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Chaplain Jacob Duche leading the first prayer in the First Continental Congress at Carpenter's Hall,
Philadelphia - The Granger Collection, New York
The Religious Composition of the 114th Congress
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Chaplains, the official clergymen of Congress, open the daily sessions of the House
and Senate with prayer
When Congress first moved to Washington, there were few churches in the new city, so the House and Senate
chaplains alternated conducting Sunday services in the House chamber. Chaplains have also performed marriages and funerals
for members of Congress.
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Current Chaplain
Fr. Patrick J. Conroy, 60th Chaplain (born October 31, 1950), a Roman Catholic Priest. His selection was announced by the
office of John Boehner, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, on May 6, 2011, and he was sworn in as the
new House Chaplain May 25, 2011, following a unanimous confirmation of his nomination by the House.
Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives
...(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The election of William Linn as Chaplain of the House on May 1, 1789, continued the tradition established by the Continental
Congresses of each day's proceedings opening with a prayer by a chaplain. The early Chaplains alternated duties with their
Senate counterparts on a weekly basis. The two conducted Sunday services for the Washington community in the House chamber
every other week.
In addition to opening proceedings with prayer, the Chaplain provides pastoral counseling to the House community, coordinates
the scheduling of guest chaplains, and arranges memorial services for the House and its staff. In the past, Chaplains have
performed marriage and funeral ceremonies for House members.
Date of Appointment - Chaplain - Denomination
May 1, 1789 - William Linn, Presbyterian
December 10, 1790 - Samuel Blair, Presbyterian
November 5, 1792 - Ashbel Green, Presbyterian
November 27, 1800 - Thomas Lyell, Methodist
December 10, 1801 - William Parkinson, Baptist
November 30, 1804 - James Laurie, Presbyterian
December 4, 1806 - Robert Elliott, Presbyterian
October 30, 1807 - Obadiah Bruen Brown, Baptist
May 27, 1809 - Jesse Lee, Methodist
November 13, 1811 - Nicholas Sneathen, Methodist
November 6, 1812 - Jesse Lee, Methodist
September 23, 1814 - Obadiah Bruen Brown, Baptist
December 7, 1815 - Spencer Houghton Cone, Baptist
December 5, 1816 - Burgiss Allison, Baptist
November 16, 1820 - John Nicholson Campbell, Presbyterian
December 10, 1821 - Jared Sparks, Unitarian
December 5, 1822 - John Brackenridge, Presbyterian
December 8, 1823 - Henry Bidleman Bascom, Methodist
December 9, 1824 - Reuben Post, Presbyterian
December 13, 1830 - Ralph Randolph Gurley, Presbyterian
December 13, 1831 - Reuben Post, Presbyterian
December 12, 1832 - William Hammett, Methodist
December 9, 1833 - Thomas H. Stockton, Methodist
December 10, 1834 - Edward Dunlap Smith, Presbyterian
December 24, 1835 - Thomas H. Stockton, Methodist
December 20, 1836 - Oliver C. Comstock, Baptist
September 12, 1837 - Septimus Tustin, Presbyterian
December 11, 1837 - Levi R. Reese, Methodist
February 4, 1840 - Joshua Bates, Congregationalist
December 15, 1840 - Thomas W. Braxton, Baptist
June 9, 1841 - John W. French, Episcopalian
December 13, 1841 - John Newland Maffitt, Methodist
December 14, 1842 - Frederick T. Tiffany, Episcopalian
December 16, 1843 - Isaac S. Tinsley, Baptist
December 4, 1844 - William Mitchel Daily, Methodist
December 1, 1845 - William Henry Milburn, Methodist
December 7, 1846 - William T.S. Sprole, Presbyterian
December 6, 1847 - Ralph Gurley, Presbyterian
December 1, 1851 - Littleton F. Morgan, Methodist
December 6, 1852 - James Gallagher, Presbyterian
December 5, 1853 - William Henry Milburn, Methodist
March 4, 1855 - (None)
July 4, 1861 - Thomas H. Stockton, Methodist
December 7, 1863 - William Henry Channing, Unitarian
December 4, 1865 - Charles B. Boynton, Congregationalist
March 4, 1869 - John George Butler, Presbyterian
December 6, 1875 - S.L. Townsend, Episcopalian
October 15, 1877 - John Poise, Methodist
December 3, 1877 - W.P. Harrison, Methodist
December 5, 1881 - Frederick Dunglison Power, Disciples of Christ
December 3, 1883 - John Summerfield Lindsay, Episcopalian
December 7, 1885 - William Henry Milburn, Methodist
August 7, 1893 - Samuel W. Haddaway, Methodist
December 4, 1893 - Edward B. Bagby, Christian
December 2, 1895 - Henry N. Couden, Universalist
April 11, 1921 - James Shera Montgomery, Methodist
January 3, 1950 - Bernard Braskamp, Presbyterian
January 10, 1967 - Edward G. Latch, Methodist
January 15, 1979 - James D. Ford, Lutheran
March 23, 2000 - Daniel P. Coughlin, Roman Catholic
May 25, 2011 - Patrick J. Conroy, Roman Catholic
Denomination
Methodist 16
Presbyterian 14
Baptist 7
Episcopal 4
Lutheran 2
Unitarian 2
Congregationalist 2
Disciples of Christ 2
Roman Catholic 2
Universalist 1
Total 62
Office of the Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives Website
Chaplain of the United States Senate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session
(excluding Pro Forma sessions) of the United States Senate with a prayer. The Chaplain is appointed by majority vote of the members of the Senate. All chaplains have been
Christian-based, however there is no rule saying that a person of a different religion is barred from this position.
List of Senate chaplains
| Chaplain |
Denomination |
Appointed |
| Samuel Provoost |
Episcopalian |
April 25, 1789 |
| William White |
Episcopalian |
December 9, 1790 |
| Thomas John Claggett |
Episcopalian |
November 27, 1800 |
| Edward Gantt |
Episcopalian |
December 9, 1801 |
| A. T. McCormick |
Episcopalian |
November 7, 1804 |
| Edward Gantt |
Episcopalian |
December 4, 1805 |
| John Johnson Sayrs |
Episcopalian |
December 3, 1806 |
| A. T. McCormick |
Episcopalian |
November 10, 1807 |
| Robert Elliott |
Presbyterian |
November 10, 1808 |
| James Jones Wilmer |
Episcopalian |
May 24, 1809 |
| Obadiah Bruen Brown |
Baptist |
December 5, 1809 |
| Walter Dulaney Addison |
Episcopalian |
December 12, 1810 |
| John Brackenridge, D.D. |
Presbyterian |
November 13, 1811 |
| Jesse Lee |
Methodist |
September 27, 1814 |
| John Glendy |
Presbyterian |
December 8, 1815 |
| Sereno Edwards Dwight |
Congregationalist |
December 16, 1816 |
| William Dickinson Hawley |
Episcopalian |
December 9, 1817 |
| John Clark |
Presbyterian |
November 19, 1818 |
| Reuben Post |
Presbyterian |
December 9, 1819 |
| William Ryland |
Methodist |
November 17, 1820 |
| Charles Pettit McIlvaine |
Episcopalian |
December 9, 1822 |
| William Staughton |
Baptist |
December 10, 1823 |
| Charles Pettit McIlvaine |
Episcopalian |
December 14, 1824 |
| William Staughton |
Baptist |
December 12, 1825 |
| William Ryland |
Methodist |
December 8, 1826 |
| Henry Van Dyke Johns |
Episcopalian |
December 14, 1829 |
| John Price Durbin |
Methodist |
December 19, 1831 |
| Charles Constantine Pise |
Roman Catholic |
December 11, 1832 |
| Frederick Winslow Hatch |
Episcopalian |
December 10, 1833 |
| Edward Young Higbee |
Episcopalian |
December 23, 1835 |
| John Reinhard Goodman |
Episcopalian |
December 28, 1836 |
| Henry Slicer |
Methodist |
September 11, 1837 |
| George Grimston Cookman |
Methodist |
December 31, 1839 |
| Septimus Tustin |
Presbyterian |
June 12, 1841 |
| Henry Slicer |
Methodist |
December 16, 1846 |
| Clement Moore Butler |
Episcopalian |
January 9, 1850 |
| Henry Slicer |
Methodist |
December 7, 1853 |
| Henry Clay Dean |
Methodist |
December 4, 1855 |
| Stephen P. Hill |
Baptist |
December 8, 1856 |
| Phineas Densmore Gurley |
Presbyterian |
December 15, 1859 |
| Byron Sunderland |
Presbyterian |
July 10, 1861 |
| Thomas Bowman |
Methodist |
May 11, 1864 |
| Edgar Harkness Gray |
Baptist |
March 9, 1865 |
| John Philip Newman |
Methodist |
March 8, 1869 |
| Byron Sunderland |
Presbyterian |
December 8, 1873 |
| Joseph J. Bullock |
Presbyterian |
March 24, 1879 |
| Elias DeWitt Huntley |
Methodist |
December 18, 1883 |
| John George Butler |
Lutheran |
March 15, 1886 |
| William Henry Milburn |
Methodist |
April 6, 1893 |
| F.J. Prettyman |
Methodist |
November 23, 1903 |
| Edward Everett Hale |
Unitarian |
December 14, 1903 |
| Ulysses Grant Baker Pierce |
Unitarian |
June 18, 1909 |
| F.J. Prettyman |
Methodist |
March 13, 1913 |
| Joseph Johnston Muir |
Baptist |
January 21, 1921 |
| ZeBarney Thorne Phillips |
Episcopalian |
December 5, 1927 |
| Frederick Brown Harris |
Methodist |
October 10, 1942 |
| Peter Marshall |
Presbyterian |
January 4, 1947 |
| Frederick Brown Harris |
Methodist |
February 3, 1949 |
| Edward L.R. Elson |
Presbyterian |
January 9, 1969 |
| Richard C. Halverson |
Presbyterian |
February 2, 1981 |
| Lloyd John Ogilvie |
Presbyterian |
March 11, 1995 |
| Barry C. Black |
Seventh-day Adventist |
July 7, 2003 |
| Episcopalian |
19 |
| Methodist |
17 |
| Presbyterian |
14 |
| Baptist |
6 |
| Unitarian |
2 |
| Congregationalist |
1 |
| Lutheran |
1 |
| Roman Catholic |
1 |
| Seventh-day Adventist |
1 |
| Total |
62 |
United States Senate Chaplain's Office
United States House of Representatives Chaplain's Office
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