Fernand J. Cheri, III, O.F.M.
 Father Ferd is a Franciscan Friar of the
Sacred Heart Province (St. Louis) and has been
ordained for 26 years. He has served at Our Lady of Lourdes Church,
New Orleans; St. Joseph the Worker, Marrero, LA;
St. Francis de Sales, NO; and St. Vincent de Paul,
Nashville, TN. He taught at St. Augustine High School, NO;
Hales Franciscan HS, Chicago; and presently guidance counselor
and administrative staff member at Althoff Catholic High School
in Belleville, IL. He received his Masters of Divinity degree at
Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans and a Masters of Theology degree
at Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans. He wrote his
thesis, "Songs of the Soul and the Soil,"
the history of Black Religious music. He is an archivist of
Black religious music with a collection of 4.000 recordings
of gospel music and files of gospel sheet music.
He is the editor and compiler of the 7-volume
1994 Gospel Music Discography and the 9-volume 1997 Gospel Music Discography.
He wrote an article, "Black Catholic Liturgy" in TELL IT LIKE IT IS,
a Black Catholic catechetical book in 1982. He also wrote "
Mass of Thanksgiving" in FREEING THE SPIRIT, a Black Catholic liturgical magazine,
Spring 1979. He has served as a member of the liturgical planning
committee for the National Black Catholic Congress in Chicago 2002;
the planning committee for Unity Explosion 1991 in New Orleans; the
Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy Subcommittee on Black Catholic Worship
1984 to 1990; the National Joint Conference of Black Catholic Religious
Planning Committee 1983-1990; and the Black Catholic Theological Symposium 1978.
In the past, he began the Youth Gospel Choir
at Our Lady of Lourdes and the St. Joseph the Worker Youth Choir. He began
the Black Saints Celebrations for the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1984 to 1991.
He has been a presenter on Worship for Black Catholics at the National
Black Congress Pastoring in Black Parishes Workshop and at Unity Explosion
Conferences in Dallas, Houston, Birmingham and New Orleans. He is the
contributing author to the book, SWEET, SWEET SPIRIT: Prayer Services
from the Black Catholic Church, in 2006.
He serves as a member of the Diocesan Liturgical
Commission of Belleville, IL, and as the choir director of the Althoff Gospel Crusaders.
He works with the Archbishop James P. Lyke Liturgical Conferences; and is chairperson of
Lyke Conference 2005 in St. Louis. He is the convener and facilitator of
Go Down Moses Retreats for African American Catholic Young Men. He has worked
with KUJENGA Youth Leadership Programs in Chicago and assists KUJENGA in the
St. Louis/Belleville area.
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