Robert Plunkett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1st President of Georgetown College | |
| In office 1791–1793 | |
| Succeeded by | Robert Molyneux |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1752 (1752) England |
| Died | January 15, 1815(1815-01-15) (aged 62–63) Chaptico, Maryland, United States |
| Resting place | Georgetown Visitation Monastery |
| Alma mater | |
Robert PlunkettSJ (1752 – January 15, 1815) was an EnglishCatholic priest andJesuit missionary to the United States who became the first president ofGeorgetown College. Born in England, he was educated at theColleges of St Omer and Bruges, as well as at theEnglish College at Douai. There, he entered theSociety of Jesus in 1769, but left four years later, just before learning of thepapal ordersuppressing the Society. Therefore, he was ordained asecular priest at the English College, and became thechaplain to amonastery of EnglishBenedictine nuns in exile inBrussels.
Plunkett petitioned to be sent to the United States as amissionary in 1789. Shortly after his arrival in 1790, BishopJohn Carroll persuaded him to becomethe president of the newly established Georgetown College. Plunkett oversaw construction of the college's first building, the appointment of the first professor, and admission of the first student,William Gaston. However, he was more interested in pastoral work than education, and resigned the office two years later. Plunkett spent the remainder of his life ministering in ruralMaryland, though continued to remain involved in the college's affairs.
Robert Plunkett was born in 1752,[1] in England.[2] He was educated at theColleges of St Omer and Bruges from 1763 to 1768,[3] before attending theEnglish College at Douai. He entered theSociety of Jesus in 1769, but left the order on August 21, 1773, after the promulgation of apapal briefsuppressing the Jesuits worldwide, but before news of this brief reached him in theLow Countries. Therefore, he continued his studies at Douai as asecular seminarian, and wasordained apriest there.[4] After his ordination, Plunkett became thechaplain to the Monastery of Our Lady of the Assumption inBrussels, in theAustrian Netherlands,[5] which housed a community ofBenedictine nuns who had been exiled from England.[6]
On April 20, 1789, Plunkett formally requested permission from theVicar Apostolic of the London District to go to the United States as amissionary. As a result of the Jesuits'fourth vow concerning missionary work, the permission of theHoly See was required as well, and Plunkett's request was forwarded to theSacred Congregationde Propaganda Fide. The prefect of the congregation, CardinalLeonardo Antonelli, approved the request and informedJohn Carroll, thePrefect Apostolic of the United States, who had been recruiting Jesuits in Europe to run the newly establishedGeorgetown College inMaryland.[5]
On May 1, 1790,[7] Plunkett set sail for America fromTexel, aboard a ship calledThe Brothers,[8] along withCharles Neale and a group of fourDiscalced Carmelite sisters fromHoogstraten who were going to found aconvent in the United States.[9] The cost of his voyage, £50 (equivalent to £7,500 in 2023[10]), was defrayed by the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen of Maryland.[11][a] The journey was prolonged because the captain had taken aboard goods to be delivered toSanta Cruz de Tenerife in theCanary Islands.[8] Plunkett frequently went ashore while the ship was in port in Santa Cruz.[13] He laid to rest the concerns of the local ecclesiastical authorities, who learned of a rumor that the Carmelite sisters werenuns fleeing theirmonastery with the aid of the two priests.[14][b] The vessel arrived inNew York City on July 2, 1790. Plunkett then departed Neale and the Carmelites and continued his journey to Maryland by land.[15] His first assignment was at the Jesuit plantation ofWhite Marsh inPrince George's County.[1]
Though Bishop Carroll was aware Plunkett had traveled to the United States seeking of pastoral, rather than educational work, he persuaded the reluctant Plunkett to become the firstpresident of Georgetown College. Carroll concluded that the few other former Jesuits in the United States either could not be removed from important ministries or were not suited to teaching.[1] He had initially sought to name a distinguished English ex-Jesuit as the head of the college, such asCharles Plowden orRobert Molyneux, but they were unwilling to assume the position.[16]
Construction of the college was nearly completed in late 1791.[16] A FrenchSulpician seminarian, Jean-Edouard de Mondésir, became the first professor at the college in October of that year, while still learning English from Plunkett.[17] As funds for the school were meager, Carroll preferred seminarians or Jesuit scholastics over full-time professors, as he was able to pay them only 75Maryland pounds plus room and board, substantially below the average £150-200 salary for professors in the country.[17]
The first student,William Gaston, arrived at Georgetown fromNew Bern, North Carolina, in early 1791, to find the college not yet open. He returned again in November, and lived at theCity Tavern, as the college building was not complete. Eventually, Gaston began classes on January 2, 1792, along with Philemon Charles Wederstrandt, from theEastern Shore of Maryland. During Plunkett's term, the number of students rose steadily, totaling 40 by July 1792, and hailing from as far away as New York City and theWest Indies.[18] As a result of Carroll's letters to Catholic families across the country, Georgetown had a significantly more geographically diverse student body than other American colleges at the time.[19] To accommodate this increase, the college building was extended by 130 feet (40 m) and a third story was added.[18] Plunkett oversaw the division of the school into three parts: elementary, preparatory, and college.[19]
Plunkett increasingly preferred the plantation life of the former Jesuits in rural Maryland, and became dissatisfied with administering the college.[20] In December 1792, he submitted his resignation to Carroll, but agreed to remain until a replacement could be found. In June 1793, Carroll named Molyneux to succeed Plunkett as president.[20]
Following the end of his tenure at Georgetown, Plunkett took up missionary work. Though living inGeorgetown, he traveled regularly on horseback throughoutMontgomery County, Maryland, where he was given charge of the congregations inRock Creek,Rockville,Seneca,Barnesville, andHolland's River.[2] He was later stationed inPrince George's County, Maryland,[21] including for a time aspastor of the church inBladensburg.[22] He was also in charge of Queen's Chapel,[11] a Catholic chapel built on the Queen family estate in Prince George's County.[23]
Despite his preference for rural ministry, Plunkett continued to remain involved in Georgetown College's affairs.[2] When the school was at a deficit of funds for the completion of theOld North Building in 1797, Plunkett donated a sum to aid in its opening.[24] He was also named as one of five original members ofGeorgetown's board of directors, upon its creation in 1797;[25] he would remain a director until 1808.[26] These directors took measures to reduce the influence of the Sulpicians at the college, one of whom,Louis William Valentine Dubourg, became president of the school.[27]
Plunkett died on January 15, 1815, at Notley Hall inSt. Mary's County, Maryland,[21] near the settlement ofChaptico.[28] He was interred in thecrypt of theGeorgetown Visitation Monastery.[21]
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| New office | 1stPresident of Georgetown College 1791–1793 | Succeeded by |
