Office for Black Catholics
“Faith and Resilience: The Legacy of Black Catholics in Virginia” is an exhibition hosted by the Black History Museum of Virginia and Cultural Center. The exhibit opened July 11th with a ceremony featuring Father Tochi Iwuji, director of the diocesan Office for Black Catholics and pastor of Holy Rosary, and Bishop Barry C. Knestout. Over 100 people were in attendance to hear the stories of people who had attended the churches and schools featured in the exhibit.
The exhibit features artefacts from many of the Black Catholic parishes and schools that were closed in the 60s and early 70s in the name of integration. The items on display are paired with stories of living links to the past, who shared their stories with Father Iwuji. The collection of all these items and stories has been a labor of love, beginning all the way back in March of this year which would not have been possible without the help of the Diocesan Office of Archives and all the parishioners from around the diocese willing to donate and source materials for the exhibit. The very act of putting the exhibit together demonstrates the resilience of the Black Catholic Community.
Fr. Iwuji had this to say: “Black Catholic worship is dynamic, it’s vibrant. Our Black cultural identity will be found in the music and the way we worship. But the basics of who we are as Catholics will not be forgotten.”
The exhibit will be open through Nov. 22, when Father Iwuji will lead a Eucharistic procession from the museum to nearby St. Joseph’s Memorial Park.
