By Deacon Ken Greene | The Catholic Key A brief time after attending the dedication…
May 13, 2026 | Angelus
Anderson Shaw, the quiet visionary who kept LA Black Catholics together
When Anderson F. Shaw was baptized in his early 20s at Holy Name of Jesus Church in the 1960s, Los Angeles was experiencing something of a Black Catholic boom.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, thousands of Black and Creole families from the South — especially from traditionally Catholic pockets of Louisiana — migrated to Southern California in search of better lives. Bringing their faith with them, they worshipped and raised their families in parishes across Greater Los Angeles.
