Pope Leo XIV on May 1, 2026 named two local priests as new auxiliary bishops for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington – Father Gary Studniewski, who is currently serving as pastor of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish in Washington, D.C., and Father Robert Boxie III, who is currently serving as the Catholic chaplain at the Sister Thea Bowman Catholic Student Center at Howard University in Washington.
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A Proper Education: Black Catholic writers and the parochial school
By Aaron Robertson | Commonweal
Nearly seven years ago, I became curious about Black American Catholic fiction for a simple reason: I didn’t know much about Black Catholic history, and I wondered whether novelists had taken it up. I’m not Catholic myself—I grew up Baptist and now identify as agnostic—though much of my writing centers the dynamic spiritual lives of Black Americans, particularly those who have found sacred meaning even as their lives are desacralized by the world around them. Given the scale of the Church’s entanglement with Black American life—from its role in the slave trade to its countless examples of institutionalized exclusion—one would think fiction would have something to say about it. Where are the novels about Vatican II and its reverberations in Black parishes, or the countercultural bent of Black Catholic sisters and brothers in the 1960s?
Woman’s New Life Clinic Celebrates 25 Years of Caring for Women and Babies
Woman’s New Life Clinic (WNLC) began 25 years ago as a belief that God was calling a community to be a sign of love in the world. God honored that act of faith through increasing WNLC’s ability to provide life-affirming care to women with unplanned pregnancies, according to Allison Daigle, WNLC CEO.
The Christian organization honored those who have contributed to its successes at a Saved in Hope Jazz Brunch on April 18 at Ashley Manor.
The Christian organization honored those who have contributed to its successes at a Saved in Hope Jazz Brunch on April 18 at Ashley Manor.
Why Charlotte’s historic Black Catholic church is getting a long-awaited makeover
By Desiree Mathurin | The Charlotte Observer
An over 70-year-old historic Black Catholic Church in north Charlotte is set to receive a much-needed multimillion-dollar makeover. The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte has agreed to pay at least $4 million to help Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church repair its deteriorating facilities.
Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article315551088.html#storylink=cpy
New Shrine Announced to Honor First US-Born African American Priest
EXCLUSIVE: On Venerable Augustus Tolton, former slave-turned-Catholic priest: ‘He carried his crosses in life quietly and heroically,’ says Bishop Thomas Paprocki.
Jonah McKeown | National Catholic Register
The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is set to establish a shrine honoring Venerable Father Augustus Tolton — the first African American Catholic priest born in the U.S. — at a former parish church in the priest’s hometown of Quincy, Illinois.