Prince of Peace, St. Francis Xavier Parishes
Faithful from several parishes in the Archdiocese of Mobile made a pilgrimage to Jackson, Mississippi on Dec. 21 to celebrate the installation and blessing of a life-size bronze statue of Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman, FSPA.
Led by Rev. Victor Ingalls, director of multicultural ministry for the Archdiocese of Mobile and pastor of Prince of Peace Parish and St. Francis Xavier parishes in Mobile, two buses arrived in Jackson with more than 50 pilgrims to mark the occasion honoring Sr. Thea.
Sr. Thea is one of six African-American Catholics currently on this path and many present at the celebration had known her prior to her death in 1990. Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson officially opened Sr. Thea’s cause in November 2018. The canonical process is in the middle of the diocesan phase which involves gathering her writings, interviewing witnesses and compiling a historical and theological report on her virtues and piety.
Artist Mary Davidson enlisted the support of her former eighth-grade student at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in New Orleans, Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of the Archdiocese of Mobile, who offered a generous donation to the project. Soon Bishop Louis Kihneman of the Diocese of Biloxi and Bishop Stephen Raica of the Diocese of Birmingham committed funds to help complete the statue. These donations together with proceeds from the estate of Bishop Joseph Latino, Bishop Kopacz’s predecessor, made the statue a reality and a gift from the bishops of Alabama and Mississippi.
