Dr. Darrell St. Romain, a scholar and organist, reflects on studying Gregorian chant and its potential to enrich Black Catholic worship.

By Dr. Darell St. Romain, Guest Writer |  Black Catholic Messenger

Introduction: The Crucible of Black Catholic Culture

My identity as a church musician was forged in the rich crucible of the Black Catholic aesthetic. Growing up during the 1990s and 2000s at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I received all my sacraments of initiation within a parish community that remains the spiritual home of my parents, stepmother, and grandparents today. This era was arguably a contemporary golden age for Black Catholicism in the United States—a period marked by vibrant community growth and the prominent leadership of active African American Bishops presiding over their own dioceses. St. Paul’s was, and remains, a quintessential Black Catholic parish, staffed by the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), a missionary congregation historically renowned for producing the largest number of African American Bishops in the country.