THE RECORD NOVEMBER 14, 2019 FROM THE OFFICE OF MULTICULTURAL MINISTRY WWW.THERECORDNEWSPAPER.ORG 7
The African American Catholic Five-Year Pastoral Plan of Action was developed by Pastoral Plan of Action Planning Committee mem- bers which was comprised of Na- tional Black Catholic Congress XII delegates from the Archdiocese of Louisville, including members of the Office of Multicultural Minis- try staff who served as process fa- cilitators, and members of the Af- rican American Catholic Advisory Council. These dedicated women and men shared their individual, parish, community, diocesan, and national needs, concerns, and rec- ommendations, and ultimately developed a list of six priorities, which include objectives and action steps, that will be imple- mented, reviewed, and completed through 2023 and beyond. They are: Spirituality & Saints; Leadership; Vocations; Racism/ Social Justice; Youth Ministry; and Catechesis.
Priority I: Spirituality & Saints
It is required and necessary that African American Catholics develop opportunities to remember African traditions that forged a Black spirituality that incorporates cultural symbols, language and experiences of the lives of Black saints. This should be accomplished by initiating liturgies and Scripture studies from an Africentric perspective for all members of the worshiping community and by promoting the invitation for Black families, women, men and children to become engaged in all aspects of church ministry that will authentically celebrate and nurture the virtues and spirituality of those who lived lives that were hallmarks of social justice while being committed to their spiritual and faith journeys.
Priority II: Leadership
The future of the Catholic Church requires the development and nurturing of African Americans in positions of leadership that will enrich the church in ministry that is inclusive, equitable and welcoming of the unique gifts of African American Catholics. Our history as a church has excluded African American leadership. Nonetheless, over the 200+ years of United States history African American Catholic leadership emerged. Today the church's future demands that the church create opportunities to engage and rise up African American leaders for African American communities and for the larger church.
Priority III: Vocations
Today's call to get in the game is tougher to answer than in years gone by. The call to vocations in the Black community must be a time of deep prayer, listening to God and reflecting on personal blessings and on how God carried us through the rough times of our lives only to bring us to moments of sheer joy and accomplishments. The fears, anguish and disappointments within the church today invites each Catholic to place his or her faith in the power of God and to be open unconditionally to how to answer God's call to be of service and ministry in the church.
Priority IV: Racism/ Social Justice
This year, 2018, we celebrate many of the anniversaries of the Civil Rights Movement and the gains made over the past 50 years. To most adults and to many youths, it seems as if we have taken giant steps back in time with the call for Black Lives Matter and the blatant hatred that we witness daily in our nation for Blacks, Latinos, Muslims and immigrants. Our rallying cry must be, "I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me." The sin of racism is pervasive in our nation and in our churches. As Black Catholics, we must speak our truth and believe that our baptism gives us a prophetic voice that must continue to loudly proclaim, as Black Catholics, we are singular in our purpose to expose the sin of racism in all aspects of the life of the Catholic Church. Infused with the Holy Spirit we will take our place in the church and continue to demand that the church never stop working to be what Christ has called it to be: One Vine and Many Branches.
Priority V: Youth Ministry
Today, youth across the country are showing us in countless ways that they can and are making a difference. They are answering the call to be of service to their churches, schools and civic communities in ways that are innovative and focused on change. The actions, voices and engagement of youth are necessary to the future of the Catholic Church and in particular to the future of Black Catholics throughout the country. The youth in our parishes desire to become involved in ministries and social justice, and they have answers that are authentic. The church needs the openness and thoughtful ways of youth to speak their truths and relationships with Christ.
Priority VI: Catechesis
The church must gather those who are hungry for spiritual grounding in a time when everywhere we turn there is little hope. We must tell the stories of how the church in Black parishes throughout the nation has been steeped in serving Black communities with teachings and celebrations that provided hope and education to African Americans, many of whom today carry and pass on the rich legacies of Black religious and lay who were committed to a deep and abiding faith and spirituality. We must reach back and become centered in African traditions that will link our past with today's new modes of learning to become engaged in our faith.
Venerable Pierre Toussaint
Pierre was born in Haiti and brought to New York City as a slave, where he died a free man. Brard, the plantation owner and Pierre's master, allowed Pierre's grandmother to teach her grandson how to read and write. In his early 20s, Pierre, his younger sister, his aunt, and two other house slaves accompanied their master's son to New York City because of political unrest at home. When his master died, Pierre supported his mas- ter's widow and the other slaves himself, and was freed shortly before the widow's death in 1807. Four years later, he married Marie Rose Juliette, whose freedom he had purchased. They later adopted Euphmie, his orphaned niece. Both preceded him in death. Pierre Toussaint was bestowed with the title of Venerable on Dec. 17, 1997 by Pope John Paul II.
Venerable Henriette Delille
Henriette Delille, was born in 1812 in New Orleans, La., as a free woman of color. At 24 years of age, Henriette experienced a religious conversion, and proclaimed: "I believe in God. I hope in God. I love. I want to live and die for God." Henriette eventually founded the Society of the Holy Family, responding to the need for treatment of the enslaved, elderly and sick, and care and educa- tion for the poor. Henriette Delille was bestowed with the title of Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.
Servant of God, Mother Mary Lange
Born Elizabeth Lange around 1794 in Santiago de Cuba, she lived in a primarily French-speaking com- munity where she received an excellent education. In the early 1800s Elizabeth left Cuba and settled in Baltimore as a courageous, loving, and deeply spiri- tual woman. There was no free public education for African American children in Maryland until 1868, so she responded to that need by opening a school in her home in the Fells Point area of the city for the children. Providence intervened through the person of Rev- erend James Hector Joubert, SS, who was encour- aged by James Whitfield, Archbishop of Baltimore, and presented Elizabeth Lange with the idea to found a religious congregation for the education of African American girls. Father Joubert would provide direction, solicit financial assistance, and encourage other "women of colour" to become members of the first congregation of African American women religious in the history of the Catholic Church. On July 2, 1829 Elizabeth and three other women professed their vows and became the Oblate Sisters of Providence. Elizabeth, foundress and first superior general, took the religious name of Mary.
Venerable Fr. Augustus Tolton
Augustus was born to two slaves, Peter Paul Tolton and his wife Martha Jane, on April 1, 1854. With the outbreak of the War between the States, Peter Paul hoped to gain freedom for his family and escaped to the North where he served in the Union Army, and was one of the 180,000 blacks who were killed in the war. His widow decided that she would see her husband's quest for freedom realized in his children. After managing a crossing of the Mississippi River she made her way to Illinois and settled in the small town of Quincy. When her children attempted to attend Catholic school, parents of the other school children were not happy, so to avoid a messy situation, the School Sisters of Notre Dame decided to tutor the Tolton children privately. In 1878, the Franciscan College in Quincy accepted him, and two years later he was enrolled at the college of the Propaganda Fidei in Rome. After completing his courses there, Augustus Tolton was ordained on April 24, 1886. He was later given a parish on the south side of the city, Saint Augustine's church, which would later become Saint Monica's. This would be Father Tolton's parish for life, and it also became the center from which he ministered to all the black Catholics of Chi- cago. He addressed the first Catholic Colored Congress in Washington DC in 1889. Augustus Tolton was bestowed with the title of Venerable on June 12, 2019 by Pope Francis.
Servant of God, Julia Greeley
Denver's Angel of Charity was born into slavery, in Hannibal, Mo., between 1833 and 1848. As a young child, Julia's right eye was destroyed by a cruel slavemaster's whip. Freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Julia subsequently earned her keep by serving white families in Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico - though mostly in the Denver area. Whatever she could spare, Julia spent assisting poor families in her neighborhood. When her resources were inadequate, she begged for food, fuel and cloth- ing for the needy. To avoid embarrassing the people she helped, Julia did most of her charitable work under cover of night through dark alleys. A daily communicant, Julia had a rich devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin and continued her prayers while working and moving about. She joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1901 and was active in it until her death in 1918.
These are now six African American Catholics currently being considered for canonization. The process is comprised of four phases: Servant of God, Venerable, Blessed and Saint.
On the Road to Sainthood . . .
The Archdiocese of Louisville's African American Catholic Five-Year Pastoral Plan of Action
The Journey Continues ...
I recently travelled to Is- rael and visited the Church of the Transfiguration on Mt. Tabor. This visit was one highlight of an amaz- ing spiritual experience. Saints Peter, James, and John would understand. They wanted to prolong their visit by pitching tents. However, Jesus knew that they couldn't stay. There was more work to do, a journey to continue. As Black Catholics, our journey continues, not just to build upon the legacies of the civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but to be holy, to emulate the saints, es- pecially African American men and women who are currently being proposed for sainthood. Each of these on the path to saint- hood, in his or her own way embraced Catholi- cism despite the realities of racism that existed in society and the Church; served those in need in their communities; and challenged norms that limit or block the spread of the Gospel. Our journey continues to keep "Black" as part of our Catholicism because when the "Black" is removed then all the ways we help to fulfill the Catholic 'universality' of our Church, the ways we contribute to the Body, get lost or diminished as well. Programs like the Thea Bowman Certificate Pro- gram aid us in this journey by allowing individuals to learn and embrace Black Catholic history, heritage, and contributions from lo- cal and national present- ers. We have more to pro- claim about what we have seen and heard. We have more mouths to feed, feet to wash, prisoners to visit, naked to clothe, prayers to pray, lonely to connect with, wrongdoing to con- fess, forgiveness to give, injustice and racism to call out and address, sick to nurse, peace to offer amid violence, shelter to pro- vide to the homeless, and strangers to welcome and call neighbor. We have a battle-tested faith to share, a confident hope to give, and a mighty love - God's all-powerful love and grace that allows us to "keep on keepin' on" - to pour out to a community, to a Church, to a world that needs our testimony. No, Black Cath- olics, as much as we would like to, we cannot pitch our tents just yet. Our journey continues. Janice Mulligan is the Associate Director of African American Catholic Ministries in the Archdiocese of Louisville's Office of Multicultural Ministry
Servant of God, Sister Thea Bowman
Born in 1937, in Canton, Miss., Bertha Elizabeth Bowman was the daughter of Dr. Theon Bowman, a physician and Mary Esther Bowman, a teacher. For Thea Bowman, the decision to convert to Catholicism was rooted in what she witnessed: she was drawn to the Catholic Church but by the example of how Catholics seemed to love and care for one another, most especially the poor and needy. In 1953 at the age of fifteen she told her family and friends she wanted to join the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and left the familiar Mississippi terrain to venture off to the unfamiliar town of LaCrosse, Wis. where she would be the only African-American member in the convent. She was given the name, Sister Mary Thea in honor of the Blessed Mother and her father, Theon. Her religious name, Thea, literally means "God." She was trained to become a teacher. She taught at all grade levels, eventually earning her doctorate and becoming a college professor. In 1978, Sister Thea accepted an appointment to direct the Office of Inter- cultural Affairs for the Diocese of Jackson. In 1984, Sister Thea was faced with devastating challenges: both her parents died and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sister Thea vowed to "live until I die" and continued her rigorous schedule of speaking engagements. Even when it became increasingly painful and difficult as the cancer moved to her bones, she would not stop witnessing and sharing the joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She did not let her wheelchair or the deterioration of her body keep her from one notable and unprecedented event - an opportunity to address the U.S. Bishops at their annual June meeting held in 1989 at Seton Hall University in East Orange, NJ. Sister Thea spoke to the bishops as a sister having a "heart to heart" conversa- tion with her brothers. This well crafted, yet at times quite spontaneous message spoke of the church as her "home," as her "family of families" and her trying to find her way "home." She told them the "true truth" about what it meant to be black and Catholic. She instructed and enlightened the bishops on black history and spirituality. She challenged the bishops to continue to evangelize the black community, to promote inclusivity and full participation of blacks within Church leadership, and to understand the necessity and value of Catholic Schools in the black community. And when she was through she urged the bishops to move together, cross arms and sing with her, "We Shall Overcome." She seemingly touched the hearts of the bishops as evidenced by their thunderous applause and tears flowing from their eyes. When asked by her dear friend and homilist for her funeral, Father John Ford, S.T. what to say at her funeral, Sister Thea answered: "Tell them what Sojourner Truth said about her eventual dying, 'I'm not going to die. I'm going home like a shooting star.'" And so she did, at five o'clock in the morning of March 30, 1990 in the home where she grew up in Canton, Miss.
Above, Rev. Monica M. Thomas facilitates a workshop at the Catholic Enrichment Center during the 34th Annual African American Catholic Day of Reflection on Nov. 9, 2019. At right, Professor Alfred works with youth participating in a leadership circle at the Catholic Enrichment Center in the Fall 2018.
Photos by Clinton Bennett Photography & Video
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