ten.
In 1821, Spalding entered St. Mary's College in Lebanon, Kentucky, where he became a favorite pupil of the school founder, Reverend William Byrne. By age 14, Spalding's math skills were so advanced that Byrne named him as the mathematics instructor at St. Mary's. At one point, a math professor from St. Joseph's College attempted to stump Spalding with difficult math problems, but Spalding solved them all.
By the time Spalding graduated from St. Mary's in 1826 at age 16, he had decided to enter the priesthood. He started his studies at St. Thomas Seminary in Bardstown, Kentucky, in September 1826. He spent the next four years studying philosophy and theology at St. Thomas. The seminary also required its seminarian to teach courses to lay students at the adjoining St. Joseph's College.
In 1830, Bishop Benedict Flaget sent Spalding to Rome to continue his studies at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. After a four-month journey, he arrived in Rome on August 7, 1830. Debilitated by the long trip, Spalding almost died in Rome. After a slow recovery, he continued his studies.
In 1834, Spalding earned a Doctor of Divinity degree from the university, the first American student to do so. He received the degree after a marathon session defending 256 propositions on theology, church history, and canon law from attacks by university faculty and other scholars.
While in Rome, Spalding was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bardstown by Cardinal Carlo Maria Pedicini on August 13, 1834. Spalding celebrated his first mass over Saint Peter's tomb in the subterranean chapel of St. Peter's Basilica.
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Martin John Spalding
Martin John Spalding (May 23, 1810 – February 7, 1872) was an American Catholic prelate who served as archbishop of Baltimore from 1864 to 1872. He previously served as bishop of Louisville from 1850 to 1864. He advocated aid for freed slaves following the American Civil War. Spalding attended the First Vatican Council, where he first opposed, and then supported, a dogmatic proclamation of papal infallibility.
Martin Spalding was born on May 23, 1810, in Rolling Fork, Kentucky, the sixth of eight children of Richard and Henrietta (née Hamilton) Spalding. His ancestors came to the American colonies from England and Ireland, settling in the British Province of Maryland around the mid-17th century. Spalding's paternal grandfather, Benedict Spalding, moved to Kentucky from St. Mary's County, Maryland in 1790. His mother's family, also from Maryland, moved to Kentucky in 1791. Martin was a distant cousin of Mother Catherine Spalding, co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.
Richard and Henrietta married in 1801. Their son Martin went through many illnesses as a young child. When he was only five or six years of age, Henrietta died; his oldest sister and paternal grandmother then cared for him. Richard remarried twice, and had a total of twenty-one children. When Martin Spalding reached age eight, his family sent him in 1818 to a country school in the area. While at the school, Spalding learned his multiplication tables in one day. He received his first communion in 1820 at age ten.
In 1821, Spalding entered St. Mary's College in Lebanon, Kentucky, where he became a favorite pupil of the school founder, Reverend William Byrne. By age 14, Spalding's math skills were so advanced that Byrne named him as the mathematics instructor at St. Mary's. At one point, a math professor from St. Joseph's College attempted to stump Spalding with difficult math problems, but Spalding solved them all.
By the time Spalding graduated from St. Mary's in 1826 at age 16, he had decided to enter the priesthood. He started his studies at St. Thomas Seminary in Bardstown, Kentucky, in September 1826. He spent the next four years studying philosophy and theology at St. Thomas. The seminary also required its seminarian to teach courses to lay students at the adjoining St. Joseph's College.
In 1830, Bishop Benedict Flaget sent Spalding to Rome to continue his studies at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. After a four-month journey, he arrived in Rome on August 7, 1830. Debilitated by the long trip, Spalding almost died in Rome. After a slow recovery, he continued his studies.
In 1834, Spalding earned a Doctor of Divinity degree from the university, the first American student to do so. He received the degree after a marathon session defending 256 propositions on theology, church history, and canon law from attacks by university faculty and other scholars.
While in Rome, Spalding was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Bardstown by Cardinal Carlo Maria Pedicini on August 13, 1834. Spalding celebrated his first mass over Saint Peter's tomb in the subterranean chapel of St. Peter's Basilica.