By Jay Sorgi • Posted October 16, 2025

The African Catholic experience in Philadelphia encompasses a tapestry from the flags of at least 25 nations and cultures focused through all the different lenses of faith that their backgrounds provide.

Many whose lives are defined by their Catholic faith and the culture of their African homeland gathered Sunday, Oct. 12 for the 12th annual African Family Heritage Mass at St. Irenaeus Church, within Divine Mercy Parish in Southwest Philadelphia. Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez led about 10 clergy members during the vibrant two-hour Mass organized by the Office for African Catholic Apostolates.

“Africa is a big, enormous, beautiful continent, but made out of lots of countries, right?” he said during the start of his homily, before leading a joyful headcount of represented nations and cultures.

“There is something about the Catholic Church that brings us all together, at the same time, around our faith in Jesus Christ. At the same time, we celebrate that faith in all sorts of languages and in all sorts of cultures. Faith is actually expressed through culture, and the Church honors culture.”

Those cultures showcased themselves in the colors of flags that children in traditional clothing of their ancestral homelands brought to the altar at the start of Mass, while a choir representing many African nations and traditions led an adaptation of the hymn, “Prayer of St. Francis.”

The choir and liturgists of the Word combined to sing and speak in more than 10 languages throughout the Mass, including the singing of Psalm 98, which proclaims “the Lord has revealed to the nations His saving power.”

That fact was well-reflected in many of Archbishop Pérez’s words.

“The beauty about the Catholic faith is that it is literally present at every corner of the planet,” he said.

“Like my family that came from Cuba to this country, all of you have your world as you knew it, and you came to this country in the hope of maybe finding a better life, finding a job, or maybe escaping like my parents did, escaping a political, oppressive situation.”

Just as those assembled had left their homelands to come to America for good, they left behind the good parts of their homelands—principally, their cultures.

“You miss it,” Archbishop Pérez said. “But the beauty of the Church is that it is a place where we can find that ‘something good.’”

The sense of longing for something that is missing is often part of the many ways that immigrants die to self in their migration experience. The second reading, proclaimed in the Yoruba language spoken in Benin, Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, came from the second letter of St. Paul to Timothy.

It included the passage, “If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with Him.”

“Sometimes this world can be rough, and sometimes we can be rough with each other, and it’s only faith that helps us to go beyond the roughness that we see. Only faith,” said the Archbishop.

He recently traveled to Ghana as part of his leadership roles with Catholic Relief Services and the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry.

“You know what I love about the church in Africa? It is alive. It is alive, despite hardship,” said the Archbishop.

“I visited a lot of refugees from Burkina Faso, thousands of people living in a refugee camp. But when we gathered, I didn’t hear them complain. I didn’t see them sad. You know what I saw in my experience? Joy, a happiness that came from deep within them. That is really a mark of your African family: your joy, your love for life and how you celebrate life.”

That happiness came in the joyful songs played with keyboards and percussion. It was expressed through vibrant dance from Catholics who offered countless donated goods for those in need during the offertory procession at Mass. It shone in the bright and varied colors expressed through traditional clothing, and the stories of their lives told through the Mass.

Afterward a celebration filled the parish hall with the smells, tastes and musical sound of many of the 25 represented African cultures in the Delaware Valley, culminating an event that organizers felt was a superior showcase of both unity in faith and diversity of culture.

“We are part of the Archdiocese family. But in our own city, we come together. We have our different communities, but once a month, we come together to pray together,” said Sister Florence Enechukwu of the African Catholic Apostolate as she expressed thanks to the Archbishop and all those who organized the Mass.
The Archbishop placed the capstone on the day with words of encouragement for those who came to Sunday’s Mass.

“We live in a moment in this country where the presence of the immigrants, including my family, are not always appreciated,” he said. “But we were all made in the very image and likeness of God. When we honor each other and honor our languages and our culture, we honor God.”