Black Catholicism facts for kids

Black Catholicism or African-American Catholicism is about the African American people, their beliefs, and their ways of practicing faith within the Catholic Church.

Today, there are about 3 million Black Catholics in the United States. Around 1.7 million of them are descendants of people who were enslaved in North America. About one-fourth of Black Catholics go to churches that were historically for Black people. Many of these churches were started during the Jim Crow era, when laws kept people of different races apart. Other churches grew in Black communities and simply reflected the people living there. More recently, some churches became Black Catholic as people moved away from certain areas during and after the Great Migration.

Before the Second Vatican Council (a big meeting of Catholic leaders) in the 1960s, Black Catholics attended Mass in Latin, just like other Catholics in the Western Church. There wasn't much difference in how they worshipped. However, in the 1950s, people like Father Clarence Rivers started adding Negro Spirituals (traditional Black songs) into the Mass. This idea grew into the Black Catholic Movement during the larger Black Power era of the late 1960s and 1970s. Some people even called this time the "Black Catholic Revolution."

As this new Black Consciousness spread, many Black clergy (priests, deacons), religious sisters and brothers, and everyday church members became more active. Black Catholicism really grew up during this time. New studies about Black Catholicism began, Gospel Mass became a regular part of Black Catholic churches, and Black Christian spirituality (which used to be seen as only for Protestants) was also embraced by Black Catholics. The Black Catholic Church became an important part of the public and church life of the larger American Catholic Church.

What Does "Black Catholic" Mean?

Defining "Black Catholic"

The word "black" can refer to any person of African descent. But when we talk about "Black Catholicism," it usually means African Americans. This idea became stronger during the black pride movement of the late 1960s and 1970s. During this time, "blackness" became a popular way to describe cultural identity. As "black" became the most common word for African Americans (replacing "negro"), "Black Catholic" became the usual name for Black people who were Catholic.

As Black Catholics found new ways to express their faith, especially within their own Catholic groups, they developed a more unique identity. This led to terms like "Black Catholicism" and "the Black Catholic Church" becoming more common.

How Did Black Catholicism Start?

Early Roots of Black Catholicism

Christianity in Ancient Africa

Catholic Christianity among African-descended people goes back to the very first Christians. This includes figures like Mark the Evangelist, the Ethiopian eunuch, Simon of Cyrene, and Simeon Niger. Several early Church Fathers (important Christian thinkers) were also from Africa. These include Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, Athanasius, Cyril of Alexandria, Cyprian, and Augustine. Saints Perpetua and Felicity and Saint Maurice (and his military group) were early martyrs (people who died for their faith) who were also African.

There have also been three African popes: Victor I, Melchaides, and Gelasius I. Most of these early Christian leaders lived in North Africa. Christian communities thrived there until Muslim armies took over the region.

There were also early Christian kingdoms in Africa, like Ethiopia (then Aksum) and three Nubian Christian kingdoms. However, because of a split in the church in the 5th century, most of this Eastern (African) Christianity became separate from Catholicism very early on.

Right before the Transatlantic Slave Trade began, Catholic Christianity in West Africa was mostly limited to people who converted because of early European missionaries. This was especially true in the Kongo region. The Portuguese arrived in Kongo about a century before they reached what is now the United States. They began converting people and trading, including some limited slave-trading.

Black Catholics During Slavery (1400s–1867)

The Kingdom of Kongo and Slavery

The Portuguese wanted more and more African slaves. This went beyond what the Kongolese people intended. One Kongo ruler even wrote to the Portuguese king asking for help to stop his citizens from being taken captive. Many of these people were brought to the Americas. Some historians believe their shared culture and faith led them to start at least one major rebellion in the colonial United States.

European Colonies in North America

Spanish Influence

The first African Catholic slaves in what would become the United States arrived during Spanish colonization. Esteban, an African Catholic enslaved by Spaniards, was one of the first Europeans to enter the Florida region in 1528. He later joined other expeditions in North America.

African Catholics, both enslaved and free, were among the Spanish settlers who founded the Mission Nombre de Dios in the early 1500s in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. Soon after, the new Spanish Florida territory attracted many runaway slaves from the Thirteen Colonies. The Spanish freed slaves who reached their land if they converted to Catholicism. Most of these freed people settled at Fort Mose, the first settlement of freed slaves in North America.

Spain also settled the California region with many African and mixed-race Catholics. This included at least ten (and up to 26) of the Los Pobladores, the 44 founders of Los Angeles in 1781.

French Influence

As more European nations joined the transatlantic slave trade, the French also brought African slaves to their colonies in North America. This led to new African Catholic communities, especially in Louisiana (like New Orleans). Here, enslaved people, affranchi (former slaves), and free people of color (Black people born free) formed a unique social system. Free people of color had more privileges, and some could even pass as white. Enslaved people had the fewest rights. Even so, French Catholicism was known for being more interracial, with less racial discrimination in church life.

British Influence

The same could not be said for the thirteen American colonies of British America. Catholicism was less common there, and social rules were much harsher. There was little difference made between free-born Black people (who were rare) and freedmen. Catholic slave owners in Colonial America were supposed to convert, baptize, and meet the spiritual needs of their slaves. But unlike the French (Code Noir), they weren't required to by local laws and often didn't do so. After the Revolutionary War, Black Catholics in America faced a difficult situation. They were African Americans living in slavery and, after emancipation, segregation in the United States.

Black Catholics Before and During the Civil War (1776–1867)

Pierre Toussaint: A Philanthropist

During this time, several Black Catholics became well-known. One was Venerable Pierre Toussaint, who was born enslaved in Haiti and brought to New York. He was freed in 1807 and became a famous hairdresser. He was also a notable philanthropist (someone who gives money to good causes) with his wife, Juliette. He is the first layperson buried in the crypt below the main altar of Saint Patrick's Cathedral in Fifth Avenue, a place usually for bishops.

First Black Religious Orders and Churches

The Oblate Sisters of Providence were founded in 1828 in Baltimore by Haitian-American nun Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange and Father James Nicholas Joubert. At that time, Black women were not allowed to join existing religious orders, which were all white. Mother Lange is now called a Servant of God and might become a saint. Her order focused on educating Black youth who were often ignored. They founded the all-girls St Frances Academy in the same year, which is the first and oldest continuously operating Black Catholic school in the US.

The Sisters of the Holy Family were founded in New Orleans in 1837 by Mother Henriette Delille. This order was similar to the Oblates but was started by and made up of Creole free women of color (mixed-race women who were never enslaved). They also focused on education and have run St. Mary's Academy in New Orleans since 1867. They also started the first and oldest Catholic nursing home in the US, Lafon Nursing Facility, in 1841.

In the same year and city, St Augustine's Catholic Church, the nation's oldest Black Catholic church, was founded by free Black people in the nation's oldest Black neighborhood (Treme).

In 1843, Haitian-American Catholics in Baltimore started the Society of the Holy Family, a group of 200 members dedicated to Bible study, prayer, and especially singing. It was the first Black Catholic lay group in the US. The group broke up after two years when the archdiocese wouldn't let them use their large meeting hall.

First Black Seminarians and Priests

In 1853, a Black Catholic named William Augustine Williams entered seminary (a school for priests) in Rome. This was because Black seminarians and priests were not allowed in the United States at the time. He left the seminary in 1862, saying he no longer felt called to be a priest.

At least three Black Catholics, the Healy brothers, became priests before the Emancipation Proclamation. However, all three lived as white people throughout their lives. Their race was only known to a few mentors in the Church. One of them, James, became the first Black Catholic priest in 1854 and the first Black bishop in 1875. Another, Patrick, became the first Black American to join a religious order for clergy in 1864 and the first Black Jesuit in 1865. In 1874, he became the first Black president of a white or Catholic university in the US (Georgetown). Other than these three, there were no other openly Black Catholic priests in America between 1528 and 1886.

Black Catholics After Slavery (Late 1800s)

Changes in Louisiana

After the Emancipation Proclamation, African-American Catholics became a single group of free Black people. However, how much freedom they actually had varied.

In places like Louisiana, old habits of separating Black people born free from those born enslaved continued. This was partly based on skin color but also on class, privilege, wealth, and social status. When churches in New Orleans started moving from the French tradition of mixing races to the American habit of strict racial segregation, Creoles (who often came from free people of color) often resisted. They didn't want to lose their higher status among African Americans.

Upon the official announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Father Claude Maistre immediately desegregated his church's records, going against church policy. A few months later, he held a Mass celebrating Lincoln's order, which effectively drove away his racist white church members.

Maistre continued to speak out for radical causes, like remembering John Brown's rebellion and advocating for Black citizenship and voting rights.

Important Black Catholic Figures

In 1886, Daniel Rudd, a Black Catholic from Ohio, started a Black Catholic newspaper called the American Catholic Tribune. It ran until 1899.

Black Catholics continued to gather mostly in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area. One community in Norfolk, Virginia, founded St Joseph's Black Catholic parish in 1889.

That same year, Mother Mathilda Beasley, the first African-American nun to serve in Georgia, started an order of Black nuns in Savannah. She also started one of the first orphanages in the US for African-American girls.

Other areas also had Black Catholics, including Missouri. In 1889, Missouri produced the nation's first openly Black Catholic priest, Augustus Tolton. Born enslaved in Ralls County, he and his family found freedom in Illinois. With help from supportive American bishops and Vatican officials, he attended seminary and was ordained in Europe. He served in Illinois and was declared Venerable in 2019. He might soon become a saint.

Another Black Catholic from this era, Servant of God Julia Greeley, was also born enslaved in Ralls County. She was taken to Denver in 1861. She converted to Catholicism in 1880, became a street evangelist, and helped the poor for the rest of her life. She always did this at night to avoid embarrassing the white people she served.

Organizing Black Catholics

Black Catholics soon began to organize at a national level. The first group was the Colored Catholic Congress in 1889, led by Daniel Rudd. Their first meeting included an audience with President Grover Cleveland and a Mass celebrated by Father Tolton. This group met every year for five years before stopping.

In 1891, Philadelphia heiress Saint Katharine Drexel founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. This religious order was dedicated to serving Black and Native American communities. She went on to found and staff many Black Catholic schools for this purpose. She became a saint in the year 2000.

Black Catholic Missions Era (1890s–1950s)

The Josephites and Black Ministry

Around the time of Emancipation, various Catholic missions organizations began to focus on converting and ministering to Black Americans. Once Black Americans gained freedom, they became an even greater focus, as they could now freely choose their religion.

The main missionaries were the Mill Hill Fathers, a British religious order that worked in America mostly with Black missions. They recruited many candidates for the priesthood, including an African American named Charles Uncles. In 1891, he became the first Black Catholic priest ordained in the United States.

By 1893, the American head of the Mill Hill society, Father John R. Slattery, convinced his superior to let the American branch become its own religious society dedicated entirely to African-American ministry. This led to the founding of the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, known today as the Josephites. Slattery was named the first leader, and Father Uncles was one of the founding members, another first for a Black Catholic.

Racism within and outside the society made Father Uncles' experience as a priest difficult. He no longer considered himself a member of the order by the time he died in 1933. For various reasons, Father Slattery eventually resigned from his post, the priesthood, and even left the Church in 1906. Later Josephite leaders rarely accepted or ordained Black priests for several decades.

Fighting Segregation: Homer Plessy

In the late 1800s, Black Catholics in New Orleans joined with white people and other activists to fight segregation. New Orleans had a more interracial past under French and Spanish rule.

In 1892, the Citizen's Committee of New Orleans organized actions against streetcar companies. They wanted the courts to act. This involved Homer Plessy, a light-skinned biracial Black Catholic (and member of St. Augustine Church). He boarded a Whites-only streetcar, told the operator he was Black, and was arrested. The Committee hoped that the resulting court case would overturn segregation laws. Instead, the US Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that segregation was legal nationwide. This decision deeply affected the Black freedom struggle for the next 60 years.

New National Black Catholic Groups

At the same time, Black Catholics began to organize nationally again. Another Black Catholic newspaper, The Catholic Herald, operated during this period. Unlike Rudd's earlier paper, this one had official Church support.

Since African Americans were not allowed to join the Knights of Columbus due to racism, Father John Henry Dorsey (the second Black Catholic priest ordained in the US) and six others from the Most Pure Heart of Mary church in Mobile, Alabama, founded the Knights of Peter Claver in 1909. They are still the largest Black Catholic fraternal order (a group of men who support each other).

In 1925, the Federated Colored Catholics formed under the leadership of NAACP co-founder Thomas Wyatt Turner. This group addressed many Black Catholic concerns, including the strict Josephite policies against Black applicants. The federation didn't have much success with this. It split in the 1930s after two powerful white Jesuit leaders tried to steer the group in a more interracial direction, against Turner's wishes.

St. Augustine Seminary (Divine Word Society)

After World War I, other religious orders besides the Josephites began to work with Black ministry and vocations (calls to religious life). The Society of the Divine Word was especially notable. Because there were so few Black Josephite priests, the Divine Word missionaries decided to open a seminary in Mississippi specifically for African Americans in 1920. This venture, St Augustine Seminary, was very successful. Within ten years, they had ordained many well-received Black priests.

Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA)

In 1925, Saint Katharine Drexel used her wealth and connections to help found Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) in New Orleans. It is the first and only Catholic HBCU (Historically Black College and University).

The Great Migration's Impact

Around the same time, millions of Black people began to move from the Jim Crow South to better opportunities in the North and West. This led to many traditionally Protestant African Americans being exposed to Catholicism in cities like Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. As Black families moved in, white families often moved out, leaving entire churches—and, more importantly, parochial schools—open to the new Black residents. This, combined with a desire from local white clergy and nuns to spread their faith, led to many Black Protestants joining these schools and eventually the churches. African Americans converted in large numbers.

Chicago's Black Catholic Growth

The increase in Black Catholics in the North created an immediate chance for organizing and activism. This quickly happened in an interracial way. The Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) was founded in Chicago in 1930 and became a place for integrated Catholic activities. Dr. Arthur G. Falls, an important Black Catholic figure, convinced Servant of God Dorothy Day to open a Catholic Worker House there in 1935.

Even so, White Flight (white people moving out of areas as Black people moved in) combined with Archbishop George Mundelein's "national parish" strategy to keep racial segregation in Chicago. Black Catholics were assigned to their own "national parish," even though they weren't a separate nationality.

Harlem Renaissance and Converts

Another effect of the Great Migration was its connection with the Harlem Renaissance. This was a time when Black intellectuals in New York City created an artistic revolution that spread across the country. Mary Lou Williams, a famous jazz artist, converted to Catholicism around this time, as did Billie Holiday and Claude McKay. A lesser-known figure, Ellen Tarry, also became Catholic and wrote religious works.

Seminaries Become Integrated

In the South, the success of the Divine Word society in ordaining Black priests, along with other factors, led to other orders integrating (allowing Black members). An early example was the Benedictines in Collegeville, Minnesota in the 1940s, as well as several dioceses (church regions). The Josephites soon fully opened their seminary, St. Joseph's, to Black students as well.

Black Catholics and Civil Rights (1950s–1960s)

The Push for Recognition

The growth in Black Catholic church members and priests soon joined with the growing Civil Rights Movement. This created a desire for more true recognition of Black freedom and self-governance within the Church. Racism and prejudice continued to be a problem for the growing Black Catholic community.

However, a glimpse of the future came in 1953. The Dominican Divine Word priest Father Joseph O. Bowers became the first openly Black Catholic bishop consecrated in the United States (though he served in Accra, Africa). Before leaving for Africa, he ordained two Black Divine Word seminarians—a first for Black priests ordaining other Black priests. At that time, there were just over a hundred Black Catholic priests, compared to about 50,000 white priests.

Bowers attended a major church meeting in 1962, the Vatican II (1962-1965).

When the Civil Rights Movement first began, much of the Catholic Church, both Black and white, was not very interested. Many who were interested were met with disapproval, especially members of religious orders. The Josephites, for example, saw race consciousness as a threat. Many female religious orders did not allow their members, Black or white, to march or protest for civil rights.

Black Catholics were involved early in the Civil Rights Movement. James Chaney was said to be very religious. Diane Nash, a prominent demonstrator, Freedom Rider, and co-founder of SNCC, was also Catholic. Later, Mary Louise Smith was arrested before Rosa Parks in the lead-up to the Montgomery bus boycott.

Eventually, as the movement gained momentum, Catholics of all backgrounds began to participate. White and Black church members, priests, religious brothers, and nuns joined the fight. One nun, Sister Mary Antona Ebo, was sent by the Archdiocese of St Louis to march in Selma. She was interviewed and became a folk hero.

“Yes, I am a Negro, and I am very proud of it.”

Sister Ebo later became the first African-American woman to manage a hospital in the United States.

The Black Catholic Movement (Late 1960s–1990s)

How the Movement Began

In 1962, Pope John XXIII called the most recent Catholic ecumenical council, Vatican II. A big change from this council was removing Latin as the required language for worship in the Western part of the Church.

This change opened the door for inculturation (adapting church practices to local cultures). As early as the 1950s, Black Catholics like Father Clarence Rivers had experimented with mixing Black Gospel music with Catholic liturgy. Father Rivers' music was used at the first official English-language Mass in the United States in 1964.

Along with this new cultural adaptation, there was a second big increase in Black Catholic numbers. They grew by 220,000 (35%) during the 1960s, with over half being converts. In 1966, Father Harold R. Perry became the first openly Black bishop to serve in the US when he was named an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans.

After the assassination of Martin Luther King and the riots that followed, Black Catholics started several powerful new organizations in early 1968. These included the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (NBCC), organized by Father Herman Porter, and the National Black Sisters' Conference (NBSC), organized by Sister Martin de Porres Grey.

The National Office for Black Catholics (NOBC) was created in 1970.

Growth and New Ways to Worship

The movement was very strong in Chicago, where many Black Catholics lived in the late 1960s. They formed large Black churches, though they were always led by white priests. Father George Clements, a more radical member of the first NBCCC meeting, argued with Archbishop John Cody about the lack of Black pastors in Chicago and Black Catholic inculturation.

Unusual partnerships with local Black Protestant leaders and Black radical activists led to new and bold worship celebrations called Black Unity Mass. These were events across different churches where Black priests wore Afrocentric vestments (special clothes), decorated the altar similarly, and celebrated Mass with a distinct "Black" style. One such Mass in 1969 included an 80-voice gospel choir provided by Reverend Jesse Jackson and security from the Black Panthers.

One of the first churches to start a gospel choir was St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in New Orleans in 1969. This "Gospel Mass" trend quickly spread across the nation.

Education and Challenges (1971–1975)

After the NOBC received only 30% of the funding they asked for in 1970 from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and after Cardinal O'Boyle announced his retirement, a group of Black Catholics took their complaints all the way to the Vatican in 1971.

That same year, the NBSC, NOBC, and Black Catholic church members led a national effort to stop the mass closings of Catholic schools in urban and mostly Black communities.

Problems also spread into seminaries, including the Josephites'. Tensions between Black students and their white peers and teachers grew into open conflict. This led to many students leaving the seminary and several Josephite priests resigning. By 1971, the seminary had closed for studies. To this day, Josephite seminarians study at nearby universities, and the number of Black Americans joining the order has not recovered.

This trend of people leaving their roles was felt across Black Catholicism in the 1970s. It happened at the same time as a general low point for American Catholicism overall. Catholics of all races began leaving in large numbers. Between 1970 and 1975, hundreds of Black Catholic seminarians, dozens (about 13%) of Black Catholic priests, and 125 Black nuns (about 14%) left their positions. Up to 20% of Black Catholics stopped practicing their faith.

New Groups and Important Thinkers (Late 1970s)

Even with the decline in vocations and church practice during the 1970s, new national Black Catholic organizations appeared. In 1976, the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators (NABCA) was founded. This group brought together the diocesan Black Catholic offices from around the country. This organization eventually took the place of the NOBC after a conflict between the Office and the NBSC.

The Black Catholic Theological Symposium (BCTS), a yearly meeting to promote Black Catholic theology (the study of religious beliefs), started in 1978 in Baltimore. From this group came some of the most important voices in Black Catholic theology, Womanist theology (focusing on Black women's perspectives), and black theology. Writers like Dr. Diana L. Hayes, Dr. M. Shawn Copeland, Sister Dr. Jamie T. Phelps, and Father Cyprian Davis have greatly influenced Black Catholic history, theology, and liturgy.

The next year, the Institute for Black Catholic Studies was founded at Xavier University of Louisiana. Every summer, it offers accredited courses on Black Catholic theology, ministry, ethics, and history. It also offers a Master of Theology degree, which is the only graduate theology program in the Western Hemisphere taught from a Black Catholic perspective.

That same year, the USCCB issued a pastoral letter (a letter from bishops) that discussed and condemned racism. It was called "Brothers and Sisters to Us" and was the first time they addressed the issue as a group.

Black Bishops and a New Letter (1980s – Early 1990s)

The end of the Black Catholic Movement was partly influenced by Father George Stallings. He was a Black Catholic priest known for his strong activism and demands for the Church. He strongly pushed for a Black Catholic rite (a specific way of worship with its own bishops and structure) during the 1970s and 80s.

Some of these calls were answered. Eugene A. Marino was named auxiliary bishop of Washington in 1974. Joseph L. Howze became the first openly Black Catholic bishop of a diocese (a specific church region) when he was named Bishop of Biloxi in 1977. Marino became the first-ever Black Catholic archbishop in 1988. Marino resigned from his archbishop position two years later.

Between 1966 and 1988, the Holy See named 13 Black bishops. In 1984, these bishops issued their own pastoral letter called "What We Have Seen and Heard". This letter explained the nature, value, and strength of Black Catholicism.

Revived Congress and Liturgical Explorations

In 1987, the National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) started again. It was seen as a continuation of Daniel Rudd's Colored Catholic Congress movement from the late 1800s. This time, it was founded as a nonprofit organization.

That same year, the first and only Black Catholic hymnal (songbook) was published. It was called "Lead Me, Guide Me" and included many traditional Black Gospel hymns along with traditional Catholic hymns.

Two years later, in 1989, Unity Explosion was founded in Dallas. It is an annual conference celebrating Black Catholic worship and expression. It grew into a more general Black Catholic advocacy conference sponsored by the USCCB.

Important Moments (1990s)

In 1990, Benedictine Father Cyprian Davis published "History of Black Catholics in the United States". This book covered the history of Black Catholics from the 1500s to the late 1980s. It is still the main book for the general history of Black Catholics. That same year, he and his fellow Clergy Caucus members established Black Catholic History Month, to be celebrated each year in November.

In 1991, the National Association of Black Catholic Deacons began. That same year, Sister Dr. Jamie Phelps helped restart the annual meetings of the BCTS.

St Joseph's Black Catholic Church in Norfolk, which had been renamed the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in 1961, was named a minor basilica in 1991. It was said to be the first "Black basilica" and the first minor basilica in Virginia.

Around the same time, twin Divine Word priests Charles and Chester Smith, along with their fellow priests Anthony Clark and Ken Hamilton, started the Bowman-Francis Ministry. This is a Black Catholic youth outreach ministry with a yearly Sankofa Conference.

A survey of Black Catholics was taken in the early 1990s to see if there was a need for an independent rite. The NBCCC formed a committee and in 1991 published a proposal for a study. Their plan was similar to Stallings'. However, neither plan came to be.

Black Catholicism in the 21st Century

Important "Firsts"

In 2001, Bishop Wilton Gregory was appointed president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). He was the first African American ever to lead a group of bishops.

African Priests and the Josephites

Today, there are more native African priests than African-American priests in the United States. African priests often lead Black churches. The Josephites, the only religious order specifically for African Americans, now get almost all their seminarians, brothers, and priests from Nigeria.

A documentary about the Josephites, "Enduring Faith," was released on PBS in 2000. It was nominated for an Emmy in 2001.

The Josephites made history in 2011. After nearly 120 years of serving African Americans, they finally appointed an African American, Father Norvel, as their first Black superior general (leader). Norvel was key in shifting the order's focus to vocations from Africa.

How Black Catholics Worship

A Black Catholic worship conference similar to Unity Explosion started in New Orleans in 2004. It's called the Archbishop Lyke Conference. In 2012, a second edition of the "Lead Me, Guide Me" hymnal was released.

After the Vatican approved the Zaire Use (a unique form of the Roman Rite from the Congo) in 1988, some Black Catholic churches in the U.S. began to use some of its practices. Two churches in the San Francisco Bay Area, St Columba in Oakland and St Paul of the Shipwreck in San Francisco, adopted these practices with the help of Black Catholic professor and music minister M. Roger Holland II.

Father Michael Pfleger, a white priest and activist leading Saint Sabina Church, a Black Catholic church in Chicago, has helped bring more modern Black forms of worship to the Mass. This includes using a "praise team" (a smaller singing group that performs contemporary gospel) and other elements from modern Black churches.

Black Catholic Leadership Today

In early 2019, Bishop Roy Campbell took over leadership of the NBCC.

That same year, the Most Reverend Wilton Gregory, then the Archbishop of Atlanta, was named Archbishop of Washington (D.C.) by Pope Francis. Many consider this the most important diocese in the country. He is the first African American to hold this position. The appointment was also notable because archbishops of that region are usually named cardinals, a position no African American had held.

On October 25, 2020, Pope Francis announced that he would indeed name Gregory a cardinal. This happened at a meeting on November 28, making him the first African-American member of the College of Cardinals.

What Black Catholics Believe

Core Beliefs

Generally, Black Catholics follow mainstream Catholic theology (the study of God and religious beliefs). However, their faith is often enriched by beliefs common in the Black Church. These usually include:

• A strong belief that God is always present and powerful in daily struggles.
• A commitment to God's justice in social and political situations.
• A strong sense of hope when facing difficulties.
• Seeing everyday experiences as spiritual.
• Christian faith as a foundation for the community.
• The belief that worship brings God's blessings.

Academic Theology

The more formal study known as Black Catholic theology emerged during the Black Catholic Movement from the late 1960s to the 1990s. This new field worked with the start of black theology. Black Catholic theology can be seen as a part of black theology. At least one Black Catholic priest, Father Lawrence Lucas, was involved in the latter movement from its early days.

Because of this connection, Black Catholic theology takes many ideas from liberation theology and from the (mostly Protestant) black (liberation) theology movement. This is especially true for the focus on the African-American struggle and how it relates to the Bible's story and Jesus Christ's message of freedom.

Womanism, a theological movement led by and focusing on the perspectives of Black women, is also important in Black Catholic theology. Many formal Black Catholic theologians have been women connected to this movement, including Drs. M. Shawn Copeland, Diana L. Hayes, and C. Vanessa White.

Some prominent Black Catholic theologians have been accused of having different ideas than the official Church teachings, especially on topics related to the LGBT community.

How Black Catholics Worship and Pray

Gospel Mass: A Unique Way to Worship

Music in Gospel Mass

Black Gospel Music

Gospel Mass is a form of the Roman Rite Mass, like most other Catholic groups in America. However, it often uses Black Gospel hymns and/or style for different parts of the Mass. This includes the Entrance, Responsorial Psalm, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion, and Recessional songs. In some Black churches, a traditional hymn might be replaced entirely by a gospel song.

While most American churches don't sing during Daily Mass (weekdays and Saturday mornings), some Black churches include at least some singing, like a Communion hymn.

The late 1980s saw the release of "Lead Me, Guide Me," the first and only Black Catholic hymnal. It includes many songs from the Black Christian tradition as well as Catholic hymns.

Jazz Music in Mass

Some Black churches (like St. Augustine in New Orleans) celebrate "Gospel Jazz Mass" every Sunday. This combines not only gospel but also jazz, another major form of (Black) American music that comes from gospel.

The Archdiocese of San Francisco celebrates an annual Gospel Jazz Mass at their cathedral. The music is performed by a large choir from several historically Black churches.

Dance in Worship

Another Black Protestant tradition now seen in many Black Catholic churches is dance. This includes "praise dancing," which is a choreographed liturgical dance performed by an individual or group to popular gospel songs.

Some Black Catholic Masses even feature "praise breaks" or "shouts." This is an unchoreographed form of liturgical dance done with fast-paced gospel music. Historic St. Francis Xavier Church in Baltimore says it was the first to include this type of worship.

Preaching Style

Catholic homilies (sermons) are usually shorter than Protestant sermons. However, messages given at Black churches tend to be longer and more emotional. This is similar to Black Protestant sermons, which are known to be the longest among American Christian groups. This style is often seen with Black Catholic ministers who grew up in the Black Christian tradition.

The "Rite" of Gospel Mass

Gospel Mass is a common way to celebrate the Roman Rite Mass, but it doesn't have an official church designation. Because of this, the Zaire Use—the only inculturated form of the Novus Ordo (the modern Mass) introduced since Vatican II—has become popular in some Black churches. This is used as a supplement to the Gospel Mass, since there isn't an official African-American rite.

Prayer Practices

Another somewhat unique aspect of American Catholicism is the emphasis on prayer among Black Catholics. While this often includes traditional prayers like the Rosary, the Black Catholic Movement led to more common use of longer, spontaneous prayers, both during and outside of Mass.

The movement also brought about specific prayers for the Black experience, including several prayer books.

How Many Black Catholics Are There?

There are about 1.76 million US- or Caribbean-born Black Catholics in America. They are mostly found in the major cities across the country. New York has the most Black Catholics, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans, Oakland, Baltimore, and the D.C. area.

The United States has approximately 250 Black Catholic priests who were not immigrants.

Black Catholic Organizations

While there isn't an official separate leadership structure for Black Catholicism, various organizations and conferences act as leadership groups.

Religious Orders with Many Black Members or Black Ministry

• Oblate Sisters of Providence
• Sisters of the Holy Family
• Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Josephites)
• Society of the Divine Word (Verbites)
• Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
• Franciscan Handmaids of Mary

Important Organizations

• National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus
• Black Catholic Joint Conference (an annual meeting of several Black Catholic groups)
• National Black Catholic Congress
• National Black Catholic Women's Gathering
  • National Black Catholic Men's Conference
  • Sankofa Conference
• Black Catholic Theological Symposium (for academic study)

Famous Black Catholics

Black Saints and Candidates for Sainthood

Six Black Catholics are being considered for sainthood:

• Venerable Pierre Toussaint
• Venerable Augustus Tolton
• Venerable Henriette Delille
• Servant of God Mary Lange
• Servant of God Julia Greeley
• Servant of God Thea Bowman

Living Black Bishops

Active Archbishops

• Cardinal Wilton Cardinal Gregory (Washington, D.C.)
• Shelton J. Fabre (Louisville)

Active Auxiliary Bishops

• Roy E. Campbell (Washington, D.C.)
• Ferdinand Cheri III (New Orleans)
• Joseph N. Perry (Chicago)

Places of Pilgrimage

• Our Mother of Africa Chapel (inside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception)
• St. Martin de Porres National Shrine and Institute (Memphis, Tennessee)
• Grave of Venerable Father Augustus Tolton (St Peter Catholic Cemetery in Quincy, Illinois)
• Grave of Servant of God Julia Greeley (at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver)
• Tomb of Venerable Pierre Toussaint (in the crypt of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City)
• Venerable Henriette DeLille Prayer Chapel (inside St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans)
• National Shrine of Saint Katharine Drexel (at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia)
• Grave of Daniel Rudd (St Joseph Cemetery in Bardstown, Kentucky)

Black Catholics and Other Christian Faiths

There's a long history of Black Catholics working together with other Black Christian traditions. This has happened at many levels, especially during and since the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. These movements brought important Black Catholic figures into direct contact and cooperation with non-Catholic Black leaders. Black Catholics have participated in moments of unity to help uplift the Black community.

Reverend Jesse Jackson has been very involved in these interactions. Both he and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan have worked with Chicago's Black Catholics on several occasions.

Black Catholics in Movies and Plays

Film

• Sister Act, a 1992 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg as a pseudo-nun, was partly inspired by Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman. The movie later became a franchise with a sequel (1993), a Broadway musical (2006), and a third film in production.
• Passing Glory, a movie based on the true story of St. Augustine High School's basketball team during desegregation, was released in 1999.
• The Courage to Love, a TV movie about the life of Venerable Mother Henriette Delille, was released in 2000.
• A documentary about the Josephites, "Enduring Faith," was also released in 2000. It was nominated for an Emmy.
• A live-action movie about Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, "Across," was released in 2019.
• A documentary about Andre Cailloux was released in 2020, "Cailloux - One Man's Fight for Freedom during the Civil War."
• An upcoming documentary about the six popularly revered African Americans, titled "A Place at the Table," was funded by crowdfunding in 2021. It is expected in 2022.
• A documentary about Thea Bowman is set for release in late 2022.

Theater

• Thea Bowman was shown in a musical by her friend Mary Queen Donnelly, "Thea's Turn," released in 2009.
  • Bowman was again portrayed on stage in a play by Nathan Yungberg, "Thea," in 2019.
• A play about the life of Augustus Tolton, "Tolton: From Slave to Priest," premiered in 2019.