Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. The holy family fled at night into Eygpt to spare His life from Heord so our Blessed Lord was born in a cave which no one would expect for the King of kings. EWTN host discusses the remarkable life of Father Augustus Tolton during the 125th anniversary year of his death. The world is saved ultimately by our being victims. We are inspired by Toltons courage and innocent determination in face of incredible race prejudice typical of that bygone era but for which we now take as a source of inspiration for the work that remains in the 21st century. endstream endobj startxref Tolton is the first African American ordained for the priesthood in the United States. A religious figure like Tolton arises with unique inspiration amidst the chasms that remain apparent between black and white races in this country. Getting the Order of Treatment Right in the Field Hospital of the Catholic Church, Bishop Paprocki Pens Essay Imagining Heretical Cardinals, Quoting San Diegos McElroy, Heres How Half of US Abortions Could Be Stopped This Week, Catholic Bookstore Sues Jacksonville Over Law it Says is a Trans Pronoun Mandate. His congregation was largely poor, ill-educated ex-slaves, with all the resultant ills of depression and violence attending those who, for varying reasons, had given up on life. 0000012723 00000 n Jesus experienced the worse that a man could deal out to another and, therefore, leaves us an example. His father, Peter, was an honest and good man well liked by his slave owner for whom he worked hard. His ministry helped lay the foundation for a truly Catholic gathering in faith in our time. The slaveholders, the Elliots, had all their slaves Augustus Tolton Quote Catholic Quote Catholic Nursery - Etsy GloryBePrints 4,004 sales | Fr. Learn about six holy lives in an upcoming EWTN documentary. 1886: Augustus Tolton was ordained at St. John Refused seminary training in this country because of his race, these same sympathetic priests and nuns helped him to receive a proper education and eventually seminary formation in Rome. 0000051258 00000 n The cross of Christ is the Fathers will and was present even at His miraculous birth.No one can earn or has a right to the priesthood because it is not career but rather a vocation,consequently a calling from God Himself. He tackled it head on with sermons reminding all listening that as children of God there was but one Father and whatever you do to the least you do to Him. Catch a new episode of They Might Be Saints.. By all accounts, his mother, having continued to work as a priests housekeeper died an equally holy death in 1911. Just outside the train station he had been seen to stumble and then collapse on the city street. 63 0 obj <> endobj xref 63 23 0000000016 00000 n I must now give praise to that son of the Emerald Isle, Father Peter McGirr, pastor of St. Peters Church in Quincy, who promised me that I would be educated and who kept his word. In this Church we do not have to fight for our rights because we are black. This same year, the Civil War ends on April 26. But Father McGirr and the sisters who ran the school knew they needed to prepare both parents and students for the schools first black student. Toltons sanctity emerges from an experience of the cross. Written By: Augustus Tolton, in full John Augustine Tolton, also called Augustine John Tolton and Father Gus, (born April 1, 1854, Brush Creek, Ralls county, Mo., U.S.died July 9, 1897, Chicago, Ill.), American religious leader who is regarded as the first African American ordained as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church (see Researchers Note). His journey of deliverance from slavery and discrimination offers potent imagery for anyone who finds inspiration from his life when suffering persecution because of ones faith or ones race. He also found time to help start a Catholic school for Blacks. New York Times, November 11, 1889, The Catholic Church deplores a double slavery that of the mind and that of the body. 0000005284 00000 n Fr. Around his bedside were the hospital chaplain who had administered the Last Rites, some nuns praying, and his mother. This victimization is placed on the altar of worship daily through the lives of people all over. Nonetheless, as detected in his handwritten letters to personages and church authority figures, he felt keenly the humiliations inflicted by others, that underneath he felt deeply the sting of verbal assaults and impatience others threw at him, the harshness and humiliations inflicted upon him, and he felt deeply the indignities and insults his people suffered. Tolton always showed himself refined maintained undoubtedly by a great fortitude of spirit within. No one understood how impossible that was. PRAYERS CARDS, NEWLETTERS, AND BROCHURES: For prayer cards, newsletters, and brochures, call 312.534.8376 or write Bishop Joseph N. Perry at the Archdiocese of Chicago: 3525 South Lake Park Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60653. https://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/store/title/from-slave-to-priest-1#, http://www.dio.org/tolton/tolton/videos-about-father-tolton.html, https://www.ltp.org/p-2539-father-augustus-tolton-a brief-biography-of-a-faithful-priest-and-former-slave.aspx, Call 312.534.8376 or writeBishop Joseph N Perry, Archdiocese of Chicago, 3525 South Lake Park Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60653. 1873: Tutoring begins in preparation for the seminary. He faced both racial opposition and triumph over the course of his priesthood. Site Map ; Contact Us ; Privacy Policy Facets of the Church coopted what society legislated by norm and practiced by lawless custom as regards the races. " vXp/n*%kPD\CDkAA43J~]*+a$/ :J\]cN$8NOdp4vE. or school. McGirr knew the frustration and sadness that clung to the outwardly smiling Gus Tolton. His employers liked him; he worked hard and was reliable. 0 We cannot know the Christ unless we know him crucified, says St. Paul. endstream endobj 349 0 obj <. They ran through several nights to the Mississippi River and Hannibal, Missouri, where they were about to be apprehended by Confederate soldiers before two Union soldiers stepped in to defend them. He wrote to every seminary in the country and all gave him the same answer: We arent ready to accept a Negro. Augustus superiors at the Propagation told him to accept Archbishop Feehans invitation and to go to Chicago at once. In Chicago, Father Gus was made pastor of all Black Catholics in the city. He also found a cultured and holy priest, one who complained of nothing and prayed for everything. By BLACKCATHOLIC: My Writings Featured On Other Catholic Platforms, BLACKCATHOLIC Fervorinos: Brief Faith Talks to Get Your Faith Going videos Links and Transcripts, To The Questions You Might Have About BLACKCATHOLIC, Holy Brothers: Black Catholic Men Saints and Holy Ones, Saintly Sistas: Black Catholic Women Saints and Holy Ones, Patron Saint of BLACKCATHOLIC: Ven. He was a bright light in a dark time. 309 0 obj <>stream Web1882: The lower level of St. Marys Church in Chicago becomes Chicagos first Negro parish. Augustus Tolton was the first recognized African American Catholic priest. Blacks were considered inferior and were begrudgingly accepted, if at all, in the social groupings and institutions that made up America. Society and the Church did not allow Tolton to do these priestly things so easily assigned to him. So its important to pray for Ignatius, as well as for those who may be against him. Tolton had brought to Quincy was now loosed upon a poor district of Chicagos south side. What message is God sending through repeated instances of human agony and crucifixion? The funeral was at St. Monica Church, 36th and Dearborn Street on July 12. He never was to study at a seminary in the United States. At times you were publicly exposed to insult and trial; at other times you associated yourselves with those who were being so dealt with do not, then surrender your confidence; it will have great reward. If the United States has never before seen a black priest, it must see one now. On 9 July 1897, he died as a priest should worn out in the care of his flock. His time in Quincy, though, was short-lived. trailer <]/Prev 469030>> startxref 0 %%EOF 85 0 obj <>stream Ted Turner Dedication Whether side by side or miles apart we are sisters. That day, however, there was one who stood apart from the crowd and quietly watched with tears in her eyes as her son returned to her a priest. He was an apt scholar. It was the priests of the Church who taught me to pray and to forgive my persecutors it was through the direction of a Sister of Notre Dame, Sister Herlinde, that I learned to interpret the Ten Commandments; and then I also beheld for the first time the glimmering light of truth and the majesty of the Church. Seven years after Augustine, or Gus as he was known, was born, war broke out between the States. He was more than a fundraiser though. Father Tolton modeled all this in its fullness and this is why he is remembered to this day especially in the black Catholic community. We find no evidence of outburst in him in face of what he endured. It baffles my mind to see or hear of any Christians discriminating against anyone, especially when Christians show racial bias against a fellow brother or sister in Christ. From the time he was 14, he served Mass every morning before going to work or school. A gentleness of spirit best describes his personality in such wise that the inquirer cannot detect any irritability in him. You need patience to do Gods will and receive what he has promised. [10, 32-33; 35-36]. WebO God, we give you thanks for your servant and priest, Father Augustus Tolton, who labored among us in times of contradiction, times that were both beautiful and paradoxical. His story is one of suffering service. Augustine Tolton ~z'bct3rCYv kt\L@w !^tJa`stV^Oq!^6 zQP04ib@jhXZ8@%`fH &r\\d0Sa+llHV3BRS$h1M 'q"@SX80X?`pAA2f& G5c $uCV*L*XC`]*(x'@ ] endstream endobj 64 0 obj <>>> endobj 65 0 obj <> endobj 66 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/TrimBox[0.0 0.0 612.0 792.0]/Type/Page>> endobj 67 0 obj <> endobj 68 0 obj <>stream Toltons homecoming caused a stir. The world is filled with suffering peoples. 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