Ordinaries

There have been fifteen ordinaries in the history of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Below is a comprehensive list along with supplemental information about each person. To read more about each one, click on the ordinary’s name.

Name	Became Head of Baltimore See	Conclusion
John Carroll	Nov. 6, 1789	Dec. 3, 1815
Leonard Neale	Dec. 3, 1815	Jun. 18, 1817
Ambrose Maréchal	Jul. 4, 1817	Jan. 29, 1828
James Whitfield	Jan. 29, 1828	Oct. 19, 1834
Samuel Eccleston	Oct. 19, 1834	Apr. 22, 1851
Francis Patrick Kenrick	Aug. 19, 1851	Jul. 8, 1863
Martin John Spalding	May 6, 1864	Feb. 7, 1872
James Roosevelt Bayley	Jul. 30, 1872	Oct. 3, 1877
James Cardinal Gibbons	Oct. 3, 1877	Mar. 24, 1921
Michael Joseph Curley	Aug. 10, 1921	May 16, 1947
Francis Patrick Keough	Nov. 29, 1947	Dec. 8, 1961
Lawrence Cardinal Shehan	Dec. 8, 1961	Mar. 25, 1974
William Donald Borders	Mar. 25, 1974	Apr. 19, 2010
William Cardinal Keeler	Apr. 6, 1989	Oct. 1, 2007 (Retired)
Edwin Frederick O’Brien	Oct. 1, 2007	Aug. 29, 2011
William E. Lori	May 16, 2012