Thursday, February 19, 2009

Jefferson Davis- An Almost Catholic and Life Long Friend to the Church

I posted earlier this post Catholic Archbishop Asks Lincoln To Free Confederate General . In the spirit of Unity it should be pointed out that Jefferson Davis was very friendly toward Catholics. In fact Catholic Service in the Confederate Armies, much like in the north, will started putting the nail in the coffin of anti Catholicism in the USA..

The Deacon Bench has a nice post and link to how Jefferson Davis as a boy while at a Catholic school asked to convert to the faith. See Little Jeff," the almost-Catholic As noted the Priest advised him to think about it and not rush into it. He never converted but became a Friend to Catholics all his life.

It is significant to note that like Lincoln ,Jefferson Davis was a huge vocal opponent of the anti Catholic Know Nothing Party.

I have actually read about his time at this Catholic school. One practical reason for the Priest's caution was that they did not want Protestant parents to think they were trying to "Pope" their children left and right. Also if I recall correctly Davis was sort of lonely at the school and thus the Clerics had concerns he was not thinking it through.

Great link and post.

1 comment:

Carlos Echevarria said...

Fascinating post, thanks for this information.

I am Civil War buff, but did not know this aspect of the conflict.