Roger Baxter (1784–1827) was an English Jesuit, a Catholic missionary in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and Prefect of Studies at Georgetown College.
Life
Baxter was a native of
Walton-le-Dale, near
Preston, in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and studied at
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...
. He entered the
Society of Jesus
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, founders ...
in 1810. In 1816, in response to a letter of Rev. T.C. Holland, Baxter wrote a letter printed in the ''Preston Chroncile'' in defense of the Trinity.
Baxter arrived in
Georgetown in early 1817 bearing a letter of introduction from
Charles Plowden
Charles Plowden (born at Plowden Hall, Shropshire, 1743; died at Jougne, Doubs, France, 13 June 1821) was an English Jesuit priest, teacher, writer and administrator.
Life
He was a descent of Edmund Plowden, and was raised in a Catholic fami ...
, Rector of Stonyhurst and head of the English Province of Jesuits, to
Giovanni Antonio Grassi
Giovanni Antonio Grassi (anglicized as John Anthony Grassi; 10 September 1775 – 12 December 1849) was an Italian Catholic priest and Jesuit who led many academic and religious institutions in Europe and the United States, including Georget ...
, superior of the Jesuits' Maryland Mission and the president of
Georgetown College
Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in educat ...
. He was ordained shortly after his arrival by
Archbishop Neale on 31 May 1817.
Between May 9 to Dec. 1, 1817, a theological controversy was carried on between Baxter and Rev. W.H. Wilmer, Episcopal minister of St. Paul's church,
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
regarding the tenets of Catholicity. Baxter's letters were published in the ''Alexandria Gazette'', and Wilmer's in the ''Alexandria Herald''. Baxter is described as "a man conspicuous for his learning, eloquence, and zeal in defense of the faith".
After occasionally visiting
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
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in 1818, he became the resident priest there the following year. Most of the congregation were Irish immigrants who had come to work on the
James River and Kanawha Canal
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a ...
. Known as an effective preacher, Baxter gave the address at the dedication of the
Cathedral of the Assumption in Baltimore on 31 May 1821.
[Devitt, E.I., "The Clergy List of 1819, Diocese of Baltimore", ''Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia'' , Vol. 22, No. 4 (DECEMBER, 1911), p. 241]
/ref>
After October 1819, he was at Georgetown College, where he served as Prefect of Studies and professor of philosophy until 1824. Baxter then spent a year in Europe. He severed his ties with the Society and stayed some time in England before returning.
After rendering great services to the missions of Maryland and Pennsylvania, he died at St. Joseph's Residence in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
on 24 May 1827 at the age of thirty-four, and was buried in "The "Bishop's Ground" and in 1841 removed to Holy Cross Cemetery.[
]
Works
* 'Remarks on a Sermon preached by the Rev. J. Le Mesurier, B.D., in which the invocation of saints and angels, as now practised in the church of Rome, is attempted to be shown as idolatrous,’ Lond. 1816.
* 'The most important Tenets of Roman Catholics fairly explained,’ Washington, 1819, Philadelphia, 1845, often reprinted.
* '' Meditations For Every Day In The Year'', (Roger Baxter S.J. ed.) New York, Benziger Brothers, 1823.Gillow, Joseph. ''A literary and biographical history or bibliographical dictionary of the English Catholics from 1534'', Volume 5, Burns & Oates, 1885, p. 7
/ref>
References
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Roger
1784 births
1827 deaths
19th-century English Jesuits
18th-century English people
People from Walton-le-Dale
Roman Catholic writers
English religious writers
19th-century English non-fiction writers
Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States
19th-century American writers
English Roman Catholic missionaries
British expatriates in the United States