Bishop Francis Patrick Kenrick (1797-1863) was born in Ireland and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1821. After arriving in Philadelphia in 1830 and gaining recognition through several publications as a Catholic scholar, Kenrick became the bishop of Philadelphia in 1842. Between 1834 and 1842, Kenrick advocated for Catholic children in public schools, arguing that they should not be forced to read the Protestant King James version of the Bible, and should not be forced to say Protestant prayers in school. Kenrick’s letter, though mild in its recommendations for how to make public schools more equitable for Catholic students, provoked outrage in many nativists who saw Kenrick as part of a Catholic conspiracy to take over the schools and either make them overtly Catholic or more generally godless.

Bishop Francis Patrick Kenrick (1797-1863) was born in Ireland and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1821. After arriving in Philadelphia in 1830 and gaining recognition through several publications as a Catholic scholar, Kenrick became the bishop of Philadelphia in 1842. Between 1834 and 1842, Kenrick advocated for Catholic children in public schools, arguing that they should not be forced to read the Protestant King James version of the Bible, and should not be forced to say Protestant prayers in school. Kenrick’s letter, though mild in its recommendations for how to make public schools more equitable for Catholic students, provoked outrage in many nativists who saw Kenrick as part of a Catholic conspiracy to take over the schools and either make them overtly Catholic or more generally godless.