Black Catholic Ministry Commission
In September and October 2019, the African Catholic Ministry under the Black Catholic Ministry Commission conducted a number of meetings to plan ongoing events and activities. As a result, the following activities have taken place:
1. The African Catholic Ministry had Mass of Remembrance on November 10, 2019, 2:00 pm, All Saints Catholic Church. There were about 100 people in attendance.
2. Mariam-Tsion Ge’ez Rite Catholic Community had Divine Liturgy – January 19, 2020 at All Saints Catholic Church. The occasion was the Feast of Baptism of Our Lord according to the Ge’ez Rite calendar. This is a significant national feast in Eritrean and Ethiopia, the countries of origin of Mariam-Tsion Catholic community members. Mariam Tsion Ge’ez Rite Catholic community has about 60 individuals about 20 families.
3. The first All African Mass took place January 26, 2020; going forward All African Mass will take place every 4th Sunday of the month at 3:00 pm at St. Martin de Porres Church. At the first All African Mass was celebrated by Fr. James Arthur, pastor of All Saints and St. Martin de Porres. More than 50 people attended; however, the number will increase as the outreach expands.
The goal of having monthly mass is to maximize the outreach as a mean of evangelization and spiritual renewal among the target groups by assigning each month to a particular community or language group. The Mass is open to all, who wanted to experience African and African American spirituality and ritual traditions.
