Francis Neale

Francis Ignatius Neale (June 3, 1756 – December 20, 1837), also known as Francis Xavier Neale, was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit who led several academic and religious institutions in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He played a substantial role in the Jesuit order's resurgence in the United States.

Born to a prominent Maryland family, Neale was educated at the Colleges of Bruges and Liège, where he was ordained a priest. When Neale returned to the United States in 1788, he became the pastor of the church at St. Thomas Manor, where he aligned himself with the rural clergy in opposing Bishop John Carroll's founding of Georgetown College, believing it would draw resources away from the Jesuits' rural manors. He would conflict with Carroll over various issues for much of his life.

In 1790, Neale oversaw the establishment of the first Catholic church in Washington, D.C., Holy Trinity Church, of which he was pastor for 27 years. He also established the Church of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia, and was its visiting pastor. Neale was briefly the acting president of Georgetown College, and later became its president in 1809. His tenure was considered unsuccessful, as the number of students declined dramatically due to his implementation of strict monastic discipline.

When the Jesuit order was restored in the United States in 1806, Neale joined the Society and became the master of novices at Georgetown. He was also made treasurer of the Jesuits' Maryland mission. He spent his later years as the spiritual director to the nuns at the Georgetown Visitation Monastery and the pastor at St. Thomas Manor.

Early life Francis Ignatius Neale was born on June 3, 1756, located in Charles County of the British Province of Maryland. He was born into a prominent Maryland family; among his ancestors was Captain James Neale, one of the settlers of the Maryland Colony, who arrived in 1637 upon receiving a royal grant of in what would become Port Tobacco.

Neale's parents, William Neale and Anne Neale , had thirteen children, and all seven of the boys, including Francis, the youngest, were sent to the Colleges of St Omer, Bruges, and Liège. Two of Francis Neale's brothers died during their studies, and four of the surviving five became Catholic priests. One brother, Leonard, would go on to become president of Georgetown College and the Archbishop of Baltimore, and another, Charles, also became a prominent Jesuit. One sister, Anne, entered the Order of Poor Clares as a nun, in Aire-sur-la-Lys, France. This meant Neale was unable to enter the Jesuit order as he intended, but he continued his seminary studies at the college in Liège. Following his ordination as a priest on April 3, 1788, he immediately left for the United States.

Maryland missions In 1789, John Carroll, the Bishop of Baltimore, founded the long-planned Georgetown College in the District of Columbia, the first Catholic institution of higher education in the United States. As early as 1785, Carroll had requested that Charles Plowden return a cohort of Maryland Jesuits studying at the college in Liège to the United States so that they could staff the fledging college. He intended Neale, in particular, to play a significant role in the college's early years.

Establishment of Georgetown Chapel In 1790, the governor of Maryland, Thomas Sim Lee, requested that a priest be sent to the rapidly expanding city of Frederick. Carroll sought to transfer Neale to Frederick from St. Thomas Manor, but Neale fell ill at about that time and was unable to go. Later that year, Carroll appointed Neale as the first pastor of the yet-to-be-built Georgetown Chapel, Construction on the Georgetown Chapel was complete by March 1794.

As the first Catholic church in the District of Columbia, The size of the congregation increased rapidly, and the church soon became overcrowded, despite the erection of makeshift sheds on the sides of the church to augment the size of the building. Carroll acquiesced, and Neale remained as pastor until 1817, when he was succeeded by Benedict Joseph Fenwick. Neale was made the legal agent of the corporation in 1798.

Georgetown College In addition to his priestly duties at the Georgetown Chapel, Neale also worked at Georgetown College as treasurer pro tempore, which was his sole source of income, room and board.

Georgetown College campus in 1829. It would have looked much the same during Neale's presidency.

When the president of Georgetown College, Robert Molyneux, was forced to resign the presidency due to declining health in December 1808, Neale was made the acting president, until a permanent successor could be found in his nephew, William Matthews, in March 1809. Following the end of Matthews' tenure, Neale succeeded him as president on November 1, 1809. He instituted the same severe monastic discipline that his brother, Leonard, had previously implemented at the college during his presidency. Students were required to follow a daily regimen, which heavily focussed on religious activities. Although this resulted in a considerable number of students entering the priesthood, it led to a significant decrease in the number of non-Catholic students and a severe decline in the overall number of students. Enrollment was also affected by competition for students with St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore. He also purchased to expand the campus for student recreation. As he simultaneously held other pastoral and administrative positions, he was largely absent from the college. Carroll's evaluation was that the college had "sunk to the lowest degree of discredit."

Involvement in the restored Jesuits

In response to the request of Emperor Paul I of Russia, Pope Pius VII issued a bull in 1801 partially lifting the 1773 order of suppression by permitting the Jesuits to officially resume operation in the Russian Empire (which they had been already doing unofficially). Bishop Carroll had long sought to restore the Jesuit order in the United States, and aimed to do so by submitting the Maryland Jesuits to the jurisdiction of the Jesuits' Russian province. He was wary that such an arrangement would contravene the pope's order and might draw the attention of political enemies of the Jesuits. Neale and his brother, Charles, led a group of clergy in persistently urging Carroll to effectuate the arrangement. Carroll was eventually persuaded, His selection drew some criticism from the European Jesuits sent at Carroll's request to aid the re-establishment of the Jesuits in the United States, on the grounds that Neale had never been trained in a Jesuit novitiate, As well as serving as master of novices, Neale assumed the role of treasurer of the Jesuit's Maryland mission. During the War of 1812, Neale had most of the Jesuits' livestock in St. Inigoes removed to White Marsh, to keep them safe from looting by the British.

Later life Upon the death of his brother Leonard in 1817, Neale assumed his duties as spiritual director to the nuns of the Georgetown Visitation Monastery. After his recovery, he once again took up missionary work in rural Maryland. Neale died on December 20, 1837,