Tag: Catholic History
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Augustus Tolton: First Black Catholic Priest in America
John Augustus Tolton, baptized Augustine, was born on April 1, 1854, and died on July 9, 1897. He was an African American Catholic and the first openly Black Catholic priest in the United States, ordained in Rome in 1886. Before him came the Healy brothers, Catholic priests who passed as White. Born into slavery in…
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The Life and Legacy of Sister Thea Bowman
Mary Thea Bowman, FSPA (born Bertha Elizabeth Bowman; December 29, 1937 – March 30, 1990) was a Black Catholic religious sister, teacher, musician, liturgist and scholar who contributed to the ministry of the Catholic Church toward African Americans. She became an evangelist among her people, assisted in the production of an African-American Catholic hymnal, and was a popular speaker on faith and spirituality in her final years, in addition to…