Ambrose Maréchal


Ambrose Maréchal

Archbishop of Baltimore
portrait attributed to Philip Tilyard
SeeArchdiocese of Baltimore
AppointedJuly 4, 1817
InstalledDecember 14, 1817
Term endedJanuary 29, 1828
PredecessorLeonard Neale, S.J.
SuccessorJames Whitfield
Orders
OrdinationJune 2, 1792
ConsecrationDecember 14, 1817
by Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus
Personal details
BornAugust 28, 1764
DiedJanuary 19, 1828(1828-01-19) (aged 63)
Baltimore, Maryland
United States
NationalityFrench
MottoAuspice Maria (Under the protection of Mary).
Signature

Ambrose Maréchal, P.S.S. (August 28, 1764 – January 29, 1828) was a French-born Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1817 until his death. He was a member of the Sulpicians.

Maréchal dedicated the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the oldest cathedral in the United States, in Baltimore in 1821. Maréchal's tenure as archbishop was marked with conflicts with lay trustees of parishes in Virginia and South Carolina who believed they had the power to appoint their own priests. He also clashed with the new Bishops of Richmond and Charleston.