Currently, seven African American men and women are on the path toward sainthood in the United States.
Black Catholic History
Records Trace Pope Leo XIV’s Ancestry to Black, Creole Roots
The discovery that the first U.S.-born pope has black and Creole roots is a finding that illustrates the nation’s rich, multiracial history, the experiences of black Catholics, and the importance of the Church’s sacramental records
Two Books Look at Black Catholic Experience From Different Angles
In Catholic books, an African American perspective is usually missing; these two books attempt to address that important gap in different and complementary ways.
Mercy Sister Talks About Black Catholicism, Her Faith and Life of ‘Firsts’
In 1956, 17-year-old Sister Cora Marie Billings of Philadelphia entered the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, Pennsylvania, becoming the first Black member of the Philadelphia community.
Black Catholic Recalls Making History With Commission as Air Force Officer
Sandra Williams Ortega was stunned to see two high-ranking ROTC leaders standing on her front porch as she was coming home from classes at Morgan State College in Baltimore.
Priest Discovers Kentucky Parish Has Ties to Father Augustus Tolton
On a wintry January day at the old St. Theresa Cemetery in rural Meade County in Kentucky, Janice Mulligan laid a simple wreath of magnolia leaves on the grave of Matilda Hurd, a woman who died a slave and whose grandson is now a saint in the making.
Knowing Black Catholic History Can Help End Racism, Professor Says
The history of Black Catholics and other marginalized people in the U.S. church covering more than two centuries is one worth knowing and can guide the church’s response to the challenges of racism and social justice, historian Shannen Dee Williams believes.
Catholic Church, Society Must Do More to Overcome Racism, Says Bishop
Imagining what the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., might say if he were alive today, retired Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, delivered a homily in the voice of the slain civil rights leader to address how racism continues to impact the church and society as a whole.
Divine Nine Sororities, Fraternities Instill Pride in Black College Students
When Michaela Ivory was a freshman at Butler University, she wasn’t particularly interested in pledging to a sorority. But after meeting members of the Sigma Gamma Rho community and seeing the care and concern they had for others, she changed her mind and joined the sorority, which is one of the legendary Divine Nine.
Students Explore Black Catholic History Month Through Art
A mystery persists at Salve Regina Catholic Academy, part of St. Michael-St. Malachy Parish. There, a few years ago, a student challenged the pastor with a decidedly pointed question.