St. Monicas, the church for which her son had expended so much energy and time, was abandoned in 1924 and later raised to the ground. On this grave stone which later replaced the original reads: Funds were raised and the basis of a great and beautiful church, St. Monicas, dedicated to the service of the citys black population was started. ZeS6N ;'pw! Trusting all to Providence, the same fervour and energy that Fr. My grandson Ignatius wants to become a Jesuit Priest. Subscribe to get email notifications of new posts and special offers PLUS a St. Joseph digital poster. On June 12, 2019, Tolton was declared Venerable by Pope Francis I, the second step towards canonization. This same year, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 21, granting citizenship to any person born or naturalized in the United States. He was born into slavery and escaped to freedom with his mother and siblings under harrowing circumstances. Toltons homecoming caused a stir. It is a haunting theme that runs through the Christian story, an indelible line in the Christian narrative, an interestingly powerful story that has as its banner, the cross. Among the best known of these six is Fr Augustus Tolton (1854-1897), the first recognized American Black priest. Michael ONeill Michael ONeill is a radio and television host, author, and creator of the website MiracleHunter.com, the top online resource on miracles. McGirr knew the frustration and sadness that clung to the outwardly smiling Gus Tolton. They started with the Franciscans who had a monastery in a nearby town, but they were the first to reject Augustus. This post originally appeared at Catholic Exchange and is reprinted with permission. There is a German priest here who is jealous and contemptuous, Augustus wrote in his second report to the Propaganda. At the end of the evening, when dinner had finished, the visitor observed how the younger priest took a set of Rosary beads hanging from a nail on a wall nearby and, with his mother beside him, knelt on the stone floor to recite that ancient prayer just as they always had done, not least when they had arrived frightened and anxious having fled slavery those years previously. Still, he went to Holy Mass as often as he could; he prayed daily. Augustine Tolton was born 1 April, 1854. 0000001549 00000 n WebAugustus Tolton: the Church is the True Liberator, by Joyce Duriga, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2018; Audio Book (From Slave to Priest) by Lighthouse Catholic Media: endstream endobj startxref It was said that I would be the only priest of my race in America and would not likely succeed, Tolton once wrote. Augustine Tolton We also find inspiration in the lives of those who live that gospel with heroic seriousness and who model for us Christ like disposition and behavior. The story starts there at Calvary. Their efforts were remarkable in face of those odds and likely those odds could have proven too high to overcome. WebFather Augustus Tolton was a priest who, for the love of souls, tore down a racial barrier, reluctantly and single-handedly, on direct orders from Rome. That passage from the letter to the Hebrews must have resonated in Toltons heart: Recall the days gone by when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a great contest of suffering. Gratitude to a few priests and religious who tutored him and advocated to have him recognized for his goodness; gratitude that moved him to declare the Catholic Church the principle instrument of improvement of the plight of the black race. After many years he was eventually accepted at a Pontifical university in Rome. 262 0 obj <> endobj Objectives . That day, however, there was one who stood apart from the crowd and quietly watched with tears in her eyes as her son returned to her a priest. A bright and intelligent boy, with a good heart, aged nine, he was helping support his family by working at a local tobacco factory. We cannot know the Christ unless we know him crucified, says St. Paul. Jesus saved the world precisely as a victim not as a celebrity or military general. When Augustus was 14, the pastor of the Irish parish, St. Peters, invited the boy who could barely read to enroll. 0000002077 00000 n They leave us with good thoughts and smiles on our faces; each of them with a strong sense of justice pushing critically through the moral and ethical paradoxes of those times; each of them unafraid to permit their pastoral efforts to be reflective of their views and values. Religious orders were also tried, but to no avail. At the time Bishop Healy was ordained a priest, he identified as an Irish-American; it was not obvious from his appearance that he had any African-American ancestry, and no one outside of his mentors in the seminary knew that, legally, he was black. It baffles my mind to see or hear of any Christians discriminating against anyone, especially when Christians show racial bias against a fellow brother or sister in Christ. There is a German priest here who is jealous and contemptuous, Augustus wrote in his second report to the Propaganda. Father Augustus Tolton | CatholicSaints.Info, Fr. It was the way he handled this challenge to his Christian faith that presents him remarkable and therefore a model for how we can handle protracted disappointment, and seeming hopelessness. He first ministered to black Catholics in Quincy, Illinois and was later transferred to Chicago. Now his canonization cause needs one miraculous healing worked through his intercession to be approved by Rome in order that he might be beatified. The young priest worked tirelessly to minister to them, reminding them of the one thing no human power could remove or tarnish: their Catholic Faith. The future for the Tolton family began to become clearer when the Civil War finally ended with victory for the North and an end to slavery throughout the United States. This same year, the Civil War ends on April 26. hb```f`` AX,3>71-``^ 9o&fR%'0Htt0pt40 )d]@ LV@ZF20g,p,9L3]fp$yW Will These African Americans Be Canonized? The authorities in Rome could see no reason why he could not minister to his co-religionists there, not least those of his own race. Augustus Tolton was the first recognized African American Catholic priest. His ministry helped lay the foundation for a truly Catholic gathering in faith in our time. He also learned to serve Mass. THEY MIGHT BE SAINTS-VEN. We believers try to make sense of our own experiences of being victims along lifes way by gazing back at what happened to the Savior in his own mistreatment. Toltons life story inserts a dialectic into a begrudging situation of intransigence to social and moral change. 1862: Martha Jane escapes withher children to Quincy, Illinois. The Sacred Congregation for Causes of Saints at the Vatican grants the title Servant of God to Father Augustus Tolton and orders that the Archdiocese of Chicago proceed with the Diocesan Inquiry into his life and virtues. On February 24, 2011 his cause was opened by the Archdiocese of Chicago making him a Servant of God, the first step towards canonization. or school. Seven years after Augustine, or Gus as he was known, was born, war broke out between the States. ~z'bct3rCYv kt\L@w !^tJa`stV^Oq!^6 zQP04ib@jhXZ8@%`fH &r\\d0Sa+llHV3BRS$h1M 'q"@SX80X?`pAA2f& G5c $uCV*L*XC`]*(x'@ ] endstream endobj 64 0 obj <>>> endobj 65 0 obj <> endobj 66 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 612.0 792.0]/Type/Page>> endobj 67 0 obj <> endobj 68 0 obj <>stream In the meantime, we look to the scriptures to find inspiration for our Christian lifestyle in the choices we make, solutions to problems and to simply live each days challenges. Augustus Tolton is a pioneer African American Catholic who was not only the first priest of acknowledged African descent to serve anywhere in the United States but one who navigated the choppy waters of racial acceptance endemic to 19th century America and modeled for us how to be Christians amidst the social inconsistencies of that former time with his faith, hope and love found in the end to be intact. The Saintly Life of Father Augustus Tolton - Catholic Exchange The woman and her children were slaves. Order Bulk SubscriptionsGet a discount on 6 or more copies sent to your parish, organization The stone rejected had become a living stone, one upon which now future generations would build. Peter Tolton then headed north and joined the Union Army. I will pray for your grandson and I know the Jesuits will welcome him with open arms if that is his calling. Father Tolton could find joy under trial and be himself simultaneously an encourager of others with their trials. It was through the influence of one of them that I became what I am tonight. %PDF-1.5 % Worship at the altar is always a commemoration of Jesus Christ as victim. His books include Exploring the Miraculous, 365 Days with Mary and 20 Answers: Apparitions and Revelations. This same year, Mary Jane Patterson graduates from Oberlin College in Ohio and becomes the first black woman to graduate from an American college. Saints arise from the exigencies of the eras within which they live. Ted Turner Dedication Whether side by side or miles apart we are sisters. He was always conscious that his vocation was as a result of his mothers example and the Christian home she had provided for him, in spite of everything. I was a poor slave boy but the priests of the Church did not disdain me. The crucifixion of Jesus reminds us that black suffering is a means through which God has loved his dark children. He also found a cultured and holy priest, one who complained of nothing and prayed for everything. One could even say it was Fr. For years he persevered; eventually promoted by his employers, it proved a small consolation. The touching story of Augustus Tolton reminds us of the glaring social deficits of a former time. Augustus was seven years old when the Civil War began. She endeavors to 286 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<302BB52D3863B64BA3B976C1397EBCB0><8D3543A6425E274CB40BF7885AC937E9>]/Index[262 48]/Info 261 0 R/Length 115/Prev 162616/Root 263 0 R/Size 310/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream Web1882: The lower level of St. Marys Church in Chicago becomes Chicagos first Negro parish. But, racial prejudice was also found there. His family escaped when he was a child and ran away to Illinois, a free state. On the other hand, Christians worship a suffering Messiah and so have theologized about this conundrum over the course of two thousand years and counting. Tolton lived in reduced circumstances. MOTHER MARIA KAUPAS Augustus witnessed mistreatment of his people and became a victim himself of such mistreatment. Martha readily agreed that her husband must go and that some day they would all be together again, and free. On 21 February 1880, Gus left America bound for Europe, destined to be a missionary in Africa. It takes a strong person of faith to place their suffering on the paten and in the chalice of the sacrifice we offer each day. Augustus and his mother both worked at the Harris Cigar Factory. But bitterness was alien to Toltons soul. Tolton at this time and stayed with him and his mother who by then also had come to be live in Chicago as her sons housekeeper. Yet, essentially, the results of this struggled reasoning are pretty much the same for us as they are for anyone else regardless of faith perspective or lack thereof. In the case of Augustus Tolton it is the long period of black slavery in this country and the nations Civil War foisting a resolution to uncompensated black servitude and the tumultuous period of Reconstruction of a nation torn to shreds over this issue. As long as I was at the school, I was safe. trailer <]/Prev 469030>> startxref 0 %%EOF 85 0 obj <>stream What Tolton experienced in that time of social ambivalence is stuff we read about in history books or view in certain documentaries. In hindsight, however, looking at that days generous welcome from all quarters, it was bitter sweet. 1871: The Chicago Fire burned from Sunday, October 8 to Tuesday, October 10. The Toltons Catholic faith was deeply held and urged them on to action. I would gladly leave here just to be away from this priest. Toltons legacy says to us that transformation is possible through suffering. 0000001605 00000 n Laid to rest on that July day in 1897, and having entered into the mysterious freedom of the Children of God where there is neither Greek nor Jew, neither freed nor slave Fr. He was a bright light in a dark time. His was a quiet approach, a novel ministry to black and white together and he was, unfortunately, resented for it. A visiting priest met Fr. 19th century America placed dark skin at the bottom of the color pyramid. Your email address will not be published. The cross of Christ is the Fathers will and was present even at His miraculous birth.No one can earn or has a right to the priesthood because it is not career but rather a vocation,consequently a calling from God Himself. Webdetermined that Augustus was a non-Christian name and, therefore, as so frequently happened at baptisms, the priest at the baptismal font Christianized the name by With help from an Irish Franciscan priest, Peter McGirr, he was accepted to study in Rome. PRAYERS CARDS, NEWLETTERS, AND BROCHURES: For prayer cards, newsletters, and brochures, call 312.534.8376 or write Bishop Joseph N. Perry at the Archdiocese of Chicago: 3525 South Lake Park Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60653. https://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/from-slave-to-priest-1#, http://www.dio.org/tolton/tolton/videos-about-father-tolton.html, https://www.ltp.org/p-2539-father-augustus-tolton-a brief-biography-of-a-faithful-priest-and-former-slave.aspx, Call 312.534.8376 or writeBishop Joseph N Perry, Archdiocese of Chicago, 3525 South Lake Park Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60653. His beatification we hope will provide renewed impetus within the African American Catholic community in the United States; as one of our own being raised to mention at the altar will send a spiritual recharge to the hope of African American Catholics that we need at this time and have needed for quite some time. While not yet canonized, Ven. Augustus Tolton is on the path towards sainthood. He was the first-known black Catholic priest in the United States after his ordination in 1886. Born into slavery and baptized Catholic in the United States Ven. Tolton studied for the priesthood and was ordained in Rome. Fr. He was born on the Hagar farm in Bush Creek, Missouri, in 1854. SubscribeStart your Register subscription today. America has been called the most enlightened nation in the world. Renew or manage your subscription here. Name and understand the four cardinal virtues. Jesus experienced the worse that a man could deal out to another and, therefore, leaves us an example. 348 0 obj <> endobj A Better Way Forward, Heres a Bishop Doing Something Good, and More Great Links! The Faith is more than bricks and mortar, however, and, in 2011, after an initial investigation at the behest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Fr. Our Lady teaches us to place our faith and trust Jesus. Father Augustus Tolton was the first identified black American ordained to the priesthood in the United States. A religious figure like Tolton arises with unique inspiration amidst the chasms that remain apparent between black and white races in this country. He attended out of-the-way classes taught by friendly priests and nuns who saw in his eyes the bright spark of the love of God, a tender devotion to the Church and a determination to serve people whether black or white. Articles on the death of Father Tolton in The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Daily News. He was, however, the first priest whose identity as an African-American was publicly acknolwedged at the time of his ordination. Banners announcing the Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton as the first African American diocesan priest were displayed in locations around the City of Chicago that had special significance for Father Tolton's life and legacy. In his first year, he took over the school he had founded and also created a flourishing parish at St. Josephs, attended by both blacks and whites. The title venerable recognizes that he lived a life of heroic virtue. For the time being, local priests tutored Augustus privately in between his work at both the cigar factory and as a janitor at St. Peters. Throughout, Tolton remained steady in his ministry thinking only the best about everyone, with a resolve to labor in a pastoral situation that would offer hope to a people, poor people, any people. I was a poor slave boy but the priests of the Church did not disdain me. Father Augustus Tolton, you whose life demonstrated the fruit of the Holy Spirits gifts of fortitude and perseverance, pray for my strength and perseverance as I cry out for Gods mercy for (state your intention here). Pray Father Augustus Tolton that God will hear my cry and answer me according to His will. Amen! 398 0 obj <>stream We find no evidence of outburst in him in face of what he endured. Tolton reminds us of the courage we have within our hearts to continue to work for racial and ethnic solidarity while eradicating all forms of hesitancy and intolerances. The Parish Priest was an Irishman, Brian McGirr, and he was having none of it. That night, the woman evaded her pursuers. Fr. We shall see whether it deserves that honor. A blog for Catholic men that seeks to encourage virtue, the pursuit of holiness and the art of true masculinity. Tolton, rather, shows us how to wrestle through fear, hurt and disappointment and see these experiences through the prism of the Lords own suffering to redeem a people. We may not be connected by hand but we are always connected by heart. Through his experiences of racial negation by a society that would separate black and white by force of the law and lawless custom, Tolton found the love of God, found his own vocation and ultimately has received his reward from God as a figure of Christian faith in action, indiscriminate love of neighbor and pastoral charity despite the bigotry that was thrown at him. %%EOF 1857: In the Dred Scott case, the Supreme Court decides that African Americans are not U.S. citizens, and that Congress has no power to restrict slavery in any federal territory. His life story embodies the seminal verse from Isaiah 53:3 that points to the Messiah, He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. In todays Catholic Church the same problems exist. He had every reason to become embittered. I am so glad that I now belong to the diocese where Father Tolton was ordained and where he is buried. endstream endobj 349 0 obj <. ,M Gus was delighted; for, with all his heart, he wanted to be a priest; it was a sense that had been growing for some years. Tolton later felt called to the priesthood, but faced much opposition and no American seminary would accepted him. Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. The formality of applying to a seminary proved, however, more complicated for the young recently freed slave, especially as there had never been a man of his race at any seminary in America. Religiously inclined in his boyhood, nurtured by promptings of his mother Martha, he was found spending hours in church in prayer in between job schedules. Fr. Mass is celebrated there until 1889. At 16, he made his First Communion and started to think about the priesthood. WebTolton is a powerful multi-media live production, filled with music, drama and inspiring performances. He was first and foremost a priest. When, finally, the Tolton family arrived in the Illinois town of Quincy, they were to live in a segregated neighbourhood. " vXp/n*%kPD\CDkAA43J~]*+a$/ :J\]cN$8NOdp4vE. In July 1886, Fr. He was from Missouri and died in Chicago, but he was ordained by and for Springfield in IL., where he was buried. Hopefully that includes Ignatius. After his ordination in 1886, he was sent back to the diocese of Alton, Illinois. On 35th Street near South Lake Park Avenue, across from the Archdioceses, At 9th and Wabash Streets, the site of Toltons first Chicago assignment in the lower level of St. Mary Parish, On South Michigan Avenue, across from Mercy Hospital, where Father Tolton died on July 9, 1897, On South Cornell Avenue, across from Catholic Theological Union, home of the Augustus Tolton Ministry Program. He suffered genuinely in that these priestly things were administered from a black face, black hands and a black heart. Tolton had brought to Quincy was now loosed upon a poor district of Chicagos south side. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The building was later razed to the ground, unless it was in a pit! From the time he was 14, he served Mass every morning before going to work or school. And we each participate in this unfortunate victimization in varying degrees. A gentleness of spirit best describes his personality in such wise that the inquirer cannot detect any irritability in him. He waited. For the first time in his life he lived in an environment free from racial discrimination. Augustine Tolton: Americas First BlackPriest [], [] (. hb```b``^ @167}beP,`~ F The Cardinal overruled the previous decision to send him to Africa. Mrs Henderson, please know that your grandson will be in my prayers. The cross of Christ is a gift from God and an outward sign that His will is being followed. We shall see whether it deserves that honor. 0000051295 00000 n Around his bedside were the hospital chaplain who had administered the Last Rites, some nuns praying, and his mother. 0000012723 00000 n We are inspired by Toltons courage and innocent determination in face of incredible race prejudice typical of that bygone era but for which we now take as a source of inspiration for the work that remains in the 21st century. We desperately need more priests from the US. Bishop Baltes then appealed to the Urban College in Rome, but this international seminary also suggested that Augustus attend seminary in the United States. He is the creator and host of the EWTN television series They Might Be Saints and author of the book They Might Be Saints (EWTN Publishing 2021) about Americans on the path to sainthood and the search for canonization miracles. Site Map ; Contact Us ; Privacy Policy He is 14 years old. Give a Gift SubscriptionBless friends, family or clergy with a gift of the Register. Mass is celebrated there until 1889. EIN 27-4581132 Standing at the altar the priest talks to God in conversation about his only begotten Sons victimization so that sins may be forgiven. Theres ALOT more to his story, but I just wanted to have this much here. It worked. It brings a message of hope and healing for the wounds that plague our culture. They ran through several nights to the Mississippi River and Hannibal, Missouri, where they were about to be apprehended by Confederate soldiers before two Union soldiers stepped in to defend them. The Catholic Church deplores a double slavery that of the mind and that of the body. The record of his life is absent any show of retaliation toward anyone or anything. Catholic Church. One day the Parish Priest saw Gus praying alone in church. He knew that there was a simmering resentment in his congregation. The Production He receives special instruction because he was far advanced than other students. Being the first black Catholic priest he was thrust as the first in a long line of black leaders who summoned the Church to embrace its black brothers and sisters. 0000005284 00000 n Web1878 Augustus Tolton enrolls in St. Francis College, now Quincy University. We presented to the Church Tolton as a model Christian and priest during a time of paradox, an era of social deficits that attempted to derail his priestly ministry. I must now give praise to that son of the Emerald Isle, Father Peter McGirr, pastor of St. Peters Church in Quincy, who promised me that I would be educated and who kept his word. If the United States has never before seen a black priest, it must see one now. His congregation was largely poor, ill-educated ex-slaves, with all the resultant ills of depression and violence attending those who, for varying reasons, had given up on life. But Father Tolton received no rewards or citations in life. He was born a slave in Missouri and escaped to Quincy, Illinois, through the Underground Railroad. Augustus Tolton, who labored among us in times of contradiction, times that were both beautiful endstream endobj 263 0 obj <. I will pray for your grandson Ignatius in his discernment of his call to the priesthood. }eL1@H32e`x 20 +/M Even certain scripture passages were manipulated to justify people of African descent as preordained by God for perpetual servitude and haphazard treatment, thereupon, blackness dismissed as a universal symbol of inferiority. 0000003561 00000 n 0000005833 00000 n It was the same church where he had served Mass and given catechism classes after he had finished his work at the local factory. Northern congregations resented the recent influx of blacks from the South. I must now give praise to that son of the Emerald Isle, Father Peter McGirr, pastor of St. Peters Church in Quincy, who promised me that I would be educated and who kept his word. Mrs. Henderson, I am a product of Jesuit High School and Spring Hill College. It shocked Gus because it was on that very subject he had been praying namely, a possible vocation to the priesthood. WebIt was said that I would be the only priest of my race in America and would not likely succeed, Tolton once wrote. endstream endobj startxref That night they took an old row boat across the Mighty Mississippi while the Confederates shot at them from shore. What message is God sending through repeated instances of human agony and crucifixion? 1872: Augustus Tolton graduated from St. Peter School at age 18. Toltons sanctity emerges from an experience of the cross. 0 He showed himself a priest-servant to both black and white at a time when it was not socially appropriate or lawful to do so. Toltons Canonization Timeline 2019 June 11, 2019 Pope Francis issues the declaration that Augustine Tolton: Americas First BlackPriest | Solutio Problematis Omnes (aka "The Catholic Linker"), . : | .. With his bishops approval, the young priest set about raising funds for a church. He continued to pray, to give classes to his fellow parishioners, to wait, and to hope. He was buried in Quincy at his request. Required fields are marked *. But a Cardinal, Giovanni Simeoni in Rome said, America Fr. 0000059992 00000 n Father Tolton is a good priest, but he wants to create a kind of society which is not feasible in this place, was the bishops explanation. Learning From Father Toltons Example: Cultivating Racial Reconciliation in the Body of Christ, Merrick Garland Grilled on Anti-Catholic, Pro-Abortion Bias During Senate Hearing, Memento Mori: Remember You Are Going to Die, In the Beginning Are the Words: Logos, Language and Liberty, West Virginia Passes Religious Freedom Restoration Act, The Thorn Brings Christs Passion to the Big Screen in a New Way.