Charles Neale (1751–1823) was a leader of the Jesuit mission in America. Neale came from a prominent Catholic family of Maryland.
Family
Charles Neale was born in Province of Maryland to a prominent family, descended from Captain James Neale, who had settled in the colony in 1642 with a royal grant of land of two thousand acres. Walleston Manor included Cobb Island, which is separated from the mainland by Neale Sound.
The family traced its origins to the noble O'Neill family of Ireland, from whom came the kings of Ulster. Among his ancestors were Roswell Neale (grandfather to Charles) and his brother, Father Bennett Neale, S.J., one of the first Jesuits in the English colony.
He was one of thirteen children born to William and Ann Brooke Neale of Chandler's Hope, the mansion of the Neale family, near Port Tobacco, Charles County, Maryland. William Chandler Neale S.J. (1743-1799), who left America to enter the Jesuit order in Flanders and spent his life ministering to the Catholics of England, where he died. Joseph, died while a Jesuit novice before they were able to complete their training. Roswell, died in Maryland in 1787, having been received into the Society of Jesus, after making his vows on his death-bed. Raphael (Ralph), the only son to marry. Leonard Neale S.J., (1746–1817) who also served as president of Georgetown and then became the Archbishop of Baltimore. Charles (1751–1823) Anne, became a Carmelite nun in France. Francis Neale S.J., (1756–1837) the president of Georgetown College Eleanor, married John Holmes Mary, married William Matthews, together the parents of William Matthews also a Jesuit and President of Georgetown College.
Early life
At the age of about seven, Charles was sent to a Jesuit school in Bohemia, Cecil County where his brother Leonard was also a student. The school prepared those who could afford it to enter St. Omer’s in French Flanders for their college or seminary education. In 1760, Leonard and Charles set sail for St. Omer’s, accompanied by their sister Anne, who was joining the Carmelites at Lier, Belgium. When the Jesuits were expelled from France in 1764, the students relocated to Bruges.
On September 7, 1771, Charles Neale entered the same Jesuit novitiate in Ghent as his older brothers. Two years later, before he was able to take his religious vows as a Jesuit, Pope Clement XIV authorized the worldwide suppression of the Society of Jesus. Due to his poor health, Charles Neale joined other members of the suppressed Society who were continuing their seminary studies in Liege. There he was ordained around 1780. Shortly afterward, he became chaplain to an English-language community of Discalced Carmelite nuns in Antwerp. Their prioress, Mother Mary Margaret of the Angels, OCD, born Mary Brent in Maryland, was Neale's cousin through his grandmother, the wife of his grandfather, Roswell Neale.
Neale also served as confessor at the Carmel in Hoogstraten. During his ten years in Antwerp, he maintained contact with his friends and colleagues in Maryland. Through this dialogue, the nuns were encouraged to attempt a foundation in the new nation, the United States of America, which was just emerging from the American Revolution. Neale accompanied the nuns on their return voyage to Maryland. Initially, the intention was to have his cousin, Mother Mary Margaret, lead the new foundation, but she died in 1784. Instead the small community was led by Mother Bernardina Teresa Xavier of St. Joseph, OCD (born Ann Teresa Mathews), who was to serve as prioress. She was accompanied by her nieces, Sisters Mary Eleanora of St. Francis Xavier, OCD, and Mary Aloysia of the Blessed Trinity, OCD. Neale chose the final participant, Sister Clare Joseph of the Sacred Heart, OCD, an Englishwoman.<ref>Carmel in America, Chapter 6</ref>
Voyage
The small contingent sailed from the port of Texel on May 1, 1790, on a ship called The Brothers'', commanded by one Captain MacDougal, a Scotsman.