The African American and Native American communities have been blessed with many outstanding heroes. Discover these lasting examples of faith, hope, and love in action!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us
— Hebrews 12:1
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha “opens the way” Canonized on October 21, 2012, Saint Kateri continues working miracles, opening the door of faith before so many people around the world. Kateri was born in 1656 in a village on the Mohawk River called Ossernenon, now Auriesville, NY. Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother a […]
Servant of God Augustus Tolton
John Augustus Tolton was born a slave in Brush Creek, MO. His mother led the family across the Mississippi River to freedom in Quincy, IL in 1862. Eight year old John offered to work for Fr. Peter McGirr for food. Father gave him a meal and asked him if he wanted to go to St. […]
Venerable Henriette DeLille, S.S.F.
Henriette Delille is the first U.S. native-born African-American whose cause for canonization has been officially opened by the Catholic Church. She was born a free woman of color in New Orleans in 1812. By 1836, she had inspired a small band of women to assist the sick and dying and to catechize among her people. By 1841, […]
Venerable Pierre Toussaint
Pierre Toussaint was born into slavery on the French colony of Saint Domingue. His master, Jean Berard, encouraged the young Pierre to learn to read and write. In 1787, Berard moved his new wife and several slaves, including Pierre and his younger sister Rosalie, to New York City. In view of his lifelong commitment to […]
Venerable Mother Mary Lange, O.S.P.
Elizabeth Clarisse Lange (Mother Mary Lange of the Oblate Sisters of Providence) was born circa 1784 and died February 3, 1882. Mother Mary Lange founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence in 1829. The Oblates were the first United States based religious order of women of color. The Oblate Sisters were role models who provided an […]
Servant of God Julia Greeley
The Servant if God Julia Greeley was a familiar sight on the streets of Denver in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Wearing a floppy hat, oversized shoes, and dabbing her bad eye with a handkerchief, Greeley was often seen pulling her red wagon of goods to deliver to the poor and homeless of the city [...]
Servant of God Thea Bowman
The granddaughter of a slave, Thea Bowman was born Bertha Bowman in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in 1937 to a doctor and a teacher. Though raised Protestant, she chose to become Catholic at age 9 and was moved by the kindness and generosity of the Franciscans Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, whose school she subsequently attended. More
Saint Josephine Bakhita
Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Bakhita was kidnapped at the age of seven and sold into slavery. She was re-sold several times. Bakhita’s body was mutilated by those who enslaved her, but they could not touch her inner spirit. In her memoirs written much later, she recalls that dishes of […]