Black Catholics honor the 'Saintly Six' - Arlington Catholic Herald (2024)

Beverly Anderson stood before the statue of Mother Mary Lange and quietly cried tears of joy. “We’ve never had a saint, even though we’ve had such great Black Catholics,” she said. “Now we have six on the road to sainthood. My heart is full.”

Anderson, vice grand lady of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Peter Claver Court 398 of St. Joseph Church in Alexandria, attended the Mass to Honor Black Catholic History Month at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington Nov. 17.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge celebrated Mass, and highlighted Venerable Mother Mary Lange in his homily, along with five other Black Catholics who are on the path to sainthood.

“I’m going to ask all of you today, before you leave the cathedral, if maybe you could stop by the statue of Mother Mary Lange, look at the stained glass windows behind her, representing the images of those on the way to sainthood and say a prayer, that from our Black Catholic community in this country, we will soon have a canonized saint,” said Bishop Burbidge. “Would that not be a great day for our church and for our nation?”

The bishop’s question was met with resounding applause in a Mass that featured music by the Howard University Bison Catholic Choir. “To be able to celebrate, not only being a Black Catholic, but also being able to hear our music, ministers to everyone in our Catholic community,” said Janell Cline of the Ladies Auxiliary. “This fills me with so much joy in the Holy Spirit.”

“This was special and the Mass was beautiful,” said Ava Lafond, 15. “I love all the music. It highlights all of our culture. This was a perfect time to recognize the people who brought us to where we are today.”

The dramatic, life-size statue of Mother Mary Lange in the cathedral niche is framed by stained glass images of six Black American Catholics, sometimes referred to as the “Saintly Six”: Servant of God Julie Greeley, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, Venerable Henriette DeLille, Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Venerable Mother Mary Lange and Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman.

“This is essentially just to educate folks on the richness and culture that African Americans bring to the Catholic Church,” said Joseph Brooks, a Knight of Peter Claver. “We certainly want to draw attention to the fact that there are no canonized African Americans.”

Patricia Jacobs grew up in the 1950s in East St. Louis, Ill., where she said she faced discrimination for being Black and Catholic. “When I was a young girl, I remember saying to someone that I was discriminated against twice because I grew up in a very Protestant neighborhood,” said Jacobs, a member of the Ladies Auxiliary. “I went to a four-room Catholic school, and things were very difficult.”

Along with other members of the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary, Jacobs is devoted to educating all Catholics about the Saintly Six. “We’re very proud of it,” she said.

Bishop Burbidge said the witness of Black Catholics in the U.S. will continue to play a vital role in the evangelizing mission of the church.

“As we celebrate Black Catholic Heritage month, we also celebrate all the individuals who have done so much to promote peace and unity in our country and to make for a more just society,” said Bishop Burbidge. “But my friends, we have to acknowledge that despite all our efforts, we still experience racism and division. And so it is essential for us, to promise today to radiate light — the light of Christ — in the midst of such darkness. And we will, if in our words and our actions we show respect for every human person without exception, and reverence for the dignity that belongs to every person as a child of God, created in his own image and likeness.”