Francis Patrick Kenrick (December 3, 1796 or 1797 – July 8, 1863) was an Irish-born Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Philadelphia (1842–1851) and Archbishop of Baltimore (1851–1863).

Kenrick is known for his contributions to the American Catholic Church as a theologian and canon law scholar as well as for his introducing free parochial schools in the Diocese of Philadelphia and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Kenrick received his episcopal consecration on June 6, 1830, from Flaget, with Conwell and Bishop John serving as co-consecrators, in Bardstown.

[4] Kenrick immediately assumed full administrative control of the diocese, which had been in turmoil from a schism at St. Mary's Parish in Philadelphia.

Kenrick faced a similar trustee dispute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, then part of the Diocese of Philadelphia, over the ownership of St. Paul's Church.

[2] In June 1832, Kenrick founded St. Charles Borromeo Seminary for the preparation of seminarians, locating it at his personal residence in Philadelphia.

The administrator of Blockley Almshouse, a homeless shelter and hospital in the city, asked Kenrick if the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland, could send nurses to help.

Reverend Michael Hurley, pastor of St. Augustine's Parish in Philadelphia, converted his church into a temporary hospital.

As a result, the Board ordered that the schools make all religious activities optional and allow children to read whichever Bible was approved by their parents.

[9][10] On May 7, 1844, the American Republican Party, a nativist group, stage a rally near Kensington that triggered three days of rioting and bloodshed in the city.

The riots reignited on July 6, 1844, lasting for two days[6][12][3] Throughout the violence, Kenrick encouraged Catholics "to follow peace and have charity."

Following the Bible riots, Kenrick realized that Catholic children needed to attend schools run by the church.

[14] He also began construction on the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul and oversaw the rebuilding of St. Michael and St. Augustine following the Bible riots.

[2] In 1858, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, with the approval of Pius IX, conferred a "prerogative of place" on the archbishop of Baltimore.

[3] With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1860, Kenrick told his priests to avoid all involvement in politics during the conflict, a position that he took also.

Kenrick is interred in the crypt of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore.