Office of Black Catholic Ministry
“Julia led me to this table!” That was the utterance of Father Andre Mahanna when he discovered that he had stopped to bless a rosary for someone at the exhibit table of the Black candidates for sainthood by the Office of Black Catholic Ministry of the Archdiocese of Denver. Referring to Servant of God, Julia Greeley, Fr. Mahanna’s belief was confirmed when he was presented with a relic card by the office director, Kateri Williams, who displayed her banners of the six candidates along with literature about Black Catholics at the 24th Annual Conference of the St. Thomas Aquinas Society. The conference, In the Love of the Trinity, Our Trice Holy God, was held in Colorado Springs, Colorado July 28th thru August 1, 2021.
Born in war-torn Lebanon, Fr. Mahanna, a conference presenter, was just one of the many participants who were inspired by the educational display. Thanks to the support of Ms. Tina Wider, the Office of Black Catholic Ministry spent three days connecting with individuals from across the United States. Unlike Fr. Mahanna, who stated that Julia Greeley “is a saint of our time”, many participants were unaware of Denver’s own Angel of Mercy and the other five candidates for sainthood: Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Venerable Mother Henriette Delille, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, and Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman. Members from the Colorado Springs Council for Black Catholics also were available during the conference to share information about the cause for canonization for each of the candidates.
Williams believes that “it is always a blessed opportunity to share the rich history of our ethnicity with the entire Catholic community in our universal Church! I am so grateful to have participated with this conference!”
