Today in Wheeling History: January 7--Archbishop Gaetano Bedini, Titular Archbishop of Thebes on a special diplomatic mission from Pope Pius IX, attended services and a reception at St. James Cathedral in Wheeling, where a mob of Know-Nothing protestors and German Freemen assaulted the Cathedral with stones, smashing windows and threatening violence while Bishop Richard Whelan's pre-assembled force of 100 armed Irish and German Catholic defenders protected the church, its property and the Archbishop, culminating in the angry mob burning Bedini in effigy before dispersing without further bloodshed (1854).
Archbishop Gaetano Bedini's visit to Wheeling in January 1854 marked a contentious moment in the city's religious and social history. As Titular Archbishop of Thebes on a special diplomatic mission to the United States for Pope Pius IX, Bedini stopped in Wheeling during his controversial tour of American cities. His arrival sparked tensions between Wheeling's Catholic and Protestant communities, particularly among German immigrants. Bishop Richard Whelan of the Diocese of Wheeling invited Bedini to visit St. James Cathedral (predecessor to today's Cathedral of St. Joseph). On January 7, 1854, an angry mob of Know-Nothings (members of a nativist, anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant political movement of the 1850s) and German Freemen (German socialist immigrants who fled to America after the failed 1848 European revolutions, organized as the "Wheeling League of Freemen" promoting democratic reforms and secular government) attacked the Cathedral, throwing stones and breaking windows. Bishop Whelan had anticipated trouble and assembled approximately 100 armed Irish and German Catholic men to protect Bedini and church property. The mob burned Bedini in effigy but was deterred from further violence by the armed Catholic guard. Bedini stayed at Bishop Whelan's residence during the visit. He narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when boarding his train to depart Wheeling on January 9 - one of the would-be assassins had a change of heart and informed authorities but was later stabbed to death by a conspirator. The visit highlighted the deep divisions between Wheeling's immigrant Catholic and Protestant communities during the pre-Civil War period.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://shorturl.at/H5UoH), West Virginia University (https://shorturl.at/haz5C) (https://shorturl.at/4IRgZ) (https://shorturl.at/LfWuI), Nothing is Written (https://tinyurl.com/d6w9d3fz)
Photo caption and credit: This illustration by an unknown artist shows how it might have looked when armed men guarded a church from a nativist attack. (Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV)
Archbishop Gaetano Bedini's visit to Wheeling in January 1854 marked a contentious moment in the city's religious and social history. As Titular Archbishop of Thebes on a special diplomatic mission to the United States for Pope Pius IX, Bedini stopped in Wheeling during his controversial tour of American cities. His arrival sparked tensions between Wheeling's Catholic and Protestant communities, particularly among German immigrants. Bishop Richard Whelan of the Diocese of Wheeling invited Bedini to visit St. James Cathedral (predecessor to today's Cathedral of St. Joseph). On January 7, 1854, an angry mob of Know-Nothings (members of a nativist, anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant political movement of the 1850s) and German Freemen (German socialist immigrants who fled to America after the failed 1848 European revolutions, organized as the "Wheeling League of Freemen" promoting democratic reforms and secular government) attacked the Cathedral, throwing stones and breaking windows. Bishop Whelan had anticipated trouble and assembled approximately 100 armed Irish and German Catholic men to protect Bedini and church property. The mob burned Bedini in effigy but was deterred from further violence by the armed Catholic guard. Bedini stayed at Bishop Whelan's residence during the visit. He narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when boarding his train to depart Wheeling on January 9 - one of the would-be assassins had a change of heart and informed authorities but was later stabbed to death by a conspirator. The visit highlighted the deep divisions between Wheeling's immigrant Catholic and Protestant communities during the pre-Civil War period.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://shorturl.at/H5UoH), West Virginia University (https://shorturl.at/haz5C) (https://shorturl.at/4IRgZ) (https://shorturl.at/LfWuI), Nothing is Written (https://tinyurl.com/d6w9d3fz)
Photo caption and credit: This illustration by an unknown artist shows how it might have looked when armed men guarded a church from a nativist attack. (Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV)
RSS Feed
