Breaking Racial Barriers

Bulletin Column – January 19, 2020

            Many years ago, I had the privilege of hearing Cardinal Francis Arinze speak. Originally from Nigeria, he served in the Congregation for Divine Worship for many years before his retirement. After his talk, he took questions from the audience, and my brother asked if he had ever been the victim of racism in the Church, being from sub-Saharan Africa.

            Cardinal Arinze replied that, yes, he had found that some people in the Church could be racist. After all, he said, the Church is made of sinners of every type! But he went on to say that the Church’s ultimate message was one that every tribe and tongue, people and nation, could embrace – the message of God’s universal love for all, and the offer for salvation for all within the Catholic Church.

            This week, the secular world celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who was instrumental in overcoming racism in this country and bringing civil rights to minorities. But did you know that another man, a century earlier, worked hard to overcome his own racial boundaries within the Catholic Church?

            His name was Fr. Augustine Tolton, and he was the first African-American to be ordained a Catholic priest in America.

            Born in Missouri in 1854 (before the Civil War!), he was a slave on a plantation run by Catholics. His parents were Catholics as well, but it is unknown if they chose the Faith on their own or had it hoisted upon them by their masters (a common occurrence in antebellum South). But his story shows how God brings great good out of every circumstance – his slave master’s wife was his godmother, who took seriously the godparent’s role to teach their godchildren about the Lord.

            From a young age, Augustine was drawn to religious ideas. At some point (historians don’t know how), he and his family gained his freedom (some historians think Augustine’s father fought with the Union Army, while others think his master freed all the slaves at the beginning of the Civil War). Upon gaining their freedom, the family moved north to Illinois, which was a free state, and Augustine and his siblings began working at a cigar factory – despite their young age!

            But Augustine’s intelligence and faith would not go unnoticed. The parish priest, a stubborn Irishman named Fr. McGirr, invited the young lad to attend the parish school – a move that was very controversial, even in a free state. No other school had yet been racially integrated – he would be the first black student in a white school in the state. But despite threats from fellow townspeople, Fr. McGirr held fast and supported Augustine’s education at his parish school.

            Upon graduation, Fr. McGirr encouraged Augustine to pursue a priestly vocation. Augustine applied to every single seminary in the country – and was rejected by all of them because of his skin color. But Fr. McGirr persisted, and managed to help Augustine enter a seminary in Rome, which trained priests from all over the world. He was ordained in 1886 at the age of 31, and celebrated his first Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

            He had studied all about Africa and its cultures, fully expecting to be sent there as a missionary – after all, who would respect a black priest in America in the 1880s? But the bishop of Quincy, Illinois had another plan – come back to the USA to help found missions for black Catholics.

            Obediently, he followed orders – and found immense resistance wherever he went. In Quincy, the other clergy treated him with hostility and would not support his efforts. He was then transferred to Chicago, where he found greater success – he grew the black mission of St. Monica from a mere 30 worshippers to more than 600 each Sunday. He was well-known for his eloquent sermons, beautiful singing voice, and kindly manner (plus he was quite skilled at playing the accordion!). In fact, he was so successful that many whites came to his Masses to hear the talented priest!

            Sadly, he was often-overworked and rarely took a day off, injuring his health. During a severe heat wave, he collapsed and died the following day, on July 8, 1897. But his reputation for holiness spread far and wide after his death, and now he has been declared “Venerable” (the second step toward becoming a saint) by the Vatican.

            Long before Martin Luther King Jr. overcome the racial barrier and preached racial harmony, Fr. Augustine Tolton lived it – motivated by the Gospel which calls all men to brotherhood, he did not allow racism to squelch his faith or his desire to serve the people of God. Through his intercession, we pray that all racial prejudice may cease, and that all people from every background might embrace the love of God!