Black Catholics: A 'major part of the Church'

By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

 

MIAMI | About a quarter of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics are black, said Msgr. Chanel Jeanty during a Mass that kicked off the 24th annual Black Catholic History Month celebration at Notre Dame d’Haiti Mission.

 “We are a major part of the Church,” said the Haitian-American priest. "There are 270 million black Catholics worldwide, with 3 million of that number in the United States."

The Mass coincided with the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, a 19th century Peruvian who became the patron saint of black Catholics. Notre Dame d’Haiti is the heart of the Haitian black community in the Archdiocese of Miami.

“Black Catholics and all blacks have endured suffering and degradation,” said Msgr. Jeanty, pastor at the predominantly black St. Philip Neri Church, Miami Gardens. He is also the chancellor for canonical affairs in the archdiocese.

“We all know the struggles of black people from slavery to segregation," Msgr. Jeanty continued. "This celebration says that we will not forget and we will not tolerate discrimination again. It’s taken a long time to get to where we are today. This celebration is an opportunity to show the richness of our roots.”

Msgr. Jeanty urged the congregation to look to trailblazers like Father Augustine Tolton, the first black priest in the U.S. “Father Gus, as he was known, made a black priest like myself proud,” he said. 

Tolton’s journey to the priesthood began in Quincy, Ill., where the former slave had escaped with his family. Tolton met Father Peter McGirr, an Irish-American priest who allowed him to study at his parish school despite objections from parishioners.

Tolton wanted to become a priest but was rejected by every seminary to which he applied. Father McGirr intervened and enabled Tolton to study in Rome, where he was ordained in 1886.

 “Father Tolton said that he experienced as a priest, for the first time, what it meant to be a dignified man,” said Msgr. Jeanty.

The new priest expected to be assigned to an African mission, but he was sent back to the U.S. to serve the black community. He led the development and administration of the black “national parish” of St. Monica’s Church in Chicago. 

Because of his achievements, a move to canonize Father Tolton is underway.

Concelebrating the Mass with Msgr. Jeanty were Father Reginald Jean-Mary of Notre Dame d’Haiti Church and Father Alexander Ekechukwu of  Holy Redeemer Church in Liberty City.

Also participating were the Gospel Mass Choir from the Black Catholic Ministry, plus the Praise and Worship Dancers from Holy Redeemer Church in Liberty City.

Eight black seminarians from St. John Vianney College Seminaryattended the Mass in solidarity with the Black Catholic Ministry. Their ancestry included countries such as Haiti, Ghana, Honduras and Nigeria.

“I’m black and I just happen to be Catholic,” said seminarian Gregory Lambert from Melbourne, Fla.

In an introduction to the liturgy, Ministry member Jerome Matthews said the congregation gathered to rededicate as well as to celebrate.

“We remember the storms of our coming to this land, the darkness of our despair,” he said. “We remember our mothers and fathers of faith, of blood, of blackness.”

The ministry will celebrate another Mass at the end of Black History Month at noon Nov. 30 at St. Helen Church, 3033 NW 33rd Ave., Lauderdale Lakes. The ministry will present St. Martin de Porres awards for excellence. Sister Clementina Givens of the Oblate Sisters of Providence will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Mass.

For information on other events, contact Katrenia Reeves-Jackman at [email protected] or 305-762-1120.