Augustus Tolton
Born: April 1, 1854
Died: July 9, 1897
Feast: N/A
Patron saint of: N/A
Tolton is known as the first American priest of African descent who identified as Black (three brothers—James, Patrick, and Alexander Healy—were ordained earlier, but they identified and “passed” as white). In 2010 the Archdiocese of Chicago officially opened the process of canonization for Tolton. He was born a slave in 1854 in Brush Creek, Missouri. His father, Peter Paul Tolton, escaped slavery to join the Union Army (later dying as a soldier), and in the 1860s his mother, Martha Tolton, fled with her two sons and an infant daughter, dodging Confederate bullets and traveling at night. The family eventually crossed the Mississippi River in a rowboat and made their way to Quincy in the free state of Illinois. . . . [His] life sheds light on the complex nature of African American participation and acceptance in the U.S. Catholic Church.
More about Augustus Tolton:
Augustus Tolton: Pioneer pastor
At age 16, Tolton felt called to the priesthood but was denied acceptance by every Catholic seminary in the country.
Black saints matter
It’s time to include people of color in the U.S. church’s models of holiness.
Built of living stones: 5 Black Catholics to remember
Although the history of American Catholics is intertwined with the history of people of color, Black Catholics have often been forgotten in the American church.
Image: via Wikimedia Commons
