February 17, 2019 - "Celebrating Black History Month"

During February we celebrate Black History month in the United States.  In honor of this month-long celebration, I thought that I would make use of a 2017 publication from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who developed some resources for responding to the Sin of Racism.  Specifically I want to talk about three U.S, Catholics who responded to Racism with Holiness.  Here are three examples.
 
Julia Greeley, Servant of God
Julia was born a slave in Missouri, sometime between 1833 and 1848.  As a child, a slave master, when beating her mother, caught Julia’s right eye with his whip which caused her to lose it.  Once she was freed, Julia settled eventually in Denver, Colorado. Despite all that she had suffered, her forgiveness opened her heart to others.  While supporting herself through work, she would spend her earnings helping poor families, many of whom were white.  Realizing the shame people felt in being poor, Julia left her donations for them at night.  She became a Catholic in 1880, and later joined the Secular Franciscans.  When she died, hundreds of people came to pay their respects.  Her limitless charity, selflessness, and devotion to Christ made Julia a model of mercy, so much so that her cause for canonization was opened in 2016.  For more information about the cause of canonization, go to juliagreeley.org.
 
Msgr. Bernard Quinn, Servant of God
Bernard Quinn was born in 1888.  He was ordained to the priesthood in 1912 for the Diocese of Brooklyn.  In 1922 he volunteered to minister to the black Catholic community.  In 1927, he was appointed pastor of St. Peter Claver Church.  The next year he founded an orphanage for homeless black children.  The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) twice burned down the orphanage.  Monsignor Quinn defied the KKK and rebuilt it each time.  In a letter to his parishioners, he wrote: “I love you. I am proud of every one of you, and I would willingly shed to the last drop my life’s blood for the least among you.” A tireless advocate for the equality of all people, Monsignor Quinn’s cause for canonization opened in 2008.  For more information about the cause of canonization for Monsignor Bernard Quinn, go to fatherquinn.org.
 
Rev. Augustus Tolton, Servant of God
Father Augustus Tolton was the first recognized black Catholic priest in the U.S.  A former slave, he was baptized and raised Catholic.  He studied for the priesthood in Rome, since no American seminary would admit him owning to his skin color.  As a priest, he ministered to the black Catholic community in Quincy, Illinois.  Known for his eloquent sermons, generosity, and piety, attracted both black and white Catholics to his parish.  Later driven out of Quincy, he was welcomed by the Archdiocese of Chicago.  He died in 1897.  Despite his experiences, Father Tolton remained steadfast: “The Catholic Church deplores a double slavery—that of the mind and that of the body.  She endeavors to free us of both.  I was a poor slave boy but the priests of the Church did not disdain me.” Father Tolton’s cause of canonization was opened in 2015.  For more information about the cause of Father Augustus Tolton, go to www.toltoncanonization.org.
We shall continue our explorations of other leaders of African descent who are on their way to sainthood.
 
Until next week,
Fr. John Dillon