Xavier University of Louisiana
The Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) continued its 46-year mission of preserving the spiritual, liturgical, and cultural traditions of Black Catholicism during its 2025 summer session. The program convened on June 29 with an orientation and Opening Mass, and concluded on July 18 with the Baccalaureate Mass and commencement ceremony. In the weeks between, the program featured worship, artistic expression, historical remembrance, and intergenerational mentorship.
A highlight of this year’s program was the IBCS’s first Hallelujah Workshop, a weeklong program dedicated to Black religious expression. This workshop honored three longtime IBCS leaders who have shaped the IBCS for decades: music minister Veronica Downs-Dorsey, liturgical dance leader Judy Legier, and master drummer Baba Luther Gray. Through morning sessions focused on the study of Black spirituality and Church life and afternoon sessions dedicated to sacred music, liturgical dance, and drumming, participants shared in the richness of Black Catholic worship. Fr. Roy Lee was the director of the Hallelujah Workshop, with key assistance from Rev. Dwight Webster and Ms. Kai Knight.
Throughout the 2025 program, the IBCS helped foster community through shared prayer, remembrance, and creative expression. Community Life leaders held the annual Ancestor Commemoration event and coordinated IBCS’s participation in the annual MAAFA Commemoration hosted by Ashé Cultural Arts Center at Congo Square. Culture Night provided an opportunity to celebrate the artistic gifts and diverse cultural traditions represented within the IBCS community.
The 2025 IBCS also created valuable community ties by engaged Xavier University alumni and students in IBCS projects. Kaionah Cooper ’25 created a portrait of the late Sr. Patricia Haley, SCN, which was featured in the Annual Commemoration. Shaylynn Cothron ’25 served as Community Life leader, Satiya Ewing-Boyd ’26 contributed to the Hallelujah Workshop, and mass communications students provided valuable videography and photography support. This intergenerational collaboration with Xavier students was a meaningful learning experience, with both challenges and blessings for all involved.
