[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 164 (Thursday, October 12, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ST. OMER FOUNDATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. FRANCIS ROONEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 12, 2017

  Mr. FRANCIS ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
congratulate the St. Omer Foundation as it commemorates a great 
American family, the Carrolls, who played a tremendous role in securing 
our constitutional freedoms, and the founding of our country.
   Prior to the American Revolution, and before the freedom of religion 
was enshrined in the United States Constitution, Catholic families sent 
their children to France for an education. Many of these students 
attended an English-speaking, Jesuit-run university in St. Omer, 
France. Notable among these children were the sons of the distinguished 
Carroll family, who owned much of Maryland, including the future site 
of the United States Capitol.
   Charles, Daniel, and John Carroll all studied at the Jesuit 
University in St. Omer before returning to the colonies to play 
significant roles in the American Revolution. In St. Omer, the Carrolls 
learned the values that helped inspire their participation in the fight 
for independence from the British Empire. Charles Carroll signed the 
Declaration of Independence, Daniel Carroll was involved in the 
ratification of the Articles of Confederation and the United States 
Constitution, and John Carroll became the first Catholic Archbishop of 
the United States, founded Georgetown University, and established the 
first Catholic seminary in our country.
   During the French Revolution, the Jesuit University in St. Omer was 
disbanded, many of its buildings were destroyed, and the memory of the 
Americans who studied in France began to fade. Recently, the people of 
St. Omer, alongside many friends in the United States, sought to 
refresh this memory, and remind Americans and Frenchmen alike that the 
American Revolution took some of its impetus from a Jesuit university 
in the North of France. Together, they restored the handsome Jesuit 
chapel where the Carrolls attended mass as students in the 18th 
century.
   On October 15, Archbishop Lori of Baltimore will cut the ribbon on 
this newly renovated chapel and kick off a weekend of celebration and 
dialogue surrounding the Carroll family and their contribution to our 
great nation.
   I thank the St. Omer Foundation for its contributions to help 
preserve the legacy of heroes of the American Revolution.

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