Meet the 6 American Black Catholics who are on the road to sainthood

Newport Beach, California, Feb 28, 2023 / 12:55 pm

Among the history revisited for Black History Month, Catholics would do well to recall that there are currently six African American Catholics who are on the path to sainthood.

Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, who serves as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, recalled these holy lives last month, stating: “For models of lives transformed, we can always turn to the saints. To this end, the USCCB has advanced beatification and canonization causes of six inspirational African American men and women: Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, Venerable Henriette DeLille, Venerable Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Julia Greeley, and Sister Thea Bowman.”

Among the best known of these six is Father Augustus Tolton (1854-1897), the first recognized American Black priest. He was born a slave in Missouri and escaped to Quincy, Illinois, through the Underground Railroad. Some Irish priests recognized he had a vocation to the priesthood, so he studied in Rome and was ordained a priest. He returned to Illinois, serving much of the time in Chicago before his death at age 43.

Despite having endured prejudice and obstacles to ordination, he remained committed to Christ.

“I believe Tolton says something about how we handle disappointment in our lives — protracted disappointment and how we struggle with that, companioned with the inspiration that comes from our Christian faith,” Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry of Chicago, postulator for Tolton’s cause for canonization, told the Register via email.

He continued: “Despite the suffering endemic to 19th-century America and its ambivalence about the presence and participation of Black people in our democracy, Tolton proved a priest servant to any and every one, white, black, brown, etc., but met up repeatedly with objection and resentment from individuals and corridors of our society and the Church.”

“The cross of Jesus impresses itself upon our lives in more ways than [are] comfortable for us. But we believe in the Resurrection,” Perry added. “Salvation is constantly working itself out in our lives. To know Jesus is to know him with the cross. To know Christ and his kingdom is to arrive there with our faith, hope, and love intact.”

“Father Tolton gave himself completely to the Church in response to God’s invitation to share in his life and love,” Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, author of “Father Augustus Tolton: The Slave Who Became the First African-American Priest,” told the Register of the “Venerable.”

“He is a role model for all those who seek to be configured more perfectly to Christ. Father Tolton’s life bears witness to the truth that, when we freely, willingly, and lovingly place all our trust in God, then we will find true happiness and peace.”

Among the best-known women American Black candidates for sainthood is Venerable Henriette DeLille (1813-1862), founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans. She was born in New Orleans; her father was from France, and her mother was a free woman of African descent. She applied to both the Ursuline and Carmelite communities but was rejected, so she used her family money to found her own community, which cared for the sick and poor as well as opened schools. She is the first native-born American of African descent whose cause for canonization was opened.

Father Josh Johnson, a priest of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who formerly taught theology of the body catechesis at the Sisters of the Holy Family’s St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans, explained to the Register that both Tolton and DeLille were inspirations for him “in my walk toward eternity.”

“Both of these holy witnesses were devoted to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and the poorest of the poor,” he said. “Even though they were persecuted by many of the leaders in the Catholic Church during their lifetime for no other reason than because of the color of their skin, they both continued to glorify God by pouring themselves out in ministry for the salvation of souls.”

He noted that Tolton’s example inspired him to do a daily Holy Hour. He added: “It is amazing how the witness of the saints continues to bear supernatural fruit in the 21st century.”

In 2016, Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila opened the cause for canonization of Servant of God Julia Greeley, a freed slave from Missouri who died in 1918. She moved to Denver, converted to the Catholic faith, and was known for pulling around a red wagon filled with items — such as food, clothing, and firewood — which she would give to the poor. Father Blaine Burkey, Greeley’s biographer, told the Register: “She loved others, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, and providing fuel for their homes. If someone was sick, she’d come to the house and help take care of them.”

In describing Greeley, Burkey cited the words of Fellowship of Catholic University Students founder Curtis Martin: “Born a slave, half-blind, poor, the object of racism, and alone, Julia simply lived the Gospel of Jesus Christ and loved. Even though she had very little of the world’s material blessings to share, she gathered what she could and shared all that she had from a heart completely transformed by Christ.”