African Saints - 02

African Saints: Part [ 1 ] , [ 2 ] , [ 3 ]

Saint Benedict the Moor

St. Benedict the Moor, a lay brother, was born in Sicily in 1526. He was the son of African slave parents, but he was freed at an early age. When about twenty -one he was insulted because of his color, but his patient and dignified bearing caused a group of Franciscan hermits who witnessed the incident to invite him to join their group. He became their leader. In 1564 he joined the Franciscan friary in Palermo and worked in the kitchen until 1578, when he was chosen superior of the group. He carried through the adoption of stricter interpretation of the Franciscan rule. He was known for his power to read people's minds and held the nickname of the "Holy Moor". His life is austerity resembled that of St. Francis of Assisi.

St. Benedict the Moor feast day is April 4th.

Saints Felicitas and Perpetua

Women persecuted for Christianity at Carthage. Perpetua is recorded for having several visions that depicted her death. At death, she called out to the crowds: "Stand fast in the Faith and love one another. Do not let out suffering be a stumbling block to you…" Felicitas was Perpetua's slave. They died together.

Sts. Felicitas and Perpetua feast day is March 6th.

Saint Katharine Drexel (Noteworthy Non-Black)

Once declared the second American born saint. The foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, she dedicated her life to the defense and promotion of Native and African Americans. Her story is unique give her background of power and privilege and wealth.

Katharine Drexel was born in Philadelphia on November 26, 1858. Her family was part of the social and economic elite of America. Her father, Francis Anthony Drexel, shared with his two brothers ownership of an international banking empire that included partnerships with J. P. Morgan in New York and the House of Morgan in London. The family firm eventually became the Wall Street powerhouse Drexel Burnham Lambert,

Katharine's concern for the "Colored people" paralleled her concern for the Indians. Her blood sisters, even though now married, also shared it with her. With the help of her sister Louise, Katharine purchased a sixteen hundred acre tract on the James River near Richmond, Virginia, where she established St. Emma's Industrial and Agricultural Institute for young black men-naming it after her mother. On a piece of the land adjoining it, she had a school for black girls built, and named it St. Francis DeSales after her father. Many whites were opposed to the efforts of the Drexel sisters in favor of the Blacks. Neighbors even burned down the new St. Francis school barn. But nothing daunted Katharine. She traveled throughout the United States, search for opportunities to serve black people.

Katharine's crowning achievement was the Building of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first U.S. Catholic institution of higher education for African-Americans. In 1914 Mother Drexel quietly purchased the abandoned buildings of Louisiana's Southern University for Negroes. Three years earlier, the stat legislature had moved it out of the city because of the objections from the white population.

The constant demand for Mother Katharine finally caught up with her. In 1935, during an extensive visitation to missions in the West, she suffered a heart attack and after that rarely left the Motherhouse in Philadelphia. Coupled with a life of contemplation, she continued to fight for civil rights, funding some of the NAACP's investigations of the exploitation of black workers, and organizing letter-writing campaigns to President Franklin Roosevelt.

African Saints: Part [ 1 ] , [ 2 ] , [ 3 ]