3 former slaves on their road to sainthood

As we begin the month of November, looking toward Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays, we recognize the contributions Black Catholics have had in the Church and society during this Black Catholic History Month. As we celebrate our brothers and sisters who have served God faithfully, we recognize their lives are filled with lessons we could all learn.

1.)    Father Augustus Tolton: He is perhaps the most recognizable face of Black Catholics in the United States. Father Tolton navigated and fought a system that was against him in every way. Fr. Tolton’s determination, resilience, and love penetrated the hate that pushed back against him. His life eventually led to him becoming the first African-American Catholic priest in the United States. The road he walked was not easy, but it made the ground a little smoother for future Black Catholics to become priests and bishops. He was born into slavery in Brush Creek, Missouri as the second of three children to Martha Jane Chisley and Peter Paul Tolton. His mother was a slave, given as a wedding gift, who worked and lived on the Eliot family plantation where she met Tolton’s father, Peter.

Augustus was baptized and his baptismal record simply read: “A colored child…Property of Stephen Eliot”. He was seven years old when his father was killed in the Civil War. The same year his father died in the war; his family escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad. During his first communion, he fell in love with the Eucharist, and it was through the Eucharist that Fr. Tolton was led to seek the priesthood. It was a difficult journey and one that put up more roadblocks than bridges, but Tolton persisted. He picked up a couple allies and eventually was able to become a priest, fulfilling his calling from God.

Pope Francis declared Father Augustus Tolton “venerable” on October 14, 2019, which recognized his life set the example of theological virtues of faith, hope and charity as well as the cardinal virtues.

“Fr. Tolton acknowledged the great gift of his Catholic Faith and, despite bitter trials, remained faithful to the teachings of the Church….He taught, ‘The Catholic Church deplores a double slavery- that of the mind and that of the body. She endeavors to free us of both….She is the Church for our people.’” (Father Augustus Tolton, by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers)

Fr. Tolton needs two confirmed miracles attributed to him to become a canonized saint. He needs one miracle to be named a “Blessed”.

2.)    Servant of God Julia Greeley: Julia Greeley was born into slavery in Hannibal, Missouri. During her years in slavery, she lost her sight in one of her eyes after the slavedriver’s whip cut her face across her eye. Thanks to Missouri’s Emancipation Act of 1865, she was freed from slavery and soon was able to get employment as a maid in St. Louis. She eventually made her way to Denver where she worked for the wife of Colorado’s first governor. After being received into the Catholic Church, she became an ardent promoter of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, often being seen walking to every single fire station to hand out literature on the Sacred Heart to all firefighters, regardless of if they were Catholic or not.

She would go around the city handing out food and supplies to the poor. David Uebbing, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Denver, told the Denver Catholic that “she stood out because of how extraordinary she was. Even though she was only earning $10 to $12 a month cleaning and cooking, she was using it to help other people who were poor. That spoke volumes about the charitable heart she had.”

In 1901, she became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis and her life of loving and giving to others exemplified the life of St. Francis. As a devotee to the Sacred Heart, it was fitting when she died in Denver on the feast of the Sacred Heart on June 7, 1918. When she died, she did not have a burial plot to be laid to rest in because she had given her plot to a man who was going to be buried in a pauper’s grave. She was buried in her Franciscan habit and laid in state in Sacred Heart Church and in 2017 her body was exhumed, and she became the first person to be interred in Denver’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

She is a patroness of Black Catholics in the United States, firefighters, and the homeless.

3.)    Venerable Pierre Toussaint: Pierre Toussaint was born into slavery in Haiti and brought to New York. He was made a house slave by plantation owner Pierre Berard in Haiti. He was given the opportunity and ability to be educated by his grandmother, who taught him how to read and write. He was brought to New York from Haiti, along with other members of his family, to accompany his master’s son to the United States because of political unrest.

When he arrived in New York, he was able to become an apprentice under a hairstylist and eventually Toussaint became the most sought-after hairdresser for high society women. It was only after his master’s death that he was able to receive freedom. Once free, he opened his own business and became one of the country’s first black entrepreneurs. He used the wealth he earned to support the Church, the poor, and slaves. He even purchased a slave named Marie Rose Juliette, whom he later married. Pierre showed no partiality with his generosity when it came to supporting the poor. He gave generously to various charities and helped blacks and whites who were in poverty and in need.

Because of his race, he was refused entrance to St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in New York. He would later be buried outside that same Cathedral that once closed its doors to him because of the color of his skin. The rising devotion to Venerable Toussaint caused his body to be moved to St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in New York, where it is currently located. He was declared Venerable in 1996.

“I have never felt I am a slave to any man or woman, but I am a servant of Almighty God who made us all. When one of his children is in need, I am glad to be His slave.” (Ven. Toussaint)

There are currently six Black Catholics in the United States on their road to sainthood. This is only a brief snapshot of the incredible perseverance, faith, and devotion of three of these individuals. I encourage you to spend some time this month giving thanks to the Lord for the lives and examples of these faithful brothers and sisters and seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in what lessons we can learn from them and how those lessons can be implemented in our lives.