Samuel Eccleston

The Most Reverend

Samuel Eccleston

Fifth Archbishop of Baltimore
SeeArchdiocese of Baltimore
AppointedMarch 11, 1834 (Coadjutor)
InstalledOctober 19, 1834
Term endedApril 22, 1851
PredecessorJames Whitfield
SuccessorFrancis Kenrick
Previous post(s)Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Richmond (1835–1840)
Orders
OrdinationApril 24, 1825
by Ambrose Maréchal
ConsecrationSeptember 14, 1834
by James Whitfield
Personal details
Born(1801-06-27)June 27, 1801
DiedMay 22, 1851(1851-05-22) (aged 49)
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
DenominationRoman Catholic Church
ParentsSamuel Eccleston and Martha Hyson
SignatureSamuel Eccleston's signature

Samuel Eccleston, P.S.S. (June 27, 1801 – April 22, 1851) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1834 until his death in 1851. He was a member of the Sulpicians.

A convert to Catholicism as a young man, Eccleston attended St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, was ordained to the priesthood and then entered the Sulpician Order. After attending seminary in France, he served as a teacher and later president of St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore. Eccleston was named Coadjutor Archbishop of Baltimore by the Vatican and then became Archbishop of Baltimore.

Eccleston is known for inviting several men's and women's Catholic religious orders into the archdiocese to establish seminaries, schools, and parishes for the rapidly expanding Catholic population. In recent years, he has been criticized for his efforts to disband an African-American religious community in the archdiocese.