Story of first recognized black U.S. priest unknown to most Catholics

[Maranatha]

Story of first recognized black U.S. priest unknown to most Catholics

CHICAGO — There are only small signs that Augustine Tolton was here.

A few buildings, including a home for senior citizens, carry his name. But the Roman Catholic church where he preached his sermons to flocks of adoring parishioners on Chicago’s South Side is long gone.

And few know the story of the man himself — a slave who grew up to become the first acknowledged black Catholic priest in the United States

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[Dale_M]

I’m glad Ignatius Press has decided to re-publish the biography of Fr. Tolton. His story sounds both interesting and relevant to today’s world.

 

[DaveBj]

That story was carried in both the B’ham News and our local Cullman Times. Big double-thumbs-up from me.

DaveBj

 

[meno]

“If anybody had an excuse to leave the Catholic Church, it was him,” says Harold Burke-Sivers, a deacon in a Portland, Ore., parish, who is also African-American and who wrote the introduction to the newly issued biography.

But Tolton recognized that Catholics who discriminated against him were violating church teaching on the dignity of all people and he dedicated himself to changing that, says Burke-Sivers.

“He saw what the church could be,” he adds.

Isn’t it good in this case that he stuck it out?

 

[rlg94086]

Excellent story. I hadn’t heard of Fr. Tolton.

BTW… to Deacon Harold. He is a good speaker on male spirituality, family life and other topics. And, he is a real nice guy.
auremcordis.com/Harold_bio.cfm

I took some counsel from him a couple of years ago, and he was a big help.

 

[chicago]

I dare say he’s probably unknown even by most Chicagoans.

 

[jc-servant]

Excellent article. I’ll look for the book too.

 

[Ahimsa]

Pay careful attention to the sentence:

And few know the story of the man himself — a slave who grew up to become the first acknowledged black Catholic priest in the United States.

Of course, the first Black Catholic priest in the U.S. was “unacknowledged” (or, I assume, was able to pass for white): Patrick Healy, president of Georgetown University.