By CatholicPhilly Staff • Posted November 8, 2024

November is Black Catholic History Month, and several upcoming events occurring regionally and nationally have been shared with local Black Catholics.

Father Stephen Thorne recently sent the newsletter of the Subcommittee for African American Catholics for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), on which he serves, to Black Catholics in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

The intention of the subcommittee, he said, “is to help share the good news from around the country” so that everyone may “know the history and celebrate the gifts of Black Catholics.”

Father Thorne, an archdiocesan priest and pastor of St. Barbara Parish in the Wynnfield section of Philadelphia, is also co-chair of the Archbishop’s Commission for Racial Healing.

He invited everyone to explore the newsletter during November, “a time to be remember, celebrate, and live as the Missionary Disciples the world needs,” he said.

Highlights of the newsletter include:

The Knights of Peter Claver, a 115-year-old fraternal organization for Black Catholics in the United States, have distributed information on the history and contributions of Black Catholics. See more here: https://kofpc.org/legacy/black_catholic_history_month.php

The Knights, along with the Ladies Auxiliary and the USCCB, sponsored a webinar Nov. 4 titled “An Evening with Shepherds from Our Black Catholic Community.”

It featured a panel discussion with three Black Catholic bishops reflecting on the 40th anniversary of “What We Have Seen and Heard.” That pastoral letter by 10 Black Catholic bishops explored the gifts of Catholics of African heritage and obstacles to evangelization to be overcome.

The document is also the topic of a two-day academic symposium, with liturgies, Nov. 22-24 at the University of Dayton. Learn about registration and more details here: https://resources.catholicaoc.org/event/symposium

At the same time, a regional Black Catholic Congress also commemorating the 40th anniversary of the pastoral letter will take place Nov. 22-23 in Wilmington, California. Titled “You Are Now Missionaries to Yourselves: Passing on What You Have Seen and Heard,” it is cosponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’  Office for Life, Justice and Peace. Learn more here: https://www.allmaybeonela.org/

Ansel Joseph Augustine, assistant director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the USCCB, was a guest on the recent Catholic Current program speaking about the feast of St. Peter Claver, “What We Have Seen and Heard,” and a documentary film on the life of Sister Thea Bowman, a Black Catholic Franciscan sister who used her gifts to educate and challenge the church and society to grow in racial inclusivity.

Augustine also spoke about the work of the USCCB regarding cultural diversity and the Black Catholic Young Adult Initiative. Watch the nine-minute video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52awXT_I0e0.