 As long time members of the Catholic Church, Black Catholics have become saints. In fact, over the last nine years since I been teaching college level courses, I have an accumulated research count of 701 Black Catholic Saints. Saint Josephine Bakhita from the Sudan made 701 in 2000. While keeping a running total, I have also realized that many saints were unnamed as groups were martyred and no records of names remain( for example, the Martyrs of Alexandria in 261 A.D. and Saint Maurice of Aganaum and Companions around 237 A.D.) The Martyrs of Alexandria were canonized due to their heroic virtue of assisting plague victims and burying the dead. There were no miracles, only countless acts of bravery as Christians in hiding risked their lives by coming to the aid of those affected by the plague. In Aganaum, St. Maurice and his companions(6,000 soldiers ) were martyred by Emperor Maximian as they refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods. These are just a few examples of the many unnamed saints. These have not been included in the 701 tally. This total only reflects specifically named individuals who can be identified with their approximate dates of martyrdom.
These specific individuals lead interesting lives and showed extraordinary courage in their martyrdom. The lives of the Black Catholic Saints should be studied and emulated just as their European counterparts. Black Catholic Saints have been omitted from books on the lives of the saints. The one clear exception to this omission is St. Martin de Porres who was born in Lima, Peru to a freed slave and Spanish nobleman. St. Martin de Porres is known for his cures, visions and universal care for the sick and dying. He is certainly a saint to embrace but what of the other identified 700 saints? When will the African American Catholic Community and the world embrace them?
Continue article on next page
Return to start of article
|
|
