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November is Black Catholic History Month
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Rev. Norman Dukette
1st black priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit |
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.
Black Catholic History: The Beginning
Some people express surprise when they learn that Black Catholic History began in the Acts of the Apostles (8: 26-40) with the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch by Philip the Deacon. This text is important for several reasons. First, it chronicles the conversion of the first Black person in recorded Christian history. Second, the text suggests that the man was a wealthy, literate, and powerful emissary of the Nubian Queen and also a faithful, practicing Jew prior to his baptism. Clearly, he was not an ignorant heathen. Third, the Ethiopian Eunuch's conversion predates the conversions of Saints Paul and Cornelius. Most significantly, many cite this conversion as the very moment when the church changed from a Hebrew and Hellenist community to the truly Universal and Catholic Church.
Black Catholic Faith History
Black Catholics trace their faith history back to Christian antiquity long before other nations heard the "Good News." Christian Africa was indeed a "leading light" in early Christendom. Black Catholics point to three popes who were born in Africa: Saints Victor I, Melchiades, and Gelasius I. All three shepherded the early church through tough and tumultuous times in history. Black Catholics claim many Black Saints like Saints Cyprian, Zeno, Anthony of Egypt, Moses the Black Pachomius, Maurice, Athanasius, Pisentius, Mary of Egypt, Cyril of Alexandria, Monica of Hippo, Augustine of Hippo, Perpetua, Felicitas, and Thecla. Some of these mystics, monastics, and martyrs literally made the church what it is today.
Notwithstanding the moral crimes of chattel slavery, the French and Spanish missionaries ministered to their free and enslaved African population within their respective colonies. This ministry laid the foundation for Black Catholic communities within the United States, i.e. Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Saint Augustine, Florida. It is important to note that many African-American Catholics cherish a certain Peruvian Dominican, Saint Martin de Porres, the only Black Saint from the Western Hemisphere to date.
Tragically, the American Catholic Church did not seriously commit its time and resources to minister to the African-American population during the ante-bellum or post-bellum periods. However, God made a way!!! In spite of numerous obstacles and opposition, African-American Catholics created a remarkable movement of faith and evangelization. Black Catholic History Month provides opportunities to learn and share the whole history and rich heritage of Christian Catholicism. Ubi Victoria Veritas! The Victory of Truth! The Roman Catholic Church includes 200 million people of African descent throughout the world.
November is Chosen!!
When the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus of the United States voted to establish November as "Black Catholic History Month", it was chosen because of the number of important dates to Catholics of African descent that fell within the month:
- Nov. 1: All Saints Day, an opportunity to review the lives of the Saints of African descent in the first 300 years of the church.
- Nov. 2: All Souls Day, a time to remember all those Africans lost to cruel treatment in the Middle Passage crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
- Nov 3: Feast of St. Martin de Porres, the only saint of African descent in this hemisphere.
- Nov.13: The birth of St. Augustine in 354 A.D., the first Doctor of the Church from North Africa.
Black Catholic Leaders and Teachers
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