''Bishop John Carroll'' is a statue by the sculptor
Jerome Connor
Jerome Connor (23 February 1874 in Coumduff, Annascaul, County Kerry – 21 August 1943 in Dublin) was an Irish sculptor.
Life
In 1888, he emigrated to Holyoke, Massachusetts. His father was a stonemason, which led to Connor's jobs in New York ...
commemorating Archbishop
John Carroll John Carroll may refer to:
People Academia and science
*Sir John Carroll (astronomer) (1899–1974), British astronomer
*John Alexander Carroll (died 2000), American history professor
*John Bissell Carroll (1916–2003), American cognitive sci ...
, the founder of
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
and the first
Catholic bishop
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy Orders, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of Holy orders in the Catholic Church, holy orders and is responsible ...
in the United States. Located in front of
Healy Hall
Healy Hall is a National Historic Landmark and the flagship building of the main campus of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Constructed between 1877 and 1879, the hall was designed by Paul J. Pelz and John L. Smithmeyer, both of whom also ...
, on university's campus in the
Georgetown neighborhood of
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, the statue consists of a bronze sculpture of Carroll on top of a granite pedestal.
The monument rises more than in height, and was unveiled in 1912 with an elaborate three-day ceremony. Among the thousands of people in attendance were dignitaries including bishops and high-ranking clergy; members of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
; judges, including the
Chief Justice; the
Attorney General; and distinguished alumni. The statue has been the subject of student frivolities over the years, including a still current tradition of sitting in the archbishop's lap.
History
![John Carroll Gilbert Stuart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/John_Carroll_Gilbert_Stuart.jpg)
After the completion of Healy Hall, an area was set aside for a future statue of Georgetown's founder.
On January 23, 1909, in a speech titled "A Dream Realized and a Dream Still Unfulfilled," Rev. John A. Conway, S.J. announced to
Georgetown alumni at the annual Founder's Day banquet his wish that a monument to John Carroll, the founder of Georgetown University, be erected.
In addition to establishing the university, Carroll was the first Bishop and later
Archbishop of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...
, the oldest Catholic
see in the United States, making him the first
Catholic bishop
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an Holy Orders, ordained Minister (Catholic Church), minister who holds the fullness of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, sacrament of Holy orders in the Catholic Church, holy orders and is responsible ...
in the United States.
Fundraising began that year,
and a total of $7,000 was raised in the effort
().
Dedication
Three days of pomp over the erection of the statue began on the evening of May 3, 1912. The
Philodemic Society hosted a reception in
Gaston Hall, with music provided by the university's glee club.
Thomas Walsh delivered an
ode
An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...
, and
Daniel William O'Donoghue gave a history of the society and a tribute to the life of John Carroll. Afterwards, the alumni retired to the
refectory
A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...
and gave informal speeches. The statue was publicly unveiled at 11:00 a.m. on May 4, 1912.
In advance of the scheduled unveiling, the
foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...
that was casting the statue notified the university that the metalwork would not be ready in time. Not wishing to rescind invitations to dignitaries slated to speak, Georgetown went ahead with the unveiling ceremony after a brown-painted
plaster cast of the statue was placed on the pedestal, unbeknownst to the several thousand ceremony attendees. This secret was kept until 1940, when Brother James Harrington, the overseer of campus workers in 1912, revealed it to the university's student newspaper, ''
The Hoya
''The Hoya'', founded in 1920, is the oldest and largest student newspaper of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., serving as the university’s newspaper of record. ''The Hoya'' is a student-run paper that prints every Friday and publish ...
''.
The ceremony began with a procession of clergy, government officials, faculty, and alumni.
At the unveiling, Chief Justice
Edward Douglass White
Edward Douglass White Jr. (November 3, 1844 – May 19, 1921) was an American politician and jurist from Louisiana. White was a U.S. Supreme Court justice for 27 years, first as an associate justice from 1894 to 1910, then as the ninth chief ...
formally presented the statue on behalf of the National Alumni Association, which financed the project.
In his speech—which was said to have had a profound impact on
Edmund A. Walsh (the founder of the
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings ...
), who was in attendance—White commented on the connection between John Carroll and his brother,
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic si ...
, a signatory to the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
, and on the common Christian principles that underlie the founding of Georgetown University and the United States.
Following his speech, the American flag was lifted to reveal the statue, as the
United States Marine Band
The United States Marine Band is the premier band of the United States Marine Corps. Established by act of Congress on July 11, 1798, it is the oldest of the United States military bands and the oldest professional musical organization in th ...
played "
Maryland, My Maryland
"Maryland, My Maryland" was the state song of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1939 until 2021. The song is set to the melody of "Lauriger Horatius" — the same tune "O Tannenbaum" was taken from. The lyrics are from a nine-stanza poem written by ...
".
![Georgetown University, Healy Hall & Statue of John Carroll](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Georgetown_University%2C_Healy_Hall_%26_Statue_of_John_Carroll.jpg)
Additional speeches were made by: the Archbishop of Baltimore, Cardinal
James Gibbons
James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...
; the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Champ Clark
James Beauchamp Clark (March 7, 1850March 2, 1921) was an American politician and attorney who represented Missouri in the United States House of Representatives and served as Speaker of the House from 1911 to 1919.
Born in Kentucky, he establis ...
; the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador
Baron Hengelmuller; the Attorney General,
George W. Wickersham
George Woodward Wickersham (September 19, 1858 – January 25, 1936) was an American lawyer and Attorney General of the United States in the administration of President William H. Taft. He returned to government to serve in appointed positio ...
; the president of the National Alumni Association and chairman of the statue's ways and means committee,
George E. Hamilton; and the
President of Georgetown University,
Alphonsus J. Donlon. President
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
was supposed to speak at the ceremony but cancelled to attend a memorial service for his close aide who died
on the ''Titanic'', sending Wickersham in his stead.
Also on the dais were Bishop
Denis O'Connell of Richmond; Bishop
Henry Northrop of Charleston; Monsignor
Thomas Shahan
Thomas Joseph Shahan (September 11, 1857 – March 9, 1932) was an American Catholic theologian and educator, born at Manchester, New Hampshire, educated at Collège de Montréal (1872) at the Pontifical North American College, and at the Pr ...
, the rector of the
Catholic University of America; Rev.
Joseph Hanselman, the
provincial of the Jesuit province of Maryland and New York; Monsignor
John Joyce Russell
John Joyce Russell (December 1, 1897 – March 17, 1993) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia from 1958 to 1973. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of C ...
, the pastor of
St. Patrick's Church;
Harry M. Clabaugh, the Dean of
Georgetown Law Center
The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...
; and four former university presidents:
J. Havens Richards,
John D. Whitney,
Jerome Daugherty, and
Joseph J. Himmel.
The following day, celebrations continued at the
Willard Hotel
The Willard InterContinental Washington, commonly known as the Willard Hotel, is a historic luxury Beaux-Arts hotel located at 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Downtown Washington, D.C. It is currently a member oHistoric Hotels of America the offi ...
. Before more than 300 alumni, Rev. Conway gave a speech about Carroll's integration of his patriotic and priestly commitments. Senator-elect
Joseph E. Ransdell,
John G. Agar, Chief Justice
Seth Shepard, and Dr.
William Creighton Woodward also made statements. Afterwards, Bishop Northrop celebrated a
solemn mass
Solemn Mass ( la, missa solemnis) is the full ceremonial form of a Mass, predominantly associated with the Tridentine Mass where it is celebrated by a priest with a deacon and a subdeacon,"The essence of high Mass is not the music but the deacon ...
in
Dahlgren Chapel, during which Rev. Terence J. Shealy made a speech about Carroll's influence on the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
's prohibition of religious tests for public office under
Article VI. The festivities concluded with a reception hosted by the president of the university and the faculty.
Several weeks later, the plaster cast stand-in was replaced with its bronze counterpart in the middle of the night.
Description
''Bishop John Carroll'' is positioned on a circular lawn between
Healy Hall
Healy Hall is a National Historic Landmark and the flagship building of the main campus of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Constructed between 1877 and 1879, the hall was designed by Paul J. Pelz and John L. Smithmeyer, both of whom also ...
and the university's front gates,
an area known as Healy Circle.
It was created by Irish sculptor
Jerome Connor
Jerome Connor (23 February 1874 in Coumduff, Annascaul, County Kerry – 21 August 1943 in Dublin) was an Irish sculptor.
Life
In 1888, he emigrated to Holyoke, Massachusetts. His father was a stonemason, which led to Connor's jobs in New York ...
who trained as a stone carver.
![Georgetown University founder (5110751878)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Georgetown_University_founder_%285110751878%29.jpg)
The
bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...
depicts John Carroll, seated in a chair and resting his hands on its arms as he gazes slightly to his right,
toward the front gates and out onto the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...
and downtown Washington.
His lips are pressed together,
and he appears to be in a moment of thought.
In his right hand is a book, in which his index finger is inserted to mark a page. Carroll is dressed in
Jesuit ecclesiastical attire,
which sprawls over the arms and across the back of the chair. His hair is brushed away from his face and reaches down to his collar. Beneath his chair is a stack of books,
a decoration that was inspired by the books beneath the chair of the
''John Harvard'' statue at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, on which ''Bishop John Carroll'' was modeled.
The bronze sculpture portion of the statue measures long by wide by tall.
The sculpture rests on a plinth of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
,
which measures long by wide by tall. This brings the overall dimensions of the statue to long, wide, and tall. An inscription on the front of the base reads: "
JOHN CARROLL" and beneath it, "
FOVNDER", while the rear contains the words "
PRIEST" and beneath it, "
PATRIOT PRELATE". On the right-hand side of the sculpture, near the base, is the artist's signature and date of completion: "Jerome Conner – 1912".
Student traditions
![Bishop John Carroll statue plaque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Bishop_John_Carroll_statue_plaque.jpg)
A popular belief is that the sculpture was modified in 1923 by filling in the space beneath the chair with a bronze stack of books in response to pranks by students who would place a
chamber pot
A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets.
Names and etymology
"Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...
in the vacant space.
However, this myth is untrue, as the books were a part of the original statue from its creation.
On one occasion, students painted the statue red.
A tradition that has developed is for graduating Georgetown students to climb the statue and sit in the lap of ''John Carroll''.
The statue has appeared in a number of films, including ''
The Exorcist
''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...
'', ''
The Exorcist III
''The Exorcist III'' is a 1990 American psychological horror film written and directed by William Peter Blatty. It is the third installment in the ''Exorcist'' series, an adaptation of Blatty's ''Exorcist'' novel ''Legion'' (1983), and the f ...
'', ''
Scorpio'', and ''
Born Yesterday''.
See also
*
List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 2
Notes
References
External links
YouTube: Celebrating 100 Years of the John Carroll Statue
{{Authority control
1912 establishments in Washington, D.C.
1912 sculptures
Bronze sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Georgetown University
Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C.
Outdoor sculptures in Washington, D.C.
Sculptures of men in Washington, D.C.
Statues in Washington, D.C.
Books in art