The Knights of Peter Claver and the Ladies Auxiliary Unit 301 Celebrate Black Catholic History Month
St. Martin de Porres
November 2013
St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church 551 Harwell Road, N.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30318
Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary
In recognition of November 2013 Black Catholic History Month, St. Paul of the Cross Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary Unit 301, present this commemorative booklet of Black Catholic Saints, Popes, Bishops, Heroes and Heroines to the parishioners of St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church, Atlanta, Georgia. The online version can be found on the St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church website: www.saintpaulofthecross.org
Saint of the Roman Catholic Church
St. Peter Claver was born at Verdu, Catalonia, Spain, in 1580, of impoverished parents descended from ancient and distinguished families. He studied at the Jesuit college of Barcelona, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Tarragona in 1602 and took his final vows on August 8th, 1604. While studying philosophy at Majorca, the young religious was influenced by St. Alphonsus Rodriguez to go to the Indies and save "millions of perishing souls."
In 1610, he landed at Cartagena (modern Colombia), the principle slave market of the New World, where a thousand slaves were landed every month. After his ordination in 1616, he dedicated himself by special vow to the service of the Negro slaves-a work that was to last for thirty-three years. He labored unceasingly for the salvation of the African slaves and the abolition of the Negro slave trade, and the love he lavished on them was something that transcended the natural order. Boarding the slave ships as they entered the harbor, he would hurry to the revolting inferno of the hold, and offer whatever poor refreshments he could afford; he would care for the sick and dying, and instruct the slaves through Negro catechists before administering the Sacraments. Through his efforts 300,000 souls entered the Church. Furthermore, he did not lose sight of his converts when they left the ships, but followed them to the plantations to which they were sent, encouraged them to live as Christians, and prevailed on their masters to treat them humanely. He died in 1654.
St. Peter Claver sees Jesus Christ and the Virgin before his death.
Black Saints of the Roman Catholic Church
St. Augustine of Hippo is the patron of brewers because of his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion has been an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break. This famous son of St. Monica was born in Africa and spent many years of his life in wicked living and in false beliefs. He was baptized, became a priest, a Bishop, a famous Catholic writer, Founder of religious priests, and one of the greatest saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable, too. On the wall of his room he had the following sentence
written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone. http://www.catholic.org/saints
St. Josephine Bakhita w as born in Sudan in 1869. This African flower, who knew the anguish of kidnapping and slavery, bloomed marvelously in Italy, in response to God's grace, with the Daughters of Charity, where everyone still calls her "Mother Moretta" (our Black Mother"). Mother Bakhita breathed her last on 8 February 1947 at the Canossian convent in Schio, surrounded by the sisters. A crowd quickly gathered at the convent to have a last look at their "Mother Moretta" and ask for her protection from heaven. The fame of her sanctity has spread to all the continents and many receive graces through her intercession. Josephine Bakhita was beatified on 17 May 1992, and Canonized on 1 October 2000. Feast Day: February 8. http://www.catholic.org/saints
St. Moses the Black St Moses the Ethiopian was a former gang leader, murderer, and thief in ancient Africa. However, he became a model of transformation. His is one of the most inspiring stories among the African saints. Moses, an escaped slave, was the leader of a group of 75 robbers. He was a large and powerful man, who with his gang terrorized the entire region. Moses was transformed after he and his group attacked a monastery, intending to rob it. He was met by the abbot, whose peaceful and warm manner overwhelmed him. He immediately felt remorse for all his past sins, sincerely repented, and begged to remain at the monastery. http://www.mosestheblack.org/home1.html
Black Saints of the Roman Catholic Church
Saint Monica (AD 331 – 387), also known as Monica of Hippo , was an early Christian saint and the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. She is honored in the Roman Catholic Church where she is remembered and venerated for her outstanding Christian virtues, particularly the suffering against the adultery of her husband, and a prayerful life dedicated to the reformation of her son, who wrote extensively of her pious acts and life with her in his Confessions . Feast Day August 27. http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Saint_Monica
St. Charles Lwanga Charles was one of 22 Ugandan martyrs who converted from paganism. Though he was baptized the night before being put to death, he became a moral leader. He was the chief of the royal pages and was considered the strongest athlete of the court. He was also known as "the most handsome man of the Kingdom of the Uganda." He instructed his friends in the Catholic Faith and he personally baptized boy pages. He inspired and encouraged his companions to remain chaste and faithful. He protected his companions, ages 13-30, from the immoral acts and homosexual demands of the Babandan ruler, Mwanga. He was burned to death by Mwanga's order on June 3, 1886. Pope Paul VI canonized Charles Lwanga and his companions on June 22, 1964. We celebrate his memorial on June 3rd of the Roman Calendar. Charles is the Patron of the African Youth of Catholic Action. http://www.savior.org/saints/lwanga.htm
St. Martin de Porres St. Martin de Porres was born at Lima, Peru, in 1579. His father was a Spanish gentleman and his mother a colored freed-woman from Panama. At fifteen, he became a lay brother at the Dominican Friary at Lima and spent his whole life there-as a barber, farm laborer, almoner, and infirmarian among other things. Martin had a great desire to go off to some foreign mission and thus earn the palm of martyrdom. However, since this was not possible, he made a martyr out of his body, devoting himself to ceaseless and severe penances. In turn, God endowed him with many graces and wondrous gifts, such as, aerial flights and bilocation. St. Martin's love was all-embracing, shown equally to humans and to animals, including vermin, and he maintained a cats and dogs hospital at his sister's house. He also possessed spiritual wisdom, demonstrated in his solving his sister's marriage problems, raising a dowry for his niece inside of three day's time, and resolving theological problems for the learned of his Order and for Bishops. A close friend of St. Rose of Lima, this saintly man died on November 3, 1639 and was canonized on May 6, 1962. His feast day is November 3.
Black Saints of the Roman Catholic Church Sts. Perpetua and Felicity With the lives of so many early martyrs shrouded in legend, we are fortunate to have the record of the courage of Perpetua and Felicity from the hand of Perpetua herself, her teacher Saturus, and others who knew them. This account, known as "The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity," was so popular in the early centuries that it was read during liturgies. Saints Perpetua and Felicity (believed to have died 7 March 203) are Christian martyrs of the 3rd century. Perpetua (born around 181) was a 22- year old married noblewoman and a nursing mother.
Her co-martyr Felicity, an expectant mother, was her slave. They suffered together at Carthage in the Roman province of Africa, during the reign of Septimius Severus.
Prayer: Saints Perpetua and Felicity, watch over all mothers and children who are separated from each other because of war or persecution. Show a special care to mothers who are imprisoned and guide them to follow your example of faith and courage. Amen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetua_and_Felicity
African Popes of the Roman Catholic Church
Pope St. Victor I , was elected pope in 189 and served for ten years to 199. He was the first Bishop of Rome born in the Roman Province of Africa—probably in Leptis Magna (or Tripolitania). He left a great legacy to the papacy and the church that can be summed up in three practices that touch our lives today. First, he set the date for the celebration of Easter on the liturgical calendar that combined the Egypt-Judeo heritage with the Christian heritage. Secondly, he promoted in the case of death and persecution a baptism with water from a spring, river or sea when a pagan wanted to accept Christ. And he was the first pope to use Latin as the official language of the Church in his writings, before the language was Greek. He died a martyr for the faith and was buried close to St. Peter in the Vatican. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15408a.htm
Pope St. Melchiades (Miltidades) , a native of Africa, was pope from 311 until his death in 314, However, his importance to the history of the papacy is enormous. He became pope when the Emperor Galerius was ill and one of his doctors attributed the incurable disease to a curse from the Christian God for his persecution of the group. The emperor's hope was to restore the religion and revive his health. This was after tens of thousands of Christians were killed for their faith. With this relaxation of persecution the next emperor, Constantine, continued the favor of the emperor towards the church and the Lateran Palace was given to the church. Melchiades began the construction of the Lateran Basilica in which the first African American priest, Fr. Augustus Tolton, would be ordained 1600 years later. Melchiades died on January 11, 314. St. Melchiades’ feast occurs on 10 December. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10318a.htm
Pope St. Gelesius I , was elected pope in 492 and died in 496. The lasting contributions of Pope Gelesius are found in the worship of the church to this day. He is the organizer and writer of the Roman Sacramentary which hold the prayers and prefaces for the sacraments. He promoted the reception of Eucharist in the form of bread and wine, which was the tradition until the 15th century, and was restored with Vatican II. He was a writer of music, and his prolific works in the form of books have been preserved to this day. The feast of St. Gelasius is kept on 21 November. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06406a.htm
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church
Most Reverend Gordon B. Bennett, S.J.
Born October 21, 1946, Denver, Colorado
Educated: Mount St. Michael’s, Spokane, Washington, Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, California Fordham University, N.Y. Entered the Society of Jesus (SJ) 1966 Ordained priest June 14, 1975 Appointed Titular Bishop of Nesqually and Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, Dec 23, 1997; consecrated Bishop March 3, 1998 Appointed Bishop of Mandeville, Island of Jamaica July 6, 2004 Resigned as Bishop of Mandeville for reasons of health, August 7, 2006
Most Reverend Edward Braxton, Ph.D., STD
Born June 28, 1944, Chicago, Illinois
Educated: Loyola University Chicago University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, Ill University of Louvain, Belgium Ordained priest May 13, 1970 for the Archdiocese of Chicago Appointed Titular Bishop of Macomades Rusticiana and Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis, March 28, 1995; consecrated Bishop May 17, 1995 Appointed Bishop of Lake Charles, December 12, 2000 Installed Bishop of Lake Charles, February 21, 2001 Appointed Bishop of Belleville, March 15, 2004
Most Reverend Dominic Carmon, S.V.D.
Born December 13, 1930, Opelousas, Louisiana
Educated: Seminary of the Society of the Divine Word in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa Entered the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), 1946 Ordained priest, February 2, 1960 Missionary to Papua, New Guinea, 1961-1968 Appointed titular Bishop of Rusicade and auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans December 16, 1992 Consecrated Bishop February 11, 1993 Resigned as Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans on December 13, 2006 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church
Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre
Born Oct 25, 1963, New Roads, Louisiana
Educated: St. Joseph Seminary College, St. Benedict, Louisiana American College at Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium
Ordained priest for the Diocese of Baton Rouge August 5, 1989 Appointed titular Bishop of Pudenziana and auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, December 13, 2006 Consecrated Bishop February 28, 2007 Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Shelton Joseph Fabre as Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, LA.
Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, S.L.D.
Born December 7, 1947, Chicago Illinois Educated: Quigley Preparatory Seminary/South, Chicago Niles College Seminary of Loyola University, Chicago St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Ill Pontifical Liturgical Institute, Sant’Anselmo, Rome
Ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago, May 9, 1973 Appointed titular Bishop of Oliva and auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, October 31, 1983; consecrated Bishop December 13, 1983 Appointed Bishop of Belleville, Illinois December 29, 1993; installed Bishop of Belleville, February 10, 1994 Elected President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 13, 2001-2004 Appointed Archbishop of Atlanta December 9, 2004
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church
Most Reverend Curtis J. Guillory, S.V.D.
Born September 1, 1943, Mallet, Louisiana
Educated: Divine Word College, Epworth, Iowa Chicago Theological Union, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska
Ordained priest for the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), December 16, 1972 Appointed titular Bishop of Stagno and auxiliary Bishop of Galveston- Houston, Texas, December 21, 1987; consecrated Bishop February 19, 1988 Appointed Bishop of Beaumont (Texas) June 2, 2000 Installed Bishop of Beaumont, July 28, 2000
Most Reverend Martin D. Holley
Born December 31, 1954, Pensacola, Florida Educated: Alabama State University/Montgomery, Catholic University of America, Washington DC, St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary, Boynton Beach, Florida
Ordained Priest for the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee May 8, 1987 Appointed titular Bishop of Rusibisir and auxiliary Bishop of Washington, May 18, 2004 Consecrated Bishop July 2, 2004
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church
Most Reverend James Lawson Howze, D.D.
Born August 30, 1923, Daphne, Alabama Convert to Catholicism 1948
Educated: St. Bonaventure University, N.Y.
Ordained priest for the Diocese of Raleigh May 7, 1959 Appointed titular Bishop of Massita and auxiliary Bishop of Natchez- Jackson, November 8, 1972 Consecrated Bishop January 28, 1973 Appointed the first Bishop of Biloxi March 8, 1977 Installed Bishop of Biloxi, June 6, 1977 Retired May 15, 2001
Most Reverend George V. Murry, S. J.
Born December 28, 1948, Camden, New Jersey
Educated: St. Joseph College, Philadelphia, PA; St. Thomas Seminary, Bloomfield, Connecticut St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, California George Washington University, Washington D.C.
Entered the Society of Jesus (SJ) 1972 Ordained priest for the Society of Jesus, June 9, 1979 Appointed titular Bishop of Fuerteventura and auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, January 24, 1995 Consecrated Bishop May 20, 1995 Appointed Coadjutor Bishop of St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands, May 5, 1998 and became Bishop of St. Thomas, June 30, 1999 Appointed Bishop of Youngstown, January 30, 2007
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church
Most Reverend Joseph N. Perry, J.C.L ., D.D.
Born April 18, 1948, Chicago, Illinois
Educated: Capuchin Seminary of St. Lawrence, Mt. Calvary, Wisconsin St. Mary Capuchin Seminary, Crown Point, Indiana St. Joseph College, Rensselaer, Indiana St. Francis de Sales Seminary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Catholic University of America, Washington D.C.
Ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, May 24, 1975
Appointed titular Bishop of Lead and Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago,
May 5, 1998
Consecrated Bishop June 29, 1998
Most Reverend John H. Ricard, S.S.J., Ph.D.
Born February 29, 1940, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Educated: St. Joseph Seminary, Washington D.C Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
Ordained priest for the Society of St. Joseph (SSJ) May 25, 1968 Appointed titular Bishop of Rucuma and Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, May 28, 1984 Consecrated Bishop July 2, 1984 Appointed Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, January 21, 1997 Resigned as Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee for reasons of health, February 2011.
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church Most Reverend J. Terry Steib, S.V.D.
Born May 17, 1940, Vacherie, Louisiana
Educated: Divine Word Seminary, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Divine Word Seminary, Conesus, N.Y. Divine Word Seminary, Techny, Ill. Xavier University, New Orleans, Louisiana
Ordained priest, January 6, 1967 for the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) Appointed titular Bishop of Fallaba and auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis, December 6, 1983 Consecrated Bishop February 10, 1984 Appointed Bishop of Memphis, May 24, 1993
Most Reverend Elliott G. Thomas, D.D.
Born July 15, 1926, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Educated: Howard University, Washington D.C. Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania St. Vincent de Paul Seminary, Boynton Beach, Florida
Ordained priest for the diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands June 6, 1986 Appointed Bishop of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, October 30, 1993 Consecrated Bishop December 12, 1993 Retired June 30, 1999
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church Most Reverend Guy Sansaricq
Born Oct 6, 1934, Jeremie, Haiti
Educated: Diocesan Seminary of Jeremie, Haiti
St. Paul Pontifical Seminary, Ottawa, Canada Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome
Ordained priest for the Diocese of Jeremie, 1960, Haitian Apostolate in Brooklyn, NY Named Monsignor 1999 Appointed titular Bishop of Glenndalocha and auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, 2006 Consecrated Bishop August 22, 2006 Retired October 24, 2010
Most Reverend Joseph Abel Francis, S.V.D.
Born September 30, 1923, Lafayette, Louisiana and Died September 1, 1997
Ordained priest for the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) October 7, 1950 Appointed Titular Bishop of Valliposita and Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, N.J., May 3, 1976 Consecrated Bishop July 25, 1976 Retired June 30, 1995
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church
Most Reverend Eugene A. Marino, S.S.J .
Born May 29, 1934 in Biloxi, Mississippi Died November 12, 2000
Educated: Epiphany Apostolic College, New York
St. Joseph Seminary, 1952 Loyola University, Chicago, Ill. Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y.
Ordained priest for the Society of St. Joseph (SSJ), 1962 Appointed Titular Bishop of Walla-Walla & Auxiliary Bishop of Washington D.C., July 11, 1974 Consecrated Bishop September 12, 1974 Appointed Archbishop of Atlanta March 10, 1988 Resigned the Archbishopric July 10, 1990
Most Reverend Emerson J. Moore, D.D.
Born May 16, 1938 in Harlem, New York Died September 14, 1995
Educated: Cathedral College, Brooklyn, N.Y St. Joseph Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y. Columbia university, New York New York University. New York
Converted to Catholicism at age 15 Ordained priest for the Archdiocese of New York May 30, 1964 Became the first African American Monsignor in 1979 Appointed Titular Bishop of Curubi and auxiliary Bishop of New York, July 3, 1982 Consecrated Bishop, September 8, 1982
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church Most Reverend Carl A. Fisher, S.S.J.
Born November 24, 1945, Pascagoula, MS Died September 2, 1993
Ordained priest for the Society of St. Joseph (SSJ) June 2, 1973 Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles and Titular Bishop of Tlos, December 23, 1986 Consecrated Bishop February 23, 1987
Most Reverend James P. Lyke, O.F.M., Ph.D.
Born February 19, 1939, Chicago, Ill. Died December 27, 1992
Educated: St. Francis Novitiate, Teutopolis, Illinois Quincy College, Illinois
St. Joseph Theological Seminary in Teutopolis Union Graduate School, Cincinnati, Ohio
Ordained priest for the Franciscan Friars (OFM) June 24, 1966 Appointed Titular Bishop of Fornos Maior and auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland, June 30, 1979 Consecrated Bishop, August 1, 1979 Appointed Archbishop of Atlanta, April 30, 1991
Most Reverend Harold R. Perry, S. V.D., D.D.
Born 1916, Lake Charles Louisiana Died July 17, 1991
Educated: Society of the Divine Word
Ordained priest for the Divine Word Fathers (SVD) January 6, 1944 Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans and Titular Bishop of Mons in Mauretania, October 2, 1965 (The first African American of the modern era to become a Catholic Bishop) Consecrated Bishop, January 6, 1966
African American Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church Most Reverend Raymond Rodly Caesar, S.V.D.
Born February 14, 1932 in Eunice, Louisiana Died June 18, 1987
Ordained priest for the Divine Word Fathers (SVD) Appointed Bishop of Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua, New Guinea, August 5, 1978
Most Reverend James Augustine Healy, D.D.
Born April 6,1830, Macon, Georgia Died August 6, 1900
Educated: College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts Sulpician Seminary, Montreal, Canada Saint Sulpice, Paris, France
Most Rev. James Healy was the first Roman Catholic priest and the first Bishop in the United States of any known African descent.
Ordained priest in Paris, France-Notre Dame Cathedral, June 10, 1854 for service in the Archdiocese of Boston Appointed 2 nd Bishop of Portland, Maine, 1875 Participated in the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore
Most Reverend Moses Anderson, S.S.E.
Born September 9, 1928, Selma, Alabama Died January 11, 2013
Educated: St. Michael’s College, Winooski, Vermont St. Edmund Seminary, Burlington, Vermont University of Legon (Ghana, West Africa)
Ordained priest for the Society of St. Edmund, (SSE) May 30, 1958 Appointed titular Bishop of Vatarba and auxiliary Bishop of Detroit December 3, 1982 Consecrated Bishop January 27, 1983 Retired October 24, 2003
Heroes and Heroines of the Roman Catholic Church
Brother Booker Ashe a respected and renown cleric and orator, his Civil-Rights themed preaching reached the most rural and racially-segregated parts of Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. He also worked with national organizations in traditionally African American cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, New Orleans and Washington, DC. The Capuchin ministry he helped co- found in 1968 with Father Matthew Gottschalk, the House of Peace, continues today to serve as an anchor to the neighborhood of 17th and Walnut. The ministry provides food, clothing, pastoral care, medical and legal aide, teen leadership, and more to Milwaukee’s central city. About the House of Peace: Since 1968, the House of Peace, a Capuchin ministry, has been serving Milwaukee’s central city. It provides food, clothing, and pastoral care to the poor plus houses a medical clinic and legal clinic that serves the same population. The House of Peace is a Capuchin ministry and is part of the Capuchin Province of St. Joseph, which is headquartered in Detroit, and serves Capuchin ministries worldwide. www.HouseOfPeaceMilwaukee.org www.TheCapuchins.org. http://www.houseofpeacemilwaukee.org/BrBookerPanel.shtml
F. DeKarlos Blackmon, Obl. S.B , is the 16 th Supreme Knight, Chief Executive officer and Chairman of the Board of the Knights of Peter Claver, incorporated. He has been actively involved in pastoral ministry, outreach, promoting civic improvement, and developing youth. Having felt a call to the priesthood, he studied briefly at Saint Joseph Seminary College in Saint Benedict, Louisiana. A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Columbia College of Missouri, Touro University, and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees to include an MBA in Public Management and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministries. A Benedictine oblate – a lay person formally associated to a particular monastery who seeks to live a life in harmony with the spirit of Saint Benedict – he served in the United States Army Chaplains’ Corp with distinction where he executed religious support programs for soldiers and families. He was invited twice to the White House by President Barack Obama for the annual Prayer Breakfast. He joined other influential Christian leaders to address pastoral needs of the country to including the environment, immigration, fatherhood and families, and human trafficking. He is a member of the Birmingham Diocesan School Board. He serves as Secretariat for Cultural Diversity for African American affairs. He serves on the International Alliance of Catholic Knights, the Board of Directors of the National Black Catholic Congress and the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life. He is a member of the Speakers Corps of Loyola Press and is a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. http://www.kofpc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=artic le&id=59&Itemid=57 Heroes and Heroines of the Roman Catholic Church
Sister Thea Bowman is the first African-American woman to receive a Doctorate in Theology from Boston College. Sr. Thea Bowman, F.S.P.A., Ph.D., was born on December 29, 1937, in the small rural town of Canton in Central Mississippi. Her grandfather was a slave; her father was a physician and her mother, a teacher. Sr. Thea was educated at Viterbo College in La Crosse, Wisconsin and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Sr. Thea made a major contribution to the ministry of the Catholic Church to her fellow African Americans. She became an evangelist and was a popular speaker on faith and spirituality in her final years. She helped found the National Black Sisters Conference to provide support for African- American women in Catholic religious institutes. Sr. Thea died March 30, 1990. http://www.bc.edu/offices/ahana/about/history/bowman/
Monsignor Edward B. Branch, D. Min. Chaplain to His Holiness, Archdiocese of Atlanta Fr. Branch is presently the Catholic Chaplain for the Atlanta University Center, a cluster of historically African American institutions of higher education which boast the largest concentration of scholars of African heritage in the world. He also serves as preaching instructor in the Deacon Formation Program of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. At the nomination by Archbishop Gregory on February 14, 2013, he was honored by Pope Benedict XVI with the title, Chaplain to His Holiness, or Monsignor. Monsignor Branch is the African American Monsignor for the Archdiocese of Atlanta Georgia.
Father Cyprian Davis, OSB —Monk, Historian, Teacher, Agent of Hope. Father Cyprian Davis, O.S.B. is a monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey, professor of church history at St. Meinrad School of Theology, and author of works on black Catholic history. Keeping memories alive has been a focus of much of Cyprian Davis’s life and work as a monk and as an historian of African- American Catholics in the United States. Davis has brought to the forefront many things long forgotten about black Catholic involvement in their country and in their Church and so gives them a history which provides a springboard for their future. He has had a long fascination with history and has himself
experienced some striking historical transitions in Church and country that have left their mark on him personally and professionally. https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journ als/us_catholic_historian/v028/28.1.studzinski.html Heroes and Heroines of the Roman Catholic Church
Venerable Henriette Delille , was born in 1812 and is the first United States native-born African American whose cause for canonization has been officially opened by the Catholic Church. Henriette was very devout and loved God very much. Because of her love for Jesus and for the sake of the Gospel, she was determined to help those in need. Henriette, as she made her way through life, bore many crosses, encountered obstacles, and suffered personal illness. God blessed her efforts and in 1842, she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family. With a three pronged program and a set of carefully drawn up rules, the Sisters of the Holy Family expressed their apostolic intentions through caring for the sick, helping the poor, and instructing the ignorant of their people, free and enslaved, children and adults, in the name of Jesus Christ and the Church. Henriette died November 17, 1862. http://www.sistersoftheholyfamily.com/AboutHenrietteDelille.html
Father James E. Goode, OFM, Ph.D . is the Pastoral Director of Solid Ground Franciscan Ministry, an evangelization ministry with African American Families and the founder and president of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life. He is the leading Black Catholic Evangelist in the United States. He is known as the “Dean of Black Catholic preachers”, having preached the first Black Catholic Revival in America (1974). He has preached the gospel message of “Blessed Assurance” and the dignity of all human life throughout the world. In 1989, he inaugurated the National Day of Prayer for the African American Family, which is celebrated on the first Sunday of Black History Month. Franciscan Father Jim Goode is a proud member of the Franciscan Family of Franciscan Friars- Province of the Immaculate Conception. http://www.solidgroundministry.com/sg_goode/goode.htm
Heroes and Heroines of the Roman Catholic Church
Venerable Mother Elizabeth Lange , founder and first superior of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, took the name Mary. She was superior general from 1829 to 1832 and from 1835 to 1841. The order pledged to educate and evangelize African Americans; yet they would always be open to meeting the needs of the times. Thus, the Oblate Sisters educated youth and provided a home for orphans. Freed slaves were educated and at times admitted into the order. They nursed the terminally ill during the cholera epidemic of 1832, sheltered the elderly, and even served as domestics at St. Mary's Seminary in time of crisis. http://www.oblatesisters.com/MotherLange.html
Rev. Clarence Joseph Rivers , preeminent pioneer in the movement to enliven Roman Catholic liturgy by bringing to it the gift of African American musical expression, is the namesake of the Clarence Rivers Music Institute. Anyone who participates in a Catholic liturgy enlivened by music coming from the African American cultural tradition is benefitting from the legacy of Fr. Clarence Joseph Rivers. The Second Vatican Council, in the early 1960s, opened the door of the Church to liturgies conducted in the language of the local people and, through its broader emphasis on enculturation, ushered in new possibilities for liturgical music. In that context, beginning while the Council was still in session, it was Fr. Rivers more than any other single person who pioneered the integration of black sacred music into the Catholic celebration of the Eucharist and other liturgical settings. Upon Fr. Rivers’ death in 2005, at age 73, Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory—who at that time was Bishop of Belleville, Illinois and the recent past president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops—said: Fr. Clarence Rivers was a musical and cultural genius who provided great pride for African-American Catholics by composing music for the Catholic liturgy that clearly and proudly reflected the cultural gifts of black people in our country.” http://www.lykeconference.org/rev-clarence-joseph- rivers/#!prettyPhoto
Heroes and Heroines of the Roman Catholic Church
Fr. Chester P. Smith, SVD & Fr. Charles F. Smith, SVD (Society of Divine Word Missionary Priest) Ordained in 1988, in Chicago, Illinois, Frs. Charles & Chester, made African American history by becoming the first African American twin priests to be ordained in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Identical twins Charles and Chester Smith say that they want their journey from a Chicago housing project to the priest hood to be an example of hope for young blacks, especially young black males. They use their many ministries to reach this goal. They are founders and current co-directors of The Ambassadors of the Word – Youth Rite of Passage Ministry and are members of The Bowman-Francis Ministry Project (an outreach that strives toward spiritual development while fostering the betterment of health and an elevated quality of life for all people of African descent). Other programs founded by Frs. Charles & Chester, include: Sankofa Youth Summit, National Black Catholic Men's Conference, Mission Jamaica, Kapona Dada Women Group, J.A.M. For Jesus, Harambee Bakijana Young Adult Retreat, Gye Nyame Men's Group, Khrist Kwanzaa and MAAFA Prison Ministry. They are known throughout the United States & Caribbean as dynamic & charismatic revivalists & retreat leaders. www.bowmanfrancisministry.com
Blessed Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi was born in 1903 in Igboezunu, at the edge of: the forest near the ancient city of Aguleri in southern Nigeria. After finishing his philosophical and theological studies, he was ordained a priest in the cathedral of Onitsha on 19 December 1937 by the missionary Bishop Charles Heerey. The second indigenous priest of Onitsha and the first in the Aguleri region. His zeal, shining example and life of prayer and penance transformed the people into a true Christian community resulting in so many vocations to the priesthood and religious life that his parish held the diocesan record. In 1939 he was appointed parish priest of Dunukofia (Umudioka region), where he courageously tackled immoral customs and destroyed the harmful myth of the "cursed forest", which weighed heavily on the peace of consciences and families. To combat premarital cohabitation, he set up marriage preparation centers where girls and young women could be sheltered and receive Christian formation. For the moral education of young people he also established the League of Mary, with remarkable success. On foot or bicycle, Fr. Tansi went from village to village preaching, catechizing and setting up prayer centers that eventually became parishes. Feast Day: January 20; Born: September, 1903, Aguleri, Anambra, Nigeria ; Died: January 20, 1964, Leicester, England; Beatified: March 22, 1998 by Pope John Paul II http://www.ewtn.com/saintsholy/saints/C/blcyprianmichaeliwen etansi.asp#ixzz2dl1IIgx8 Heroes and Heroines of the Roman Catholic Church
Father Augustus Tolton , First Black Priest in the U.S. Augustus Tolton was ordained on April 24, 1886. Father Tolton’s first assignment was Saint Joseph’s church in his home town of Quincy. During his two years there he gained enormous respect from many of the German and Irish parishioners, who flocked to Saint Joseph’s to sit with their black brothers and sisters in Christ and hear his inspiring sermons. Other pastors invited the gifted preacher to give sermons at their churches as well, and his religious instruction classes were filled with enthusiastic catechumens. However, there were those who were jealous of his success in the area, and these were not just some Protestant ministers, but a local Catholic pastor, Father Weiss. This fellow pastor and others gave Father Augustus such a hard time with racial slurs and backstabbing that Archbishop Feenan of Chicago decided give him a poor parish on the south side of the city, where there were many Black Catholics who would surely honor a Black priest. http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/augustus-tolton- one-americas-first-black-catholic-priest
Venerable Pierre Toussaint , was b orn a slave in Haiti on a sugar plantation on June 27, 1766. Pierre was taught to read and write by his grandmother and immigrated to New York City with his plantations owner, Jean Berard, in 1787. Toussaint became a hairdresser and was also a counselor to many of the rich, who referred to him, as “our Saint Pierre”. He was noted for his extreme charity, giving away most of his earnings to the poor of the city. Each morning he would also attend the early mass at Saint Peter’s on Barclay Street.
After he obtained his freedom, Toussaint married in 1811, Juliette Noel, a Haitian woman he had known for years. They purchased a large house, and took in many black orphans, educating and teaching them trades. They purchased the freedom of dozens of slaves. They also aided French refugees, often doing so secretly so as not to hurt the pride of the recipients of their bounty. They cared for the sick, especially in the periodic yellow fever epidemics, often nursing the sick in their home. As Toussaint aged he was often urged by his friends to retire and enjoy life. His response: “ I have enough for myself, but if I stop working I have not enough for others .” On December 18, 1996 Toussaint was proclaimed Venerable by Pope John Paul II. http://the-american-catholic.com/2010/05/21/venerable-pierre- toussaint/
Black Catholic History, Heritage, and Truth
On July 24, 1990, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus of the United States designated November as Black Catholic History Month to celebrate the long history and proud heritage of Black Catholics. Two commemorative dates fall within this month, Saint Augustine's Birthday (November 13) and Saint Martin de Porres' Feast Day (November 3). More importantly, November not only marks a time when we pray for all saints and souls in loving remembrance, but also a time to recall the saints and souls of Africa and the African Diaspora.