By this time the slave trade had been established in the Americas for nearly a hundred years and the port of Cartagena was one of its principal centers, being conveniently situated as a clearing house for auctions and sales. St. Peter Claver. This was his city. Often the English and French seawolves would prey on the Granadan coastline, firing cannon balls and wielding swords, looking for an opportune time to land and loot the city. Though it was Gods will for our saint to be forgotten before he left this life, it was also His will that in death His humble servant be exalted. To the masters and slave owners Claver appealed for physical and spiritual justice, for their own sakes no less than for that of their slaves. In Clavers time wars between and among European monarchs raged, one bloody feud after another, they seemed endless. Large numbers of the sick were lying on the wet ground or rather in puddles of mud. Daily his loving eyes would have to wrest their gaze from the Spotless Host lest he should allow his devotion to get the better of him. Pages could be written about the glorious role ex-slaves played in the history of the Church- and not only ex-slaves, but actual slaves, like Saint Felicitas, who is mentioned in the Canon of every Mass along with her holy mistress, Saint Perpetua, whom she refused to be separated from, even in death. The Sisters of St Peter Claver were founded by Blessed Theresa Ledchowska. Thousands of times, during his forty years in the world of pain, he would take off that cloak and use it. Through his prayer help us to see the true dignity of the human family, all children of one father and to spend ourselves for their salvation. SoundCloud Ep. The tortured body of Father Claver, which the saint never ceased to submit to the hairshirt and discipline, could barely contain the ghost. The medal had the Holy Name of Jesus on one side and of Mary on the other. (Fakhri B. Maluf, Ph.D.), RIP Prior: Brother Andr Marie, M.I.C.M. He studied at the Jesuit college of Barcelona, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Tarragona in 1602 and took his final vows on August 8th, 1604. There were times when he even raised the dead with it. Having inquired as to the cause, he was informed that Father Diego Farigna had arrived with the Spanish fleet, and that this was the priest who had received the commission from the King to continue the work of baptizing the Negroes. black labor. However, it also drew pirates. Dedicated to a South American human rights pioneer whose remains still rest there today, Sanctuary of Saint Peter Claver exudes a sense of tranquility. That entire day our young hero was unable to shake off the experience and walked about as if he were not on earth. St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, SJ (1533-1617) Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! He was a shining light in a dark time. In the forty years of Saint Peter Clavers labor, this ecclesiastical office only sentenced two men to death, and sad to say, only one of these incorrigibles died repentant; the other departed the world uttering vicious blasphemies. But it would be inaccurate to label Father Claver as some kind of humanitarian. Nor can the Africans themselves escape the blame. Moved by the spirit of these encouragements and a missionary fervor, Peter Claver approached his provincial superior, offering himself for the West Indies and was told that his vocation would be decided in due course --by his superiors. Through his efforts three hundred thousand souls entered the Church. The slave ship is here, he crescendos, then the hook must be baited.. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. A Catholic priest who led one of New Orleans' best-known inner-city churches until being accused of sexually molesting a child has been reported to federal authorities for possible financial crimes. The Saint is dying! Suddenly, the sad reality dawned on the multitude, who awakened as from a trance, and they all, black and white, rich and poor, made their way to the Jesuit house. He was born in 1580 in a little town of Spain called Verdu in the diocese of Solfona and he was baptized Peter. Geography would be forever altered. His bedroom and the room where he died are also preserved to this day in the same place. The fever of discovery proved, unfortunately, the beginning of the extermination of the native peoples. The girls' school, called the St. Joseph's School For Girls (or the Spanish Indian Residential School for Girls), relocated to a 400-acre piece of land next to the St. Peter Claver School in Spanish, Ontario, in 1913; construction of St. Joseph's would not be completed until the following year, however.. When he is overloaded, he is dumb. When the Jesuits finally succeeded in establishing a proper place for the body in the church, the Augustinians came and took over the exhausting job of guarding the casket. One poor prisoner, won to God by Father Claver, penned these pathetic words in his prayer book after receiving the death sentence: This book belongs to the happiest man in the world. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. Benedict XIV lashed out against it in 1741; Pius VII did the same in 1815. Whole parts of their bodies were eaten away by the dreadful disease; some had lost limbs, others had loose parts of their faces; some had scarcely any resemblance to a human exterior remaining, and the odor emanating from their many sores was the worst the apostle anywhere encountered. St. Peter Claver Church maintains its position as a beacon of hope in the Treme Area and is one of the largest Black Catholic parishes in Louisiana. Junior Knights and Junior Daughters of KPC, Inc. She stared at Claver and sighed, Jesus, Jesus how tired I am. Then, pressed by the others to relate what she has seen, she said that as she walked down a long beautiful road, a white man of great beauty stopped her and told her to return, for she could go no further. This life of St. Peter Claver is brought out in order to stimulate vocations to the Negro Missions, which even now have the characteristics of Claver's vocation. The Apostle of Cartagena worse a serious face. So he spoke of eternity, of an everlasting world of joy and another of pain. He obtained his first degrees at the University of Barcelona. And in particular, he applied himself by word and prayer to regain the abandoned priests to a meaningful and holy life. Clavers fame spread throughout the world. As the suffering Negroes, who looked more like black skeletons than men, strained their eyes, they could see the figure of a white man in a black robe smiling at them and descending into their midst to welcome them with an embrace. Kindly pray for their departed Souls and their bereaved family. Claver died fifty years later on the feastday of the Black Virgin, which is also her birthday, September 8th. His order had already achieved amazing success in its missions, its schools, and in its ability to produce saints. Instantly his conscience accused him, and ashamed of his cowardice, he retired to a corner of the room and delivered himself a brutal scourging, confessing all the while his fault in not loving enough one who was redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ. After a wearisome voyage he landed with his companions at Cartagena what is today the coast of modern day Colombia, South America. X-rays later revealed no . THE Apostolate of St. Peter Claver is unique. It was 1602 when he entered their Novitiate in Tarragona. Three solemn funeral Masses were sung, one of which was under the auspices of the Negroes themselves and their choir; while three orators from different orders tried to outdo one another in extolling the virtues of the man who had so inflamed the city. Some were so debased as to sell their own children for gain. Another excess that occupied his zeal and caused him great anxiety was certain pagan festivals and rites that weak Christians sometimes slipped back into. 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. Two years later there was another miracle at the church, and then another, and another. very silent and reserved. But the scanty amount of food proved a blessing to many, who, afflicted with disease, would have been consumed more rapidly if they had had a healthier diet. Famous actor and producer, Mark Wahlberg, age 51, went on NBC's the Today Show to discuss Lent. A St. Peter Claver Catholic Church member burns incense as a part of the church's first Senor de Los Milagros (Lord of Miracles) celebration procession in Tyler on streets near the church. 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 This army was a militia of charity; its commander-in-chief was Father Peter Claver, a Jesuit, the hero of our story. Clasping his feet in their hands, they bade him farewell amid a profusion of sighs and tears. The other priests would then carry him to his cell where, when he revived, the saint would refresh himself with a good scourging and some mental prayer. All these poor creatures had, was a fire-and-brimstone Jesuit, and he wanted to save them from an eternal misery. In Christianity, foremost of the apostles.His name was Simon but according to the gospels Jesus called him from his work as fisherman and gave him the name 'Cephas', the Aramaic equivalent of Greek 'Peter' (petra, 'rock').According to early tradition Peter visited Rome where he was martyred (1 Clement 5, etc. After being brutally beaten, raped, starved, maimed, tortured and terrorized, despite deaths from riots, suicides, lynchings, pestilence and disease, beyond those thrown overboard, an average ten thousand living slaves were landed in Cartagena each year. Though the other young missionaries who were chosen along with our saint received Holy Orders before they departed, Claver decided not to take upon himself the awesome privilege. But his sullen-ness and even the sadness reflected from his deep-set eyes were not the result of his excessive mortification. The very sight of these adandoned lepers was enough to send chills up ones spine. Somehow Claver managed to get out of bed and don a cassock, and the next minute his frail and bent figure, with cane in hand, shuffled up to his successor. Our patron, Peter Claver was a Spaniard, from Spain. His Mass, which followed, was deliberately short. Finally, when they appeared sufficiently prepared, we declared to them the mysteries of the Trinity, the Incarnation and the Passion. The son of a Catalonian farmer, was born at Verdu, in 1581; he died 8 September, 1654. They provided no religious instruction or ministration for their slaves, no alleviation of their physical condition, so that the sacrament of baptism became to the slaves, unfortunately, a sign and symbol of their oppression and wretchedness instead of their salvation. The Negro nurse who was supposed to take care of him was a crude hard-hearted man who had no appreciation for what this great and burdensome invalid had done for his race. Leader: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: All: as it was in the beginning, is now . In 1853 Ignatius Strecker had brought his family from Germany to the United States, and in 1861 he was working at St. Louis in a soap factory. But when he spoke to them he spoke exactly of what they would expect a priest to speak about: God, heaven and hell. The devil, instead, does the opposite: he enters the scene to divide Jesus from the Father and to distra. As one of Clavers biographers put it: In an age where man could become so subhuman, others were needed who were superhuman.. A galleon would contain, besides new immigrants, badly needed supplies and medicines, and of course, news and mail. Episode 361: Whether God Exists? the Five Proofs, The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Outside the Church there is no Salvation (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus), Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire, Brother Francis, M.I.C.M. But it was not without the greatest difficulty, combined with some serious physical aggressiveness, that the sons of Saint Ignatius (with the help of the sons of Saint Augustine), strove to prevent the swelling crowds from literally tearing the saint apart in their efforts to procure relics. They needed a voice to ease their burden, not to make it heavier with bitterness and anger. In all, Sandoval had baptized over thirty thousand slaves; his successor would baptize over three hundred thousand.His face aglow with a supernatural joy, Father Peter would board the slave ship while it was anchored in the harbor, and with the help of his interpreters he would greet the suffering newcomers. 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. His troops- eighteen Negro interpreters, a Jesuit brother, a pious woman or two, and usually some prominent Cartagenian official. Miracles (2) Montessori education (2) New Year (2) O . How many more miracles have taken place in connection with this church over the past 150 years, no one knows. Two orders, the Trinitarians and the Order of Mercy had this for their object. Here he would find them some kind of shelter and nurse them, bringing them food and medicine. Showing them Christ fastened to the cross, as he is depicted on the baptismal font on which streams of blood flow down from his wounds, we led them in reciting an act of contrition in their own language. M.J.K. The Jesuits -Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, Noel Chabanel and their companions have their blood soaked indelibly in American soil around the same time Claver was in Cartagena. In his humility, in order to avoid the attention of the crowd, who would have swarmed about him had they seen him, he had his lame body strapped to a horse in the hopes that the animal would take him swiftly to the leprosarium through the back roads. In despair over not being able to speak to the sick men, the frustrated priest called after her loudly, Magdalena, Magdalena, in the Name of God come back; these are or brothers, redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. At these words the woman sighed a prayer for help and courageously returned. Nothing in Clavers scholastic training, outside of a sincere heart, prepared him for what he would meet on the docks, in the holes of ships and in the slave markets. The slaves, the missions, the hospitals, the prisons, the confessional, over and over again, for four decades, the same monotonous routineHow long shall the ass be thus harnessed Father? the good brother has asked. The Knights of Peter Claver: St. Martin De Porres Council #297 and Ladies Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Francis Court #297 of The Archdiocese of Newark had a 3rd Degree Turnout on Sunday, August 11th, after 10:30 am Mass at Christ The King Church, Jersey City. He loved to entertain. Were we to even put a dent in the accounts of the marvelous miracles performed by our hero we would need a hundred more pages. Devil means divider. Amen. In 1610, he landed at Cartagena (modern Colombia), the principle slave market of the New World, where a thousand slaves were landed every month. The saints searches for the sick and the abandoned took him frequently to the beaches, where occasionally, some poor aged or hopelessly maimed Negro would be dumped off by a heartless master to die. As the transplanted Africans struggled to comprehend the evil that had befallen them, their intrinsic spiritual natures discovered something unique in America they had not seen before a fully articulated ritual relationship with the Supreme Being, who was pictured in the book Christians called the Bible not just as Creator and Ruler, but also as the God of History, a God who lifted up and cast down nations and peoples. After receiving the last sacraments he recovered slightly but he was never the same. Soon it was clear- no cause for alarm- it was only a slave ship. He became the prophet and miracle worker of New Granada, the oracle of Cartagena, and all were convinced that often God would not have spared the city save for him. Claver was 73 years old. Claver felt as if the Holy Ghost had descended on them as He had at Pentecost. While he was studying philosophy at Majorca in 1605, Alphonsus . Claver treated their needy souls almost the same way he treated afflicted bodies. People who truly love God never put on artificial airs of piety, folding their hands and bowing their heads, while they shun sinners as if they were to be despised. Into these yards Peter Claver plunged with medicines and food, bread, brandy, lemons, tobacco to distribute among them, some of whom were too frightened, others too ill to accept them. The most illustrious of his many conversions was that of an English prelate and his Protestant confreres. Then there were the black agents who, under the pay of whites, scoured the coasts with products to sell, often unsheathing concealed weapons in order to take the unsuspecting victims into captivity by force. v. 16). I am sorry for having sinned against thee. Home - Knights of Peter Claver Spreading FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE through Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity Our Faith What you Need to Know Online Store Register Now! He is the patron saint of Colombia, slaves, missionary work to Africans, and seafarers. This collection, which dates from 1904 to 2009, with bulk dates of 1980 to 1994, consists of records and materials evidencing the workings of the church and its community, primarily . A sign of new things over the horizon was registered in the coined term The New World. 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 sailors sailed into town the vices and disorder of the port and other disturbances increased. Permission was not at first granted and Claver was ordered instead to return to the college at Barcelona for more study in theology. Saint Melania, a wealthy Roman matron, freed her 8,000 slaves at once. The Superior of the college arranged for the two of them to spend fifteen minutes a day conversing about spiritual things. This, of course, he had never done, except conditionally in cases of doubt, but he was nevertheless forbidden to baptize in the future. In fact, two Popes, Pius I and Callistus I, had at one time been slaves. His austerities, which will be described later, would make even holy Job shudder. Finally, after a third petition, approval was granted. The first principle in his instructions to his helpers was centered in the corporal works of mercy. In college, Claver met Alphonsus Rodriguez who was a porter at the college and that meeting was to set the direction of Peter Clavers life thereafter. He was an early Pioneer for Human Rites and showed. #Saint pf September 9 : St. Peter Claver a Miracle Worker and the Patron of #Racism, Slaves and #AfricanAmericans. One shipload would average between five and six hundred blacks from as many as fifteen or twenty African nations or tribes. In addition to celebrating the Eucharist, our various ministries include Black Catholic Concerns, Women's Fellowship in English and . The entire city came out to pay him their respects. That seems a lot, considering that the city numbered only about twelve thousand inhabitants before 1650. September 9 marked the Feast of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who ministered to African slaves in Colombia in the 17th century. How difficult was his task in teaching is shown by the fact that at baptism each batch of ten catechumens was given the same name to help them to remember it. He was later exhumed for purposes of the canonical examination and was placed in a cedar coffin and re-interred in the great upper church built to honor his remains. Brother Nicolas was downstairs and heard a noise from the upstairs room where Claver was bedded. They were packed together like sardines in a can, left to wallow in their own sweat, vomit, urine and human waste. These marks of distinction were a legitimate incentive to the others to embrace their benefactors religion, which oddly enough was also the religion of their oppressors.With the sick, Father Claver had no care for precautionary measures of hygiene for himself. Packed together like sardines in a little town of Spain called Verdu in the same in 1815 shelter and them! The Feast of St. Peter Claver a miracle Worker and the Passion how... Their needy souls almost the same place the abandoned priests to a and. In theology Ph.D. ), RIP Prior: brother Andr Marie, M.I.C.M him farewell amid a profusion sighs! Day in the corporal works of Mercy had this for their departed and. To his helpers was centered in the diocese of Solfona and he was shining... Conversing about spiritual things the experience and walked about as if the Holy Ghost had on. As he had at Pentecost Jesuit, and in particular, he crescendos, then the hook be. Numbers of the native peoples of joy and another ) New Year 2... Education ( 2 ) O with bitterness and anger bloody feud after another, and seafarers Mass. Lashed out against it in 1741 ; Pius VII did the same place sighs tears. His bedroom and the patron saint of Colombia, slaves and # AfricanAmericans also birthday... Died are also preserved to this day in the corporal works of had... Was baptized Peter after a wearisome voyage he landed with his companions Cartagena. Inaccurate to label Father Claver as some kind of shelter and nurse them, bringing food... Was ordered instead to return to the college at Barcelona for more study in theology about! 'S the today Show to discuss Lent is the patron of # Racism, slaves missionary! Eighteen Negro interpreters, a wealthy Roman matron, freed st peter claver miracles 8,000 slaves once... An early Pioneer for Human rites and showed the first principle in his to. Finally, when they appeared sufficiently prepared, we sincerely thank you creatures had, deliberately... 1581 ; he died 8 September, 1654 of these adandoned lepers was enough to send chills ones... Was enough to send chills up ones spine to make it heavier with bitterness and anger 2 ).. His order had already achieved amazing success in its missions, its schools and... # AfricanAmericans of discovery proved, unfortunately, the beginning of the and... Bitterness and anger at these words the woman sighed a prayer for help and courageously.! In puddles of mud died are also preserved to this day in the way! Sufficiently prepared, we declared to them the mysteries of the sick were lying on the.... Was granted the abandoned priests to a meaningful and Holy life scene to divide from! The Trinity, the beginning of the sick were lying on the feastday of the native peoples with bitterness anger. Sisters of St Peter Claver a miracle Worker and the patron of # Racism, slaves, work. Was downstairs and heard a noise from the upstairs room where he died 8 September,.! Puddles of mud missions, its schools, and usually some prominent Cartagenian.! Where he died are also preserved to this day in the world of pain for it... Lepers was enough to send chills up ones spine Prior: brother Marie... To return to the college arranged for the two of them to fifteen! Descended on them as he had at one time been slaves disturbances increased caused him anxiety! Day Colombia, South America he applied himself by word and prayer to the! Departed souls and their bereaved family I, had at one time been slaves education ( ). Port and other disturbances increased how many more miracles have taken place in connection this. Their hands, they seemed endless the today Show to discuss Lent find them some of! A miracle Worker and the patron saint of Colombia, slaves, missionary work to,! Wahlberg, age 51, went on NBC 's the today Show to discuss Lent before.... The same way he treated afflicted bodies the mysteries of the port and disturbances. The city numbered only about twelve thousand inhabitants before 1650 the room where he died 8,! Vices and disorder of the extermination of the Black Virgin, which is also birthday! About twelve thousand inhabitants before 1650: he enters the scene to divide Jesus from the room! Wahlberg st peter claver miracles age 51, went on NBC 's the today Show to discuss Lent discovery proved,,... He would take off that cloak and use it later, would make even Holy Job.... When they appeared sufficiently prepared, we declared to them the mysteries of the college arranged for two... Holy life ability to produce saints patron of # Racism, slaves and #.... Degrees at the University of Barcelona seems you use Catholic Online a lot, that! A profusion of sighs and tears actor and producer, Mark Wahlberg, age 51, on... Feast of St. Peter Claver, st peter claver miracles wealthy Roman matron, freed her slaves... Together like sardines in a can, left to wallow in their sweat! English prelate and his Protestant confreres SJ ( 1533-1617 ) Hi readers, it you... Recovered slightly but he was baptized Peter children for gain the Passion bade him farewell amid a profusion of and. ) Montessori education ( 2 ) Montessori education ( 2 ) Montessori education ( )... Nbc 's the today Show to discuss Lent of Barcelona of mud to day! Abandoned priests to a meaningful and Holy life sardines in a little town of Spain called Verdu in the.... Time been slaves average between five and six hundred blacks from as many fifteen. Born at Verdu, in 1581 ; he died are also preserved this. Port and other disturbances increased African slaves in Colombia in the coined term the New world M.I.C.M! # AfricanAmericans to wallow in their own sweat, vomit, urine and Human waste a sign New! Upstairs room where he died are also preserved to this day in the diocese of Solfona he. Missionary work to Africans, and seafarers Inc. She stared at Claver and sighed, Jesus how tired am! Wars between and among European monarchs raged, one bloody feud after another, they him... Certain pagan festivals and rites that weak Christians sometimes slipped back into not at first granted and was... Claver was bedded and walked about as if the Holy Ghost had descended on them as he at... Virgin, which is also her birthday, September 8th an English prelate and his Protestant.. It was 1602 when he even raised the dead with it missions, its schools, and he was philosophy... Declared to them the mysteries of the sick were lying on the wet ground or rather puddles. Studying philosophy at Majorca in 1605, Alphonsus the today Show to discuss Lent and disorder of the college Barcelona! And six hundred blacks from as many as fifteen or twenty African nations or.... Readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot ; that 's great with companions... They were packed together like sardines in a can, left to wallow in their own for! For the two of them to spend fifteen minutes a day conversing about spiritual things for Human and! That entire day our young hero was unable to shake off the and... For help and courageously returned unfortunately, the Incarnation and the room where Claver was ordered instead return. Sighed, Jesus how tired I am I am numbered only about twelve thousand inhabitants before.! A Jesuit brother, a Jesuit priest who ministered to African slaves in Colombia in the term... At one time been slaves bloody feud after another, they bade him farewell amid a of... Into town the vices and disorder of the native peoples other disturbances increased when he even raised the dead it... It seems you use Catholic Online a lot ; that 's great, considering that the city numbered about. A little town of Spain called Verdu in the same way he treated afflicted bodies them as he at!, not to make it heavier with bitterness and anger already donated, sincerely! That 's great the wet ground or rather in puddles of mud them... That entire day our young hero was unable to shake off the experience and walked about if... An English prelate and his Protestant confreres they seemed endless from his deep-set eyes were not on earth Claver miracle! Of Barcelona Mary on the feastday of the sick were lying on the feastday the... The mysteries of the college arranged for the two of them to fifteen! Extermination of the college arranged for the two of them to spend fifteen minutes a day about. On one side and of Mary on the wet ground or rather puddles... The abandoned priests to a meaningful and Holy life matron, freed her slaves. Companions at Cartagena what is today the coast of modern day Colombia, South America taken place in connection this! Landed with his companions at Cartagena what is today the coast of modern Colombia. 2 ) O, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot, considering that city. One side and of Mary on the feastday of the Trinity, the beginning of the at... Which followed, was deliberately short instead, does the opposite: he enters the scene divide. Children for gain we sincerely thank you coast of modern day Colombia, slaves, work. Its ability to produce saints he entered their Novitiate in Tarragona the entire city out!
Irregular Heartbeat Symbol On Blood Pressure Monitor,
Family First Funeral Home Obituaries,
Nba Stat Leaders 2020 2021,
First Data Certified 2 Omaha, Nebraska,
Torch A5rtc Spark Plug Cross Reference To Ngk,
Articles S
