Some rights reserved. Was Performed at the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis, MO. Peter Claver reached stature as a saint of God having watched closely a leader in this work, Father Alfonso de Sandoval, a great Jesuit missionary who spent forty years in the service of the slaves, and after working under him, Peter Claver, having reached a spiritual pinnacle in his own self-understanding, declared himself the slave of the Negroes forever. Although, by nature shy and lacking to degree self confidence, Claver threw himself into the work and pursued it with enthusiasm, method and organization. Were it not for a miracle, the poor Father, to the very end a victim to the devils rage, would have been tossed off and perhaps killed. For the infirm he would come out of his stuffy box and often set them on his knees so as to accommodate them more easily, and after he was through, he would invite them all for a little breakfast. A Sister of St. Peter Claver. O, holy brother of my soul, what a field lies here opened to your zeal! After his ordination in 1616, he dedicated himself by special vow to the service of the Negro slaves-a work that was to last for thirty-three years. Names like Francis Xavier, Francis Borgia, Robert Bellarmine, Alphonsus Rodriguez, Peter Canisius, Aloysius Gonzaga, John Francis Regis, and Andrew Bobola gave testimony to the good foundation laid by a wise father who was shortly to be canonized. What the good priest restored in these unloved and abused people was inestimable it was their sacred dignity, their divine royalty, as adopted brothers of Christ the King.Nor could Claver forget the Negroes one they were sent away from Cartagena. The two men conversed at length, discussing the Catholic position as opposed to the Protestant. The school continued to be operated by the Daughters of the Heart of Mary following the . But when he saw the condition of Africans in the stinking slave pens of Cartagena, Colombia, he became bold and outspoken. Like typhoid, dysentery, scurvy, and incurable ulcers and cancers wreaked havoc, especially among the undernourished blacks. Their bodies were hastily thrown overboard to the sharks. Jn 17:11). St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, SJ (1533-1617) About a third of them died on the forced journey from Africa and many more would lose their lives in the subsequent years . He gulped his final breath of air lying in the arms of his confessor. This steady concourse lasted until nightfall when the Fathers insisted on sending the people away and closing the doors. . At long last, the pilgrim came home to his city, Cartagena. Peter Claver was spiritually mailed to the Cross of Jesus in Cartagena. Kind and patient to all, for some of his penitents he prescribed the remedy of hairshirts and scourges. Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Then he would go unperturbed into a more remote area in order to console the more pathetic cases. Claver left Spain in April 1610 and never returned. The future apostle of the slaves was the youngest in his family, so from the start he knew only how to serve. Then we divided the sick into two groups: one group my companion approached with an interpreter, while I addressed the other group. Claver treated their needy souls almost the same way he treated afflicted bodies. Others were lured like animals into anchored galleons by novel gadgets, bells, magnets, beads, and such gimmicks, only to see the huge vessels glide away from shore. Claver would never recover from this illness. Reports indicate that Medina was upset at O'Connell because he claimed he wasn't paid properl, Saint Christopher Prayer"Motorist's Prayer :" Grant me, O Lord, a steady hand and watchful eye, that no one shall be hurt as I pass by. And in fact, convinced as they were that they had been brought here to be eaten, any other language would have proved utterly useless. There were thirteen prisons in Cartagena. St Peter Claver worked for decades to help enslaved people. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. The ceremony was initiated with a rosary then a mass blessing of the. With a precision-made-second-nature-through-routine, the good father gathered together his little army with their provisions and set out to battle. Only death could drag hi away. Thus the ordeal of being captured by another tribe, sold to European merchants, transported through a horrendous middle passage and ultimately enslaved as a marketable object in the New World -- these were events that were a radical rupture of ones entire spirit, soul and universe. #BreakingNews Housekeeper's Husband Admits to Murder of Beloved Catholic Bishop David O'Connell of Los Angeles, California, Prayer to St. Christopher for Safe Travels and Motorists, #BreakingNews a Catholic Priest and 3 Nuns Killed in a Car Accident in India - RIP, Pope Francis Explains how to Defeat the Devil's 3 Temptations "The divine Word that is Jesus answer to the temptation of the devil. February 17th 1937 was a day upon which a miracle happened. Meanwhile some of his close friends would prepare a splendid repast of the best foods and delicacies, and while the orchestra performed, the jubilant lepers devoured a sumptuous banquet. Claver was buried in the floor off the sacristy of the chapel of the Jesuit residence. Heartfelt Condolences to Fatima Sister Fr. And for the longest time no one but God and the saints of heaven knew what the holy man was going through. Carrying two baskets of oranges, lemons, sweet biscuits, and I know not what else, we hurried toward them. On September sixth, two Negroes carried Father Claver to the chapel where he received Holy Communion with the devotion of a seraph. St Peter is known as the "Apostle to the Slaves." Tellingly, she named it after the Jesuit who tried to alleviate the suffering of African slaves transported to South America in the early seventeenth century, is estimated to have personally baptised around 300,000 people, and became the patron saint of slaves and seafarers. mountelizabeth.com.sg. 6212NH Maastricht. Slavery evolved into legalized discrimination and segregation in the so-called democratic experiment. The entire city came out to pay him their respects. Of course, such lacks of concern meant a higher mortality rate, and consequently, lower profits; so, though such appalling cruelty did occur, it was not routine. After receiving Baptism from John in the Jordan, Jesus was called by the Father my beloved Son (Mt 3:17), and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove (cf. After he had performed the sacred ceremony to the great joy of the young Negress and the whole household, she instantly dozed off in death to retrace the steps she had previously taken, this time clothed in the proper wedding garment. He was a shining light in a dark time. And did not Jesus assure us, of such is the kingdom of God? In youth his piety and love of study won general admiration, and every preferment was open to him, but zeal for his neighbor's salvation led . Guest: Sister Maria Philomena, M.I.C.M. Claver was less successful in his efforts to make converts among the Muslims who came to Cartagena to do business, but he managed to bring a number of Moors and Turks to the faith, though one held out for thirty years before succumbing, and even then a vision of our Lady was required to convince him. Settling the New World and stealing from that New World brought with it the necessity of cheap labor, human labor . It would be a tangent too labor-some for the continuity of this article to demonstrate at any length how forcefully and wisely the Catholic Church has handled the slavery problem throughout its history. (Fakhri B. Maluf, Ph.D.), RIP Prior: Brother Andr Marie, M.I.C.M. The saint refused to rest until he had thoroughly expurgated these unholy interferences which, among the slaves, were always connected with the sin of drunkenness. John Asare-Dankwah ran the St Peter Claver church in New Orleans' historic Treme neighborhood from 2014 until early 2021, when a lawsuit alleging that he raped a boy on an out-of-state overnight trip years earlier prompted church officials to indefinitely suspend him from his role. In a short while, when these poor creatures were fattened up a little and washed, they would be auctioned off in the market place and sometimes end up far away. Many of these castaways seemed to be miraculously sustained while waiting for Father Claver to find them, and baptize or confess them before they should die. The Church has always had a difficult time influencing the worlds of business and commerce. Claver showed them that they were loved even more than they were abused, and that divine love must not be outraged by evil ways, by cruelty and lust. There they stood looking at a man they knew so well, whose holiness, ecstasies, and extraordinary virtues had so inspired them, and yet perhaps not a few accused themselves of not having profited enough by his presence among them. He was sent to study at the University of Barcelona. It didnt come quickly. St. Peter Claver Sterling Silver Oval Pendant, Practical Practice of Fasting with Fr Dwight Longenecker, 10 important things to consider during Lent, The Happy Priest on Lent, Happiness and the Call to Selfless Love, Daily Readings for Tuesday, February 28, 2023, St. Hilary, Pope: Saint of the Day for Tuesday, February 28, 2023, Lenten Prayer: Prayer of the Day for Monday, February 27, 2023. Nor was the saint known to into ecstasies at the altar. He would never let it go beyond a half-hour because he felt that a lengthy Mass in the tropical heat would stifle devotion rather than kindle it. He became almost entirely inactive, but would sometimes hear confessions, especially of his dear friend Doa Isabella de Urbina who had always generously supported his work with her money. Holding up the crucifix on a staff for all to see, he let them behold what their sins had done to their Creator. However, the monarchs, principally in Spain, did often lash out against the horrid abuses of a greedy and ugly system that they should never even have tolerated. To prevent excessive dampness, someone had thought of building up a mound with a mixture of tiles and broken pieces of brick. The most illustrious of his many conversions was that of an English prelate and his Protestant confreres. St. Peter Claver Peter was born of a distinguished family in Catalonia, Spain in 1581. He performed no important negotiations, established or reformed no religious order, made no brilliant changes of places or circumstances. Category. They had no charitable funds at their disposal, no plaudits from well-disposed audiences; they were hampered and discouraged by the owners and often rebuffed by the slaves themselves. Such demonic phenomena were not uncommon among the uncivilized races. Once the authorities woke up to this situation when a complaint was brought forward that Father Claver was in the habit of re-baptizing Negroes! Lord, for love of you St. Peter Claver became the faithful servant of slaves. The descendant of these six hundred English and Dutch converts can be seen to this very day in their blond-haired, blue-eyed progeny whom one may see walking the streets of Cartagena. The slightest incentive from the slave hunters, whether it be tinkling bells or sparkling gems, would move tribal chief to wage petty wars for the sole purpose of selling their prisoners for such unworthy profit. During Lent and on the major feat days, he would go about the city inviting all to a thorough house cleaning. In truth, it was a blessed form of servitude for those eighteen Negroes. Again he sent a formal letter asking his superiors to grant his request. No sin, he assured them, was too great for Jesus to forgive in confession. Shortly after midnight, on the feast of Our Ladys Nativity September 8th, his face, which had the aspect of one ravished in God, suddenly took on the features of a man utterly exhausted. All it needed was this seed from the wise master, Alonso. It officially closed in. Peter Claver was seventy-one years old. Spain of the 17th century proceeded with an unscrupulous imperialism, taking to the treacherous seas to pursue conquest in land, gold, silver, jewels, spices, sugar and tobacco. When he is evilly spoken of, he is dumb. Peter Claver was a man with a mission. Though Father Sandoval, the founder of the slave apostolate, had only just initiated his new assistant in the care of the blacks, the veteran missioner was shortly thereafter recalled to Peru; consequently, he had to bestow the entire apostolate upon Father Claver. Two years later there was another miracle at the church, and then another, and another. Then he fell to his knees by her bed and prayed for an hour. As for his meals, even these meager refreshments were half devoured by the ungrateful wretch before the saint ever received them. As the saying goes, only love can afford to be severe. The walls of Cartagena silently echoed the solemn news as it was piously whispered in every corner, The Saint is dying! Due to the importance of this apostolate, Rome was willing to allow an exception to its canon forbidding clerics to own slaves. The priest watched as the saint caressed the ulcerous patient like a mother, and then put his lips to the most pestiferous of his sores. To me it is a miracle ! Having finished this, his foremost priority, he turned his attention to the others. Into this fire we tossed aromatics. 1- Peter Heals the Crippled Beggar, Acts 3 1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayerat three in the afternoon. He became the apostle of Cartagena as well as of the Africans and in so huge a work was aided by God with those gifts that particularly pertain to apostles, of miracles, of prophecy and of reading hearts. When he was only thirteen, his mother Ana died, and within the same month his twenty-year-old brother followed her to the grave. very silent and reserved. Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. Enslaved people were brought over from Africa to work the sugar fields. When sailors sailed into town the vices and disorder of the port and other disturbances increased. I will send more when I can. The fact that Father Claver was able to open the kingdom of heaven to over three hundred thousand Negroes was due in no small degree to the help of his African co-workers. It was their privilege to be the slaves of the slave of slaves. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. St. Peter Claver was canonized in 1888 by Leo XIII, along with Alphonsus Rodriguez. #Saint pf September 9 : St. Peter Claver a Miracle Worker and the Patron of #Racism, Slaves and #AfricanAmericans. To care for the slaves he must totally subject his own flesh and subdue it. The Gospel of this first Sunday of Lent presents to us Jesus in the desert, tempted by the devil (cf. The following incident illustrates the struggle of the saint to overcome nature. But when he spoke to them he spoke exactly of what they would expect a priest to speak about: God, heaven and hell. But the conclusion cannot be avoided that only the worst of the Spanish masters can be compared with, say, the English slave-owners of Jamaica in the 17th to 18th centuries, whose physical cruelty was no less than fiendish and diabolical by report. Shop St. Peter Claver, St. Peter Claver was born at Verdu, Catalonia, Spain, in 1580, of impoverished parents descended from ancient and distinguished families. It was Father Claver. The Miracle That Led To St. Peter Claver's Canonization. Two or three times a week the saint would go succor these poor specimens of what were once healthy men and women. A rich merchant once called him to his house to give the sacraments to a dying Negro who was one mass of ulcers. There were two hospitals in Cartagena, one for general cases, served by the Brothers of St. John of God; this was St. Sebastians hospital; and another, of St. Lazarus, for lepers and those suffering from sexually transmitted disease. When he is despised and neglected, he is still dumb. Suddenly the bearded padre would appear like an avenging angel, whip in hand (the same one he applied unmercifully to himself), and he descended on the wicked party with wrath, terrifying the guilty, and carrying off the devils spoils- i.e., drums or other instruments. Nor could he appreciate any human consolation now, as his soul had already begun to break the web that so finely separated him from the vision of his Desire. He was received into the novitiate of Tarragona at the age of 20 and was sent to the college of Montesione at Palma in Majorca, Spain. Junior Knights and Junior Daughters of KPC, Inc. Coming quickly upstairs, Brother Nicolas found Claver on the floor, having passed from this life to the next. After this we began an elementary instruction about baptism, that is, the wonderful effects of the sacrament on body and soul. Claver made use of pictures, in accordance with standard catechetical pedagogy of the time, showing our Lord suffering on the cross for them; above all did he try to instill in them some degree of self respect, to give them at least some idea that as redeemed human beings they had dignity and worth, even if as slaves they were outcast and despised. . Claver enlisted bands of assistants, cajoling these people whether by money, goods or services, and as soon as a slave ship entered the port Claver dropped everything and went to wait on its living freight. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. slavery is gone but many of its effects remain; remain not only on the Blacks but also on the Whites. As a dressing for the wounds of the whipping, he wore over them a soothing full-length hairshirt. Many of these poor unfortunates had been torn from their families in their prime of life. Many a despairing man who had been confined to bed due to the physical consequences of an irregular life would find the supernatural peace through the encouragement and charity of good Father Peter. One he always made use of was a very amateurish, one might even respectfully say ugly, representation of the Judgment. Though there was a time when his fellow Jesuits criticized Father Claver for his childlike methods of catechetics, nevertheless, for the childlike slaves, the basic-ness of Claver usually hit its mark fast. In fact, the saint used to spend hours just on the Sign of the Cross alone. Leader: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: All: as it was in the beginning, is now . St. Peter Claver Parish, which was founded in 1886 and administered by the Holy Ghost (Spiritan) Fathers, was Philadelphia's first designated African American parish. Agustinus Seran, SVD - Pastor 1203 North Nebraska Ave., Tampa, FL 33602 Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Mass Times Weekend Masses: Saturday Vigil - 4:00 pm Sunday Morning - 10:00 am *Haitian Creole Mass - 1:00 pm Daily Masses Wednesday - 9:00 am Friday - 8:00 am Confession Schedule After three years, the time had come for Rodriguez to speak more clearly to Claver in regard to his vocation, as the Divine Master had done with His Apostles after His three years with them. The methods this apostle used to restore life or health was often quite out of the ordinary. Brother Rodriguez was an old man when he first laid eyes on the new student from Barcelona, but holiness knows no age; it matures and grows, but it is still the Presence of God in a soul. They needed a voice to ease their burden, not to make it heavier with bitterness and anger. Father Peter Claver never fully recovered consciousness and died two days later on the birthday of Mary, the Mother of God, September 8, about two oclock in the morning, in the year of our Lord 1654. For two months, these blacks had been chained and shackled below deck in a floating hell, the men in one compartment, the women in another. Mt 4:1-11). Like an angel of mercy, the black-robed friar would arrive at the colony with the gifts that he had begged in the market place: oranges, bananas, preserves, sweet cakes, and soothing medicines. This sacred and historical shrine is the site of the only Vatican authenticated miracle in a Midwestern church. Because it is an excellent building material, miners started excavating the mountain some 1,000 years ago. They knew he meant what he said and what he said was true. 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