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Stamped With the Image of God: African Americans As God's Image in Black
Fascinating selection of documentary evidence that illustrates the presence and significance of Black Catholics in America from colonial times to present.
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 29, 2017
Important anthology of readings from African American religions, especially Catholicism.
June 15, 2024
A MARVELOUS COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, WITH INTRODUCTIONS
Christopher Kauffman wrote in the Foreword to this 2003 book, “The historical consciousness of the African American Catholic community has expanded considerably over the past forty years… The Black Catholic Congress of 1987 is emblematic of this growth in historical self-understanding as members of national, diocesan, and parish organizations joined the black Catholic bishops and many religious and diocesan priests to form three days of a community of worship, song, and dialogue… During the time of the 1987 congress, Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., a founding member of the Black Catholic Caucus in 1968… was then completing his manuscript of the 1990 book ‘The History of Black Catholics in the United States.’ … Many documents in this volume formed the basis for Davis’s book… The reader will note that many documents gathered by Davis and [Sister Jamie] Phelps clearly evince the salient role of the laity in the history of African American life and thought… Cyprian Davis and Jamie Phelps have assembled documents that reveal the many strands of African Americas’ life and thought.”
In 1839, Pope Gregory XVI wrote an apostolic brief opposing the slave trade (whose influence in the United States was, unfortunately, minimal), which concluded, “We, then by Apostolic Authority, condemn all such practices as absolutely unworthy of the Christian name. By the same Authority We prohibit and strictly forbid any Ecclesiastic or lay person from presuming to defend as permissible this trade in Blacks under no matter what pretext or excuse, or from publishing or teaching in any manner whatsoever, in public or privately, opinions contrary to what We have set forth in these Apostolic Letters.” (Pg. 40)
The editors recount, “Before the end of slavery, several attempts were made to establish a religious community of black sisters. Only two succeeded: one in Baltimore in the 1820s and the second in New Orleans in the 1840s. A third community of black sisters was established in Savannah in the first quarter of the twentieth century. These religious communities of black women demonstrate the spiritual vitality of the black Catholic community in the slavery states of Maryland and Louisiana.” (Pg. 47)
They explain, “The first black Catholic priests in the history of the United States were the three sons of an Irish-American slaveholder, Michael Morris Healy, and his slave, Mary Eliza who bore him ten children… [His] children were all slaves according to the law. To save them from this condition, Michael Healy eventually arranged that his children would leave the South. With the help of John Fitzpatrick, who eventually became the bishop of Boston in 1846, three of Michael Healy’s sons became students at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and eventually were ordained priests… Bishop Williams chose young Alexander Healy to be his personal theologian at the First Vatican Council, the first and only African American to serve in this capacity.” (Pg. 58)
They lament, “The situation of black seminarians at the Josephites’ seminary at Epiphany College was uncertain. As a result [John R.] Slattery [a Jesuit] hoped by establishing a school to train black catechists---that is, laymen who would perform ministry in black parishes---he would also attract young black men who would be prepared to enter a seminary for black students never materialized…” (Pg. 67)
They note, “There were five Black Catholic Congresses, beginning in 1889 until 1894. It seems that the delegates were all man. The first congress was held in Washington D.C., in January 1889. The fourth was held in Chicago in 1893, in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition. These congresses are an important source for the mentality and attitudes of black Catholic laypeople at a time when they were almost ignored by the white majority. These ideas were often summed up in a closing message to their fellow Catholics.” (Pg. 79)
They point out, “For much of the twentieth century, black Catholics were not welcomed in most Catholic fraternal organizations. Father Conrad Rebesher, a Josephite priest, pastor of a black parish in Mobile, saw the need for the Church to reach out to black Catholic laymen and make them active members of the Church. He organized the Knights of Peter Claver in 1909 with three other Josephite priests. In 1922, black women were formed into the Ladies of Peter Claver. Patterned after the Knights of Columbus, the Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver became in time one of the most important lay organizations among African American Catholics.” (Pg. 96)
They record, “The founding of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus in 1968 served as a catalyst for the formation of other black Catholic organizations, most notably the formation of the black sisters and later the black seminarians. Soon it became apparent that a type of umbrella association was needed to represent the black Catholic community as a whole. This resulted in the formation of the NOBC [National Office for Black Catholics].” (Pg. 118)
The state, “[The Black Bishops of the United States] pastoral letter ‘What We Have Seen and Heard’ was the first written by the black bishops of the United States to black Catholics in the United States. The ten active black bishops in the United States sought to remind the black Catholic community that black Catholics were no longer dependents but adults, responsible for the evangelization of fellow blacks and contributors to the Catholic Church in the United States.” (Pg. 135)
This book will be “must reading” for anyone interested in black Catholics, or the general history of the Catholic Church.
Christopher Kauffman wrote in the Foreword to this 2003 book, “The historical consciousness of the African American Catholic community has expanded considerably over the past forty years… The Black Catholic Congress of 1987 is emblematic of this growth in historical self-understanding as members of national, diocesan, and parish organizations joined the black Catholic bishops and many religious and diocesan priests to form three days of a community of worship, song, and dialogue… During the time of the 1987 congress, Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., a founding member of the Black Catholic Caucus in 1968… was then completing his manuscript of the 1990 book ‘The History of Black Catholics in the United States.’ … Many documents in this volume formed the basis for Davis’s book… The reader will note that many documents gathered by Davis and [Sister Jamie] Phelps clearly evince the salient role of the laity in the history of African American life and thought… Cyprian Davis and Jamie Phelps have assembled documents that reveal the many strands of African Americas’ life and thought.”
In 1839, Pope Gregory XVI wrote an apostolic brief opposing the slave trade (whose influence in the United States was, unfortunately, minimal), which concluded, “We, then by Apostolic Authority, condemn all such practices as absolutely unworthy of the Christian name. By the same Authority We prohibit and strictly forbid any Ecclesiastic or lay person from presuming to defend as permissible this trade in Blacks under no matter what pretext or excuse, or from publishing or teaching in any manner whatsoever, in public or privately, opinions contrary to what We have set forth in these Apostolic Letters.” (Pg. 40)
The editors recount, “Before the end of slavery, several attempts were made to establish a religious community of black sisters. Only two succeeded: one in Baltimore in the 1820s and the second in New Orleans in the 1840s. A third community of black sisters was established in Savannah in the first quarter of the twentieth century. These religious communities of black women demonstrate the spiritual vitality of the black Catholic community in the slavery states of Maryland and Louisiana.” (Pg. 47)
They explain, “The first black Catholic priests in the history of the United States were the three sons of an Irish-American slaveholder, Michael Morris Healy, and his slave, Mary Eliza who bore him ten children… [His] children were all slaves according to the law. To save them from this condition, Michael Healy eventually arranged that his children would leave the South. With the help of John Fitzpatrick, who eventually became the bishop of Boston in 1846, three of Michael Healy’s sons became students at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and eventually were ordained priests… Bishop Williams chose young Alexander Healy to be his personal theologian at the First Vatican Council, the first and only African American to serve in this capacity.” (Pg. 58)
They lament, “The situation of black seminarians at the Josephites’ seminary at Epiphany College was uncertain. As a result [John R.] Slattery [a Jesuit] hoped by establishing a school to train black catechists---that is, laymen who would perform ministry in black parishes---he would also attract young black men who would be prepared to enter a seminary for black students never materialized…” (Pg. 67)
They note, “There were five Black Catholic Congresses, beginning in 1889 until 1894. It seems that the delegates were all man. The first congress was held in Washington D.C., in January 1889. The fourth was held in Chicago in 1893, in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition. These congresses are an important source for the mentality and attitudes of black Catholic laypeople at a time when they were almost ignored by the white majority. These ideas were often summed up in a closing message to their fellow Catholics.” (Pg. 79)
They point out, “For much of the twentieth century, black Catholics were not welcomed in most Catholic fraternal organizations. Father Conrad Rebesher, a Josephite priest, pastor of a black parish in Mobile, saw the need for the Church to reach out to black Catholic laymen and make them active members of the Church. He organized the Knights of Peter Claver in 1909 with three other Josephite priests. In 1922, black women were formed into the Ladies of Peter Claver. Patterned after the Knights of Columbus, the Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver became in time one of the most important lay organizations among African American Catholics.” (Pg. 96)
They record, “The founding of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus in 1968 served as a catalyst for the formation of other black Catholic organizations, most notably the formation of the black sisters and later the black seminarians. Soon it became apparent that a type of umbrella association was needed to represent the black Catholic community as a whole. This resulted in the formation of the NOBC [National Office for Black Catholics].” (Pg. 118)
The state, “[The Black Bishops of the United States] pastoral letter ‘What We Have Seen and Heard’ was the first written by the black bishops of the United States to black Catholics in the United States. The ten active black bishops in the United States sought to remind the black Catholic community that black Catholics were no longer dependents but adults, responsible for the evangelization of fellow blacks and contributors to the Catholic Church in the United States.” (Pg. 135)
This book will be “must reading” for anyone interested in black Catholics, or the general history of the Catholic Church.
January 1, 2021
Insightful, historical and a deep understanding of what the Universal Christ means for all human beings.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews