Catholic ping.
Carroll was very close to George Washington. He was the minister Washington called for last rites. Given that last rites are a Catholic sacrament, that’s a very intriguing action.
It’s worth noting that Freemasons in Franklin’s time weren’t virulently anti-Catholic. In fact, they started out as an ecumenical movement, seeking to maintain a devotion to Jesus Christ and yes, the Blessed Virgin Mary in spite of sectarian fighting. There were only three levels of initiation, and they openly mocked the reputation they had for secret knowledge and mysticism. (The actual secret knowledge of the freemasons was Euclid’s geometry.)
The Scottish Rite, to which Franklin and Washington belonged, had even been associated with Jacobitism, the conspiracy to restore the Catholic-friendly House of Stuart to the throne of England.
Only with Albert Pike and his 33 degrees within the Southern Jurisdiction did freemasonry become virulently anti-Catholic, with its black mass, support of liberation movements throughout the Western Hemisphere, and spawning of such movements as the KKK and Mormonism.
...only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.
Makes me sad at how far we have fallen.
WE still had a lot of virtue to yet obtain... The end of slavery and human rights for blacks, women's suffrage, Indians, etc., etc. but the spirit of liberty was so much closer to America's bosom then.
Now we have more diversity, but hardly any virtue (expect signaling).
“....an all-around worldly and sometimes vulgar fellow...” Yes, Franklin had feet of clay, just like we all, including our POTUS. But he had a heart for God, and cultivated friendships with men of God. Anyone interested will find it interesting if they search “Ben Franklin & George Whitefield” in their favorite search engine. Franklin followed and promoted Whitefield’s ministry.
I attended Georgetown, founded by John Carroll in 1789, and heard the stories of its founding many times, but I had never heard this story. Thanks for posting!
His cousin Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last survivor of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, was also part of the unsuccessful mission in 1776 to try to persuade the French Canadians to join the 13 English-speaking British colonies.