Often the skin on the backs and shoulders of those too weak to help themselves would be worn to the very bone from the constant motion of the waves and rubbing of their flesh on the damp planks.Apparently these slave hustlers were the very dregs of Christian Europe. The Africans, themselves, profited by the use of slave labor; the Mohammedans made a religion of it; the Egyptian built their civilization by it; the Greek philosophers were left free to leisurely contemplate reality on account of it; the Romans conquered and disciplined the world through it; the Chinese built walls to keep out foreigners by it; Germans goose-stepped to it; the Hebrews of the Old Testament, though they had laws protecting slaves, profited by it; and the One-Worlders of our day would like to revive it, as they have been attempting to do on a world scale by their monetary power. Nothing could be done to keep them away. If ever there was an ugly stain upon the birth of a nation, it was the stigma of the slave trade in the foundation of the Americas. Jn 17:11). Thousands of times, during his forty years in the world of pain, he would take off that cloak and use it. The slave of the slaves believed in simplicity. When he is evilly spoken of, he is dumb. Two orders, the Trinitarians and the Order of Mercy had this for their object. One day, after offering a funeral Mass for one of these converts, he decided to visit the obstinate patient. As the saying goes, only love can afford to be severe. The school continued to be operated by the Daughters of the Heart of Mary following the . There were government officials, businessmen, merchants, seamen, miners, plantation owners, engineers and middlemen whose lives profited from this nefarious trade; among them Jews and Christians of various denominational traditions who rationalized this sordid enterprise. He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and after his novitiate in Taragona was sent to the college of . He had felt the nails, he had habitually endured the bitterness of lifes vinegar and gall, he had been mocked; but as yet Claver was never alone. ST. PETER CLAVER CATHOLIC CHURCH Rev. But four long years would be needed before the consuming affliction would liberate him forever. Was Performed at the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis, MO. Thou gavest life, I pray no act of mine may take away or mar that gift of Thine (continues below). So great was Clavers love for Tunga that he was prompted upon his deathbed to confer upon that monasterys novices his greatest treasure- the spiritual writings of good Brother Alonso- which he has guarded jealously though his arduous life. The saint would never complain. He obtained his first degrees at the University of Barcelona. It was reckoned that there would be a loss in each cargo by death during the six or seven weeks voyage of a least a third. All witnesses of the miracle agree that when the man of God arrived at his friends house, to cure the sick girl, he found the maiden quite cold and dead. Those who were baptized looked beautiful and happy, while those who were not, looked ugly and were about to be gobbled up by hideous monsters from hell. Sometimes the Mother of God herself appeared to certain of the infidels to rebuke them for not listening to Father Claver. In fact, he was the first Jesuit ordained in Cartagena. Another saint whom he had known at school in Majorca, Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, revealed his road in life to him. Instantly his conscience accused him, and ashamed of his cowardice, he retired to a corner of the room and delivered himself a brutal scourging, confessing all the while his fault in not loving enough one who was redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ. Such demonic phenomena were not uncommon among the uncivilized races. Learn interesting facts and tidbits about the beloved St. Patrick. With their help, he was able to teach the Gospel with words that could be understood. Pius IX, who beatified Peter Claver, branded the slave trade supreme villainy. The most vociferous of all was Pope Paul III. The Mass was part of a nationwide Day of Fasting and Prayer called for by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to acknowledge the sin of racism and to seek racial justice and healing. He was much more than that to the Negroes. Established in 1909, in an era of state-sanctioned racial and ethnic discrimination, the Knights of Peter Claver forged into a service organization for the entire family founded on Black. On that day Fr. According to reports Medina faces up to 35 years to life in prison for the murder. The trade had recently been given a considerable impetus, for the local Indians the natives- were deemed not physically fitted to work in the gold and silver mines and so there was this big demand for blacks from Angola and Congo. In this prison there were detained slaves, who re-lived the dark pagan rituals in the hot forest nights, side by side with certain clerics who would not keep their vow of chastity. Be at my window and direct me through when the vision blurs From out of the blue. Peter Claver was a man with a mission. The fatigue of this Lenten routine was aggravated unmercifully by the excruciating heat, the bite of mosquitoes, and the stinging itch of a full ankle length hairshirt that the holy confessor wore beneath his cassock next to his body. He avoided food, rest and recreation and other pleasures popularly considered, lest such should divert him from his spiritual path. He brought them anything they desired: tobacco, sweets, good books, cakes, even paper and a pen to write letters with. What! One can hear the experts on the psychology of the underprivileged gasp- How dare he arouse guilt complexes with these victims of white racism!. The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary were founded in 1949 by Father Leonard Feeney, M.I.C.M. The St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church records house the institutional records of the St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In fact, the saint used to spend hours just on the Sign of the Cross alone. The fleet of three galleons set sail on April 10, 1610. So severe were the lashings that the neighbors shuddered when they heard the sound of them in the still of the night air. There were times when he even raised the dead with it. Lord, for love of you St. Peter Claver became the faithful servant of slaves. I love Thee very much, and he would have them repeat it many times over, I love Thee much, very, very much, while striking their breasts, his face and theirs bathed in tears. In those days, there was hardly such a thing as racial prejudice. . 2023 Knights of Peter Claver #Saint pf September 9 : St. Peter Claver a Miracle Worker and the Patron of #Racism, Slaves and #AfricanAmericans. Nor could he appreciate any human consolation now, as his soul had already begun to break the web that so finely separated him from the vision of his Desire. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. St. Christopher, holy patron of travelers, protect me, and lead me safely to my destiny. The religious there used to say that their welcome friend, Father Claver, did the work of forty men. Pius II (whose Patron was a slave) did so in 1462, calling slavery a great crime. Urban VIII (1539) strongly opposed it. As one of Clavers biographers put it: In an age where man could become so subhuman, others were needed who were superhuman.. Once for the Negroes, when having heard of the arrival of a slave ship laden with blacks from a notoriously barbaric area, he had himself carried in a litter to the dock to greet them. The Apostle of Cartagena worse a serious face. St Peter is known as the "Apostle to the Slaves." Tellingly, she named it after the Jesuit who tried to alleviate the suffering of African slaves transported to South America in the early seventeenth century, is estimated to have personally baptised around 300,000 people, and became the patron saint of slaves and seafarers. Since I am a bad priest, God no longer desires my services. Peter Claver, the man of action, was struck with a condition of almost total paralysis. Enter your email address to receive notifications by email every time we post something to the site. The fact that Father Claver was able to open the kingdom of heaven to over three hundred thousand Negroes was due in no small degree to the help of his African co-workers. It reminded me of the miracles attributed to Peter Claver. Saint Alphonsus was by occupation what Claver was by name. In the evening, the saint was torn with a violent fever that, together with the intense vehemence of his aspiring love, cast him into a motionless state, in which he lay unconscious, his face betraying in its peaceful composer the transport of love he was undergoing. The end result of that was the old mans conviction that he was in the wrong church. He became the prophet and miracle worker of New Granada, the oracle of Cartagena, and all were convinced that often God would not have spared the city save for him. His labors in the confessional for the holy season would increase threefold. He had a steady confidence that God would care for them and, not his least worry were the slave owners whom he did not deem beyond the mercy of God. He found employment in a local soap factory. The major contagion was smallpox; but others. To Claver, they were all important. How difficult was his task in teaching is shown by the fact that at baptism each batch of ten catechumens was given the same name to help them to remember it. This time he stumbled into the Jesuit residence with a body that could scarcely be recognized. In 1853 Ignatius Strecker had brought his family from Germany to the United States, and in 1861 he was working at St. Louis in a soap factory. Book a Tour Virtual Tour Ways to Give Online Donations St. Peter obtained his first degrees at the University of Barcelona. Reports indicate that Medina was upset at O'Connell because he claimed he wasn't paid properl, Saint Christopher Prayer"Motorist's Prayer :" Grant me, O Lord, a steady hand and watchful eye, that no one shall be hurt as I pass by. All these poor creatures had, was a fire-and-brimstone Jesuit, and he wanted to save them from an eternal misery. Claver plunged himself, body and soul, into relieving the blacks in their dreadful circumstance. Why? Saint Paul, who never actually condemned slavery as such, nevertheless elevated the slave as equal in Gods eyes to the free, thereby inflicting slavery with a mortal wound. Heartfelt Condolences to Fatima Sister Fr. It was an era of expansion. Claver was 73 years old. Though it was Gods will for our saint to be forgotten before he left this life, it was also His will that in death His humble servant be exalted. As the suffering Negroes, who looked more like black skeletons than men, strained their eyes, they could see the figure of a white man in a black robe smiling at them and descending into their midst to welcome them with an embrace. Fr John Asare-Dankwah, who was removed from ministry at St Peter Claver New Orleans in January following a child sex abuse allegation, has countersued his accuser for defamation. 14-141). ". A number of other Englishmen followed his example. No, the saint was moved by nothing less than the love for Christ whom he saw reflected in the least of his brethren. This extraordinary apostle was attracted to the beautiful things of Gods creation, like anyone else. This extreme wealth passing in and out of the port was what attracted the avaricious entrepreneurs to settle there. The walls of Cartagena silently echoed the solemn news as it was piously whispered in every corner, The Saint is dying! Brother Rodriguez was an old man when he first laid eyes on the new student from Barcelona, but holiness knows no age; it matures and grows, but it is still the Presence of God in a soul. A third interment sees Claver today buried under the high altar dressed in priestly vestments while enclosed in glass for the veneration of the faithful. We asked them to make an act of contrition and to manifest their detestation of their sins. The ceremony was initiated with a rosary then a mass blessing of the. There were some whose diseases were so repulsive that no one but Father Claver had the supernatural guts to nurse them. They thought that their blood was going to be used to dye the ships sails, and that their fat to grease her keel. PO Box 6016. In some cases, their terror was so grave that the victims hearts literally froze and they died from shock. At long last, the pilgrim came home to his city, Cartagena. The truck loaded with cement crossed the otherside of the divider after losing control and hit th, POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS Saint Peter's Square Sunday, 26 February 2023 ______________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno! He was unable to take a step. Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike License. No he didnt ignore the needs of whites; he just didnt give them priority. One poor prisoner, won to God by Father Claver, penned these pathetic words in his prayer book after receiving the death sentence: This book belongs to the happiest man in the world. The miracles, the sermons, the labors in the confessional, the work with all the poor and the sick, the charity for all the Negroes, seemed to be temporarily forgotten by all as the saint silently prayed for death to come. Outside the harbor in the Bay of Cartagena, the Spaniards were at one time holding on ships some six hundred English and Dutch Privateers whom they had captured on one of their Granadan island colonies which suffered a temporary takeover at the pirates hands. The Negroes were especially affected; Peter Claver had been a real father to them. There were two blacks, nearer death than life, already cold, whose pulse could scarcely be detected. The holy man seemed to touch everyone. They were especially amazed at the devoutness of the Catholic soldiers. Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The beauty of the world; that thus I may with joy and courtesy go on my way. That seems a lot, considering that the city numbered only about twelve thousand inhabitants before 1650. Africans at that time were abused because they were backward and exploitable, not because they were black. PETER CLAVER, PRIEST. 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