Black and Indian Mission Office facts for kids
The Black and Indian Mission Office is a special Catholic group in the United States. It helps support important mission work among Native Americans and African Americans. This office is actually made up of three older organizations that now work together with one team and one group of leaders.
Contents
What is the Black and Indian Mission Office?
This office brings together three different parts:
- The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions
- The Commission for the Catholic Missions among the Colored People and the Indians
- The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board
Even though they have separate jobs, they all work from the same office and share a common goal: to support Catholic missions and help communities.
A Look at Its History
The different parts of the Black and Indian Mission Office have been working together for a long time. Since 1935, the Bureau and the Commission have shared offices in Washington, D.C. The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board joined them in 1980. In 2009, these three groups decided to use "Black and Indian Mission Office" as the main name for their shared website.
The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions
The Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions was started in 1874. Its main job has been to support Catholic missions for Native Americans. It also works to protect the rights of Native American people. This group was first called the Office of Catholic Commissioner for Indian Missions. It was approved by James Roosevelt Bayley, who was the Archbishop of Baltimore at the time.
The Commission for Missions
Since 1887, the Commission for the Catholic Missions among the Colored People and the Indians has managed a special yearly collection. This collection happens during Lent, a time of prayer and reflection for Catholics. The money collected helps support missions for African Americans and Native Americans. The idea for this collection and a group of three bishops to manage it came from the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884. Since the 1980s, this group and its collection have been known as the Black and Indian Mission Office and the Black and Indian Mission collection.
The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board
The Catholic Negro-American Mission Board was founded in 1907. It was first known as the Catholic Board for Mission Work among the Colored People. Its purpose is to support Catholic missions specifically for African Americans. It provides another way to raise money for these important missions.
Where Are Their Records Kept?
The historical records of these three organizations are kept at Marquette University Special Collections and University Archives. All their old documents and papers are stored there as one large collection. Most of these records came from the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions.
