Augustus Tolton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids VenerableAugustus Tolton |
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Augustus Tolton, c. 1897
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| Priest | |
| Born | John Augustus Tolton April 1, 1854 Ralls County, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | July 9, 1897 (aged 43) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
John Augustus Tolton (born April 1, 1854 – died July 9, 1897) was a very important person in American history. He was the first Catholic priest in the United States who was publicly known to be Black.
Augustus Tolton was ordained, or made a priest, in Rome in 1886. He first served in Quincy, Illinois. But he faced challenges there from both white Catholics and Black Protestants.
He then moved to Chicago. There, he helped build St. Monica's Catholic Church. This church was special because it was for Black Catholics. He died in 1897 at age 43 from a heat stroke.
Today, the Catholic Church is looking into making him a saint. In 2019, Pope Francis declared him "Venerable". This means he lived a very holy life.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Freedom
Born into Slavery
Augustus Tolton was born in Ralls County, Missouri. At that time, he was born into slavery. This meant he and his family were owned by other people. His parents were Peter Paul and Martha Jane Tolton.
His mother, Martha Jane, was also born into slavery. She was a Catholic and went to church in Rhodelia, Kentucky. After her owner died, she was separated from her family. She was sent to Ralls County, Missouri.
Augustus was baptized as Augustine Tolton in the Catholic Church. This happened at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Rensselaer, Missouri. His owner, Stephen Elliott, was also his master. His master's wife, Savilla Elliott, was his godmother.
Gaining Freedom
How the Tolton family became free is a story with different versions. Augustus Tolton himself told people that his father escaped first. He joined the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Later, his mother ran away with Augustus and his siblings. They got help from Union soldiers and police. They crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, which was a free state. Sadly, Augustus's father died during the war.
However, some of his family say that Stephen Elliott freed all his slaves when the Civil War began. He let them move North.
Education and Priesthood Journey
Seeking an Education
After gaining freedom, Augustus, his mother, and brother Charley worked in a tobacco factory in Quincy, Illinois. After Charley died, Augustus met Father Peter McGirr. Father McGirr was an Irish Catholic priest.
Father McGirr allowed Augustus to attend St. Lawrence's school. This was a brave decision because many white people in the town did not want a Black student in their school. But Father McGirr stood firm.
Augustus later studied with other priests. He also went to St. Francis Solanus College, which is now Quincy University.
Becoming a Priest
Augustus Tolton wanted to become a priest. But every American seminary (a school for priests) he applied to rejected him. This was likely because he was Black.
Father McGirr did not give up on him. He helped Augustus go to Rome, Italy, to study. Augustus went to the Pontifical Urban University. There, he learned Italian, Latin, and Greek.
In 1886, at age 31, Augustus Tolton was ordained a priest in Rome. His first public Mass (a Catholic church service) was on Easter Sunday in St. Peter's Basilica. He thought he would go to Africa to serve. Instead, he was sent back to the United States to serve the Black community.
He celebrated his first Mass in the U.S. in New York City. Then he went back to Quincy, Illinois. He tried to start a church there. But he faced problems from white Catholics and Black Protestant ministers. They did not want him to draw people to his church.
He started St. Joseph Catholic Church and school in Quincy. But the new church leader wanted him to turn away white people from his services.
Ministry in Chicago
Augustus Tolton was then sent to Chicago. He started a mission society called St. Augustine's. He worked hard to build St. Monica's Catholic Church. This church was built for Black Catholics on Chicago's South Side.
The church could hold 850 people. Money for the church came from kind people like Mrs. Anne O'Neill and Katharine Drexel. St. Monica's grew from 30 people to 600 after the new church was built.
Father Tolton became well-known for his work. People called him "Good Father Gus." He was known for his "eloquent sermons," his "beautiful singing voice," and playing the accordion.
Many news articles talked about him. One article in 1893 said he was a "fluent and graceful talker." It also said he had a "singing voice of exceptional sweetness." It was common for white people to attend his services too.
In Chicago, Father Tolton was welcomed by the Jesuits at Holy Family Church. They invited him to preach there. He collected money for St. Monica's Church, which opened in 1894.
His work inspired many. Daniel Rudd, who organized the first Colored Catholic Congress, said that Father Tolton's becoming a priest showed that Black men were wanted in the church. He said many more Black men then started studying to become priests.
Father Tolton also took part in a big Catholic celebration in Baltimore. A newspaper noted that he was among important church leaders. It called him "the first African American Catholic priest ordained in America."
Death
In 1893, Father Tolton started having health problems. He had to take a break from his duties in 1895.
On July 8, 1897, he collapsed. He died the next day at Mercy Hospital. He was only 43 years old. He died because of a very hot heat wave in Chicago.
His funeral had 100 priests. He was buried in the priests' section of St. Peter's Cemetery in Quincy, Illinois. This was what he wanted.
After Father Tolton died, St. Monica's Church became a mission of another church. In 1924, it closed as a special church for Black Catholics. Black Catholics then chose to go to churches in their own neighborhoods.
Legacy and Honors
- A book about his life, From Slave to Priest, was written in 1973.
- A program called the Augustus Tolton Pastoral Ministry Program was started in 1990. It helps train Black Catholic leaders.
- The Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School opened in Columbia, Missouri, in 2011.
- Augustus Tolton Catholic Academy opened in Chicago in 2015. It is a special school that focuses on science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, and math (STREAM).
Cause for Beatification and Canonization
On March 1, 2010, the Catholic Church began an official investigation into Father Tolton's life. This was to see if he could become a saint. This process is called canonization.
On February 24, 2011, the church officially started the process. Father Tolton was given the title "Servant of God." Groups were formed to study his life and promote his cause.
On September 29, 2014, the investigation into his life was completed. All the research was sent to the Vatican. There, experts study the documents. If they find that he lived a life of "heroic virtue," he can be declared "Venerable."
On December 10, 2016, Father Tolton's remains were carefully dug up and checked. This is part of the process to make sure it is really him. After checking, his remains were dressed in new clothes and reburied.
On June 12, 2019, Pope Francis approved a special decree. This decree said that Father Tolton lived a life of "heroic virtue." With this, he was officially given the title "Venerable."
The next step for him would be beatification. After that, he could be declared a saint through canonization.
See Also
In Spanish: Augustine Tolton para niños
- List of enslaved people
