Governor Don Felipe de Neve recruits 11 families to settle on the Porciuncula River–now Los Angeles. The settlers are all Catholic, a mix of Africans, Spanish, and American Indians.

Meanwhile, Maryland’s Black Catholic population grows to 3,000 as a result of Jesuit evangelization in the region, however, recent reports in the New York Times suggest the Jesuit order owned roughly 300 enslaved people, using the profits from sales to sustain the clergy and to finance the construction and the day-to-day operations of churches and schools.

^{Used with permission of the Oblate Sisters of Providence.}

A handful of women from Baltimore’s Haitian refugee colony begin to educate local children in their homes. With the support of the archbishop, in 1829 they create the Oblate Sisters of Providence. The first superior is Elizabeth Lange, born in Cuba of Haitian parents.

^{Used with the permission of the Sisters of the Holy Family}

Founded by Henriette Delille and Juliette Gaudin in New Orleans, the Sisters of the Holy Family become the second religious order for Black women. Biracial and of African descent, the founders are free people of color, a separate class and culture above the slaves at that time. The order ministers to poor Blacks, educating and tending the sick. Henriette Delille is declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

^{The 1892 Congress}

The third Colored Catholic Congress is held in Philadelphia, PA from July 5-7. The gathering was tasked with drawing up a constitution for permanent organization (this action did not come to fruition until 1985). Pictured at center is Venerable Fr. Augustus Tolton.​

^{Used with permission of the Hancock County Historical Society}

The Society of the Divine Word in Greenville, Mississippi, with the blessing of Pope Benedict XV, opens St Augustine’s Seminary, the first seminary for blacks. Some American bishops are still not convinced of the merit of a Black priesthood.

^{Used with permission of Xavier University Archives}

Xavier University in Louisiana (XULA), founded in 1925 by Katharine Drexel and known as the first Black Catholic University, dedicates its present campus on Palmetto St. (now Drexel Drive) on October 12, 1932.

Many Catholic clergy and women religious join the march in Selma, AL, making the Church’s foray into the civil rights struggle for racial equality.

NBCC renews the tradition of gathering Black Catholics from across the country. The first renewed congress, Congress VI, takes place in May of 1987 in Washington, D.C. Since then the NBCC holds a national congress every five years, and each event attracts a growing number of attendees.

^{Image is a still from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) video, courtesy of the USCCB}

Sr. Thea Bowman, addresses the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 1989 from her wheelchair. In 1990, Sr. Thea Bowman passes into eternal life.

^{From In A Word archives, Congress IX in 2002.}

The 9th National Black Catholic Congress gathering is held from August 29-September 1 in Chicago, IL.
With a Declaration of Principles, the Congress IX assembly dedicates themselves to make an effort to embody the healing presence of God’s unconditional love to others and establish justice by living in patterns of the right relationships in a world challenged by human evil and sin.

^{Photo from the NBCC Archives.}

The 11^th National Black Catholic Congress gathering is held in Indianapolis, IN.
Using the findings from a survey of Black Catholics conducted by the NBCC in cooperation with the University of Notre Dame, the Congress XI Pastoral Plan of Action specified ten areas African American Catholics are called to engage in their faith. The complete Pastoral Plan can be found here.

^{Photo courtesy of CNS/Karen Callaway}

The remains of Servant of God (at that time) Augustus Tolton are exhumed and verified

^{Photo from the NBCC Archives}

The Twelfth National Black Catholic Congress gathering is held from July 6-9, in Orlando, Florida. A Pastoral Plan Committee, working together over the course of the Congress gathering, identified seven topics that they believed were critical for Black Catholics to address over the next five years. The Pastoral Plan was issued, along with an implementation guide, to provide ideas and inspiration to parishes for action on these important topics.