Black Catholics

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Malia_Belen

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Hi,

I’m new to the forum and I’ve found myself curious about the Catholic faith for the past few months which is the reason I signed up…hehehe although I’ve been kind of lurking and reading posts here for a while.

There are quite a few things that I’m unsure of about the Catholic Faith but I thought I’d start with the one that’s actually preventing from stepping into a Catholic Church although it technically has nothing to do with the Catholic faith itself so I hope I’m posting it in the right place.

I’m a little bit nervous about visiting a Catholic Church because I’m black. I guess my question is are there many black Catholics? Will people there think I’m weird or strange 'cause I’m there? I know these seems like silly questions but I’m human and it’s something that’s been on my mind because I don’t think I know any black Catholics.

Thanks for reading:)
 
Malia_Belen said:
Hi,

I’m new to the forum and I’ve found myself curious about the Catholic faith for the past few months which is the reason I signed up…hehehe although I’ve been kind of lurking and reading posts here for a while.

There are quite a few things that I’m unsure of about the Catholic Faith but I thought I’d start with the one that’s actually preventing from stepping into a Catholic Church although it technically has nothing to do with the Catholic faith itself so I hope I’m posting it in the right place.

I’m a little bit nervous about visiting a Catholic Church because I’m black. I guess my question is are there many black Catholics? Will people there think I’m weird or strange 'cause I’m there? I know these seems like silly questions but I’m human and it’s something that’s been on my mind because I don’t think I know any black Catholics.

Thanks for reading:)
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Deo Gratias!!

There are many, many black Catholics- especially those from Africa. Often, people claim that the Catholic Church is racist- this is nonsense. We have black priests, black saints, black popes, etc.

Look:


That is a picture of an SSPX priest from Africa. Africa is a stronghold of traditional Catholicism. The SSPX, FSSP, and ICK are all present there.

Here is a picture of a Palm Sunday procession in Africa by the SSPX:

 
Malia_Belen said:
Hi,

I’m new to the forum and I’ve found myself curious about the Catholic faith for the past few months which is the reason I signed up…hehehe although I’ve been kind of lurking and reading posts here for a while.

There are quite a few things that I’m unsure of about the Catholic Faith but I thought I’d start with the one that’s actually preventing from stepping into a Catholic Church although it technically has nothing to do with the Catholic faith itself so I hope I’m posting it in the right place.

I’m a little bit nervous about visiting a Catholic Church because I’m black. I guess my question is are there many black Catholics? Will people there think I’m weird or strange 'cause I’m there? I know these seems like silly questions but I’m human and it’s something that’s been on my mind because I don’t think I know any black Catholics.

Thanks for reading:)
Click to expand...
Well, the majority of the world’s Catholics aren’t white. But I assume you live in America. I live in the South, and there are several Catholic Churches that I know that have almost entirely black congregations. There are probably only five black families out of the maybe two hundred or so that attend my parish, but that really shouldn’t matter. Religion isn’t about color. It’s about Truth. Come to think about it, just a month or so ago a priest from Nigeria came to give a guest homily about his missions in Africa. (he was obviously a black native of Africa. Actually, it was kind of hard to understand his accent.)
 
I can’t imagine that anyone would have a problem with a black person coming to Mass. Catholics come in all races and nationalities. There’s a fair chance you will encounter a black priest since this country is mission territory for Nigerian priests.

I don’t know if it would make you feel better to know that there are Black bishops, archbishops, and cardinals, but there are. Two that I know of are Archbishop Gregory of Atlanta:
http://www.archatl.com/media/common/images/gregory/ABG-color.jpg

Bishop Braxton of Belleville:
http://www.diobelle.org/images/bishop05.jpg

I could also cite Cardinal Arinze, a leader in the worldwide Church (head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments) but he’s actually from Nigeria rather than from the U.S.

In any case, know that you’re welcome in the Catholic church.
 
I think it really depends on where you are located. In my archdiocese, there are large numbers of black Catholics. In addition to at least four predominantly black parishes, including one that is a hundred years old, most parishes have a noticeable number of black members. I don’t have stats on my own parish, but by my own estimation, people of color make up about ten percent of every mass I attend, and there plenty of black people involved in parish life - as members of Knights of Columbus, sending their kids to the parish school, etc.

However, if you walked into a Catholic church in rural Wyoming (for instance) you might not see any black people at all.
 
Here in south Louisiana there are many traditionally black parishes and mixed parishes like mine. It has been that way since I was a kid back in the 50s.

http://www.diobr.org/images/sjf-b-sm.jpg

Fr. Shelton (now Bp.Shelton Fabre) served at the cathedral parish for several years back in the early 90s. He is now an auxilary bishop of New Orleans.

Be welcome!
 
Hi Malia,

I’m glad to see that you are interested in the Catholic faith! “Catholic” means “universal” and the Church was referred to as the Catholic Church (ekklesia katholika in Greek) from the very beginning to stress that salvation through Christ is universal - that is, it is not restricted to any nation of people.

The Catholic Church thus has a presence throughout the world and today there are many Catholic Christians of African and Caribbean descent. I’m a Catholic of Jamaican and Italian descent and both of my parents were baptized in the Catholic Church. At the church I attend here in Toronto, Canada, there are African (Ghanian) and Caribbean groups. The pastors of my church are connected to the Consolata Missionary Order, which has a presence in Kenya. Keep in mind also that many Latin Americans are of mixed African descent, and Latin America has many Catholics (as does Brazil, which has the largest population of blacks of any non-African country).

Here is an article that will assist you in exploring the Catholic faith: ewtn.com/faith/teachings/churmenu.htm

Your decision to become a Catholic Christian should be based on whether you accept that the Catholic Church is truly the one Church that Jesus established 2000 years ago, and not on the ethnic make-up of the Catholic churches in your neigbourhood. I hope that reading the above article will bring you to the truth.

Peace.
 
Thanks everyone 🙂

I’m feeling better… though still a little nervous. I pass this Catholic Church near my house every so often and I’ve never seen any blacks going in or out. So, I always feel like people will stare at me or something if I should go in one Sunday and sit in the back to listen to the service. :o
 
Just ask the Lord for courage and He will be there to comfort you.
 
brotherhrolf said:
Here in south Louisiana there are many traditionally black parishes and mixed parishes like mine. It has been that way since I was a kid back in the 50s.

http://www.diobr.org/images/sjf-b-sm.jpg

Fr. Shelton (now Bp.Shelton Fabre) served at the cathedral parish for several years back in the early 90s. He is now an auxilary bishop of New Orleans.

Be welcome!
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Father Shelton is probably the best priest I have ever met. I used to go to him for confession when he was at St. George. He is a great, great man.
 
Malia_Belen said:
Thanks everyone 🙂

I’m feeling better… though still a little nervous. I pass this Catholic Church near my house every so often and I’ve never seen any blacks going in or out. So, I always feel like people will stare at me or something if I should go in one Sunday and sit in the back to listen to the service. :o
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Just stop on in. If you’re nervous, maybe call the priest up (get the number out of the telephone book).

Or, if you’re really nervous, you could try making a phone call to your Diocesan offices, and ask if there are any predominantly black Catholic parishes in your diocese.

Either way, I don’t think you’ll be stared at or shunned.
 
Malia_Belen said:
Hi,

I’m new to the forum and I’ve found myself curious about the Catholic faith for the past few months which is the reason I signed up…hehehe although I’ve been kind of lurking and reading posts here for a while.

There are quite a few things that I’m unsure of about the Catholic Faith but I thought I’d start with the one that’s actually preventing from stepping into a Catholic Church although it technically has nothing to do with the Catholic faith itself so I hope I’m posting it in the right place.

I’m a little bit nervous about visiting a Catholic Church because I’m black. I guess my question is are there many black Catholics? Will people there think I’m weird or strange 'cause I’m there? I know these seems like silly questions but I’m human and it’s something that’s been on my mind because I don’t think I know any black Catholics.

Thanks for reading:)
Click to expand...
Yes…there are many Black Catholics. They’re all over Latin America, for example. Think of Haiti. The idea that Blacks are all evangelicals is an American-based stereotype, unfortunately.
 
Malia_Belen said:
Hi,

I’m new to the forum and I’ve found myself curious about the Catholic faith for the past few months which is the reason I signed up…hehehe although I’ve been kind of lurking and reading posts here for a while.

There are quite a few things that I’m unsure of about the Catholic Faith but I thought I’d start with the one that’s actually preventing from stepping into a Catholic Church although it technically has nothing to do with the Catholic faith itself so I hope I’m posting it in the right place.

I’m a little bit nervous about visiting a Catholic Church because I’m black. I guess my question is are there many black Catholics? Will people there think I’m weird or strange 'cause I’m there? I know these seems like silly questions but I’m human and it’s something that’s been on my mind because I don’t think I know any black Catholics.

Thanks for reading:)
Click to expand...
Welcome to CAF and welcome home to Rome! puts a birthday hat on your head

My spiritual director, Father Chris Onyenobi, is black, and he is awesome! And unless I’m mistaken, Saint Augustine of Hippo was black. There are lots of black Catholics in the Church, just as there are lots of white Catholics and Catholics of every skin, race, and nationality. The Catholic Church is the Universal Church! 🙂
 
Eucharisted said:
Welcome to CAF and welcome home to Rome! puts a birthday hat on your head

My spiritual director, Father Chris Onyenobi, is black, and he is awesome! And unless I’m mistaken, Saint Augustine of Hippo was black. There are lots of black Catholics in the Church, just as there are lots of white Catholics and Catholics of every skin, race, and nationality. The Catholic Church is the Universal Church! 🙂
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Augustine was North African, but not black.

Has anyone mentioned Cardinal Arinze? He’s probably the highest ranking contemporary black Catholic.

And, as mentioned, Africa has many missions from all traditionalist orders.
 
welcome to the forums!
and please go visit Jesus. he’s waiting to see you in his church!
 
The people that make up a parish is USUALLY reflective of the neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods that the church is in. For example, I am not aware of any black families in my parish but our Bishop is black.
 
Welcome home!

My parish consists mainly of Hispanic, and Filipino parishioners, but we have people of many races. Several African-American men serve on the Knights of Columbus, and we have many regular African-American families.

We also have two parishes in San Diego county that are predominately African-American.

Like others have said, we are an open Church 🙂
 
Malia_Belen said:
Hi,

I’m new to the forum and I’ve found myself curious about the Catholic faith for the past few months which is the reason I signed up…hehehe although I’ve been kind of lurking and reading posts here for a while.

There are quite a few things that I’m unsure of about the Catholic Faith but I thought I’d start with the one that’s actually preventing from stepping into a Catholic Church although it technically has nothing to do with the Catholic faith itself so I hope I’m posting it in the right place.

I’m a little bit nervous about visiting a Catholic Church because I’m black. I guess my question is are there many black Catholics? Will people there think I’m weird or strange 'cause I’m there? I know these seems like silly questions but I’m human and it’s something that’s been on my mind because I don’t think I know any black Catholics.

Thanks for reading:)
Click to expand...
Malia,

Welcome to the Catholic church. Please don’t let anything stop you from visiting a Catholic church and attending mass, especially if it’s a traditional Latin mass. You’ll fall in love with the Latin mass like I did.

I am Asian, raised a pagan, was an adult convert through the Novus Ordo. I set foot into a Tridentine church 5 years ago and the rest was history.

I live in central Virginia where all parishes have black members. There are 2 or 3 parishes that are predominantly black.

The area has a Benedictine monastery and at least two of the monks are black.

Clarence Thomas and Alan Keyes are both famous black Catholics. I’ll vote for either one of them as president anyday!

Catholics are found in every race and ethnic group.

Welcome home!
 
Hey everyone, just a suggestion - to keep in mind Malia is new to all this stuff!! 😃 Words like Tridentine, SSPX, Novus Ordo, etc. probably don’t mean anything to her yet.

Keep it simple, it’s not complicated once you know it, but it can be quite overwhelming at the start. 🙂

Malia - welcome to the Catholic Faith!!! 👍

~Liza
 
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