Catholics in the U.S. should definitely participate.
I worked for a Catholic religious goods company some years ago and they used to laugh at me when I would set up a book table for Black History Month. Yet there is a very long history of African/Black Catholics in the Church - many great saints.
The history of the Church is full of many Black / African Catholic saints, who received recognition for great deeds or meritorious conduct. Many lost their lives in defense of the faith. Many were also honored for their contributions to the Church and their community. Go here for more information.
It is quite a long and impressive catalogue.
Servant of God Fr. Augustine Tolton and Sr. Thea Bowman, pray for us.
ReplyDeleteLets not forget that Saint Augustine was a (North) African, as was his mother, Saint Monica. . . There were also three early Popes: Pope St Victor I (ca186-198), Pope St Miltiades (311-14), and Pope St Gelasius (492-496). They all came from the area that is present-day Algeria, Mauretania, Numidia, and Tunisia. Saint Maurice and his fellow martyrs of the Theban Legion are also frequently depicted in medieval art as being black men.
ReplyDeleteThe Archdiocese of New Orleans has, in every church, prayercards with a picture of St. Josephine Bakhita, who was sold into slavery as a child,asking her intercession for victims of human trafficking, as well as contacts for help for victims. It has been estimated that 10,000 persons are brought to New Orleans for Superbowl and Mardi Gras for the purpose of being bought or sold like merchandise, many underaged. Many from our own black community. If you would like to prayer for them...
ReplyDelete"O St. Bakhita, assist all those who are trapped in a state of slavery; Intercede with God on their behalf that they will be released from the chains of captivity... Help all survivors find healing from their wounds. We asked your prayers and intercessions for those enslaved among us."
From Wikipedia...
ReplyDeleteOur Lady of Kibeho is the name given to Marian apparitions concerning several adolescents, in the 1980s in Kibeho, south-western Rwanda. The apparitions communicated various messages to the schoolchildren, including an apocalyptic vision of Rwanda descending into violence and hatred, possibly foretelling the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.[1]
In 2001, the local bishop of Catholic Church officially recognised the visions of three schoolchildren as authentic.[2] As with all approved apparitions, Catholics are not required to accept their authenticity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Kibeho