Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory processes to the altar during the African National Eucharistic Congress Unity Mass that he celebrated July 22, 2023, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. (OSV News photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Archdiocese of Washington)NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Sending forth the participants of the 13th National Black Catholic Congress at their July 23 closing Mass in the Washington metropolitan area, Bishop John H. Ricard offered them an admonition that he said he learned from his days as a youth camping in the woods -- "Don't let the fire go out!"
Bishop Ricard, the superior general of the Josephites, who formerly served as the bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, was the homilist at the Mass, celebrated at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. He encouraged the congress participants to be enlivened by the flame of the Holy Spirit, and to bring that spirit of faith back to their homes, parishes, dioceses and to the African American communities in their cities and towns.
"You've got to poke the flame and stir it up ... We can't let the fire go out," he said, also encouraging people to address problems like violence in their communities, the mass incarceration of people of color, and the challenge of reaching out to young adult Black Catholics raised in the faith, who no longer go to church.
An estimated 3,000 Black Catholics from 80 dioceses across the United States attended the four-day gathering, which included Masses, keynote addresses, breakout sessions for adults and youth, and a visit to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.
"I'm grateful to God that you are here in such great numbers, to bear witness to our Church and our faith in the Lord," Bishop Ricard, 83, said.
In his homily, Bishop Ricard praised the legacies of faith of the six U.S. Black Catholics being considered for sainthood whose portraits were depicted in large banners hanging behind the altar, noting how the Holy Spirit had reigned down on each of them.
"We're here this weekend to reap the harvest that has been sown," said Bishop Ricard.
Those candidates for sainthood include Venerable Henriette Delille of New Orleans, the foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family; Venerable Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange of Baltimore, the foundress of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first religious congregation of African American women; Venerable Father Augustus Tolton of Chicago, the first publicly known Black Catholic priest in the United States; Venerable Pierre Toussaint of New York, renowned for his charitable works; Servant of God Julia Greeley of Denver, known for her devout faith; and Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and dynamic evangelist from Mississippi who died of cancer in 1990.
Sister Thea, who was known for her soaring style of singing, participated in the sixth National Black Catholic Congress, held in 1987 on the campus of The Catholic University of America in Washington. Remembering the impact of her life, Bishop Ricard said, "The Holy Spirit came upon the songbird. Didn't she become a witness of triumph over sickness and discrimination?"
Bishop Ricard also noted the legacy of Daniel Rudd, a pioneer Black Catholic journalist from Kentucky who founded the Congress of Colored Catholics that first met at St. Augustine Church in Washington in 1889.
That group, the bishop said, "is the granddaddy of the National Black Catholic Congress," a movement that was revived in 1987, after Rudd's group had held five earlier national gatherings around the turn of the century.
Honoring the memory of Rudd's effort, Bishop Ricard said, "They had the vision, they had the determination, and they had the will back then to come together, because Rudd believed that in the Catholic Church, there was the fullness of the revelation of the teaching of Jesus, and that was the answer to all of the problems that Blacks were facing."
The main celebrant of the July 23 closing Mass was Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., the president of the National Black Catholic Congress. He was joined by five other bishops, about 60 priests and nearly 50 deacons. Joining the laypeople in the congregation were numerous African American women and men religious.
— Mark Zimmermann, OSV News
Eucharist should inspire work for justice, Cardinal Gregory says at Unity Mass for African National Eucharistic Congress
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Eucharist should inspire work for justice, Cardinal Gregory says at Unity Mass for African National Eucharistic Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. — At a July 22 Unity Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory urged the fourth African National Eucharistic Congress participants to work for justice, to care for others and to protect the environment.
"You have come … to honor the Eucharistic Lord, which in turn will help you learn how to advocate for those people living on the margins of society more effectively, collaboratively and perhaps even more courageously," Cardinal Gregory said in his homily at the Mass. "The presence of Christ in the Eucharist today must also include a care and a concern for the natural world that we inhabit."
Cardinal Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, was principal celebrant of the Mass that was offered as part of the July 21-23 African National Eucharistic Congress held on the campus of The Catholic University of America.
"It is my fondest prayer and hope that you will find new and life-giving ways to invite and to inspire others in your own local communities to hear and to respond to the demands of Gospel justice," the cardinal said.
About 14 bishops and more than 100 priests concelebrated the two-hour Mass, which was attended by nearly 1,000 people, many of whom wore traditional African garb. The liturgy featured songs and prayers in several languages, including Swahili, Zulu, Igbo, Latin, French, Congolese and Arabic.
The cardinal welcomed the faithful to Archdiocese of Washington and noted, "This city and archdiocese have a rich legacy of welcoming people from throughout the world, and an important history of social justice as the civil rights movement of the last generation often turned to Washington as the locus of important national decisions."
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory referenced the readings for the Mass in which Jesus spoke in parables and noted that "the parables of Jesus continue to inspire and to shape us to reverence his enduring presence in the life of the church."
"No one who truly listens to the parables of Jesus and then shares in that banquet of life, which is the Eucharist, can fail to take to heart the mission of justice that flows from God's Word and the sacrificial meal that we share," he said.
In encouraging the faithful to care for the environment, Cardinal Gregory noted that such a concern "might not have been viewed as vital or a part of the church's Eucharistic devotions only a generation ago -- yet it has become increasingly important within our own time."
"The nations of the great lands of Africa hold vast natural riches which must be preserved," Cardinal Gregory said. "We are summoned to see the environment as a common treasure and a joint inheritance that we must protect for those generations that will follow us."
He said that in working for social justice and care for the environment, the faithful "are not mere social workers or secular environmentalists, but people of deep faith (who) routinely begin our responsibilities by listening to the words of Scripture and then sharing in the bread of life and the cup of salvation."
"We go about our service to the poor and the neglected based upon our acceptance of Christ's commandments, and then we are nurtured by his own body and blood -- using those gifts of the earth which have become the sacramental food of everlasting life," Cardinal Gregory said.
He said the African National Eucharistic Congress is "an important link" to the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative of the U.S. bishops that began last year to renew understanding and worship of the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. The revival includes the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis.
Prior to the Mass, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota -- the chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, which is spearheading the National Eucharistic Revival -- led a Eucharistic procession. Congress participants carried flags, sang and prayed as they followed the Eucharist from a building on the university campus to the National Shrine.
Before leading the faithful, Bishop Cozzens praised congress participants for their "deep Eucharistic devotion." He invited them to attend the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress and encouraged them to invite others to attend as well.
"Invite people to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist," the bishop said, "because when they encounter Jesus in the Eucharist, they will be healed, they will be formed, they will be unified."
Noting that many people carry pain in their hearts, Bishop Cozzens stressed that "Jesus has a human heart and he knows that pain."
"The Eucharist is the place where we come with all our needs and burdens," he said. "The Eucharist is Jesus' self-emptying love poured out for you."
— Richard Szczepanowski, OSV News
At National Black Catholic Congress opening Mass, Cardinal Gregory stresses visionaries' role in building a better world
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At National Black Catholic Congress opening Mass, Cardinal Gregory stresses visionaries' role in building a better world
Religious sisters pray during the opening Mass for the 13th National Black Catholic Congress July 21, 2023, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. (OSV News photo/Jaclyn Lippelmann, Archdiocese of Washington)WASHINGTON, D.C. — Celebrating the opening Mass for the National Black Catholic Congress meeting July 21, Cardinal Wilton Gregory emphasized visionaries' important role in building a better world.That message in his homily at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception reflected the congress's theme, "Write the Vision: A Prophetic Call to Thrive," inspired by a verse in the Book of Habakkuk.
"Visionaries are important people for every culture. They are the ones who are able to see and to discover unimagined possibilities. They are those who offer people hope. They are the lead agents for change. We all need visionaries and fortunately, we Black Catholics have many such visionaries in our heritage to follow and to honor," Cardinal Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, said as he opened his homily.
The joyful Mass offered a celebration of the faith of the nation's Black Catholics and featured stirring gospel music sung by a combined choir of congress participants. The congregation of several thousand people included the Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver, an historic Black Catholic fraternal order.
Concelebrating the Mass with Cardinal Gregory were Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley and about 25 bishops, including Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, who serves as the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Washington Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell Jr., president of the National Black Catholic Congress; Louisville Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, a member of the congress's board; and Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori. About 130 priests also concelebrated the Mass, which also included the participation of about 60 permanent deacons.
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory said Jesus offered a redemptive vision of freedom, from God the Father calling people to lead holy lives.
"He chose disciples -- ordinary men and women -- and entrusted that life-changing vision to them. We are the church that has been entrusted with the redemptive vision of the Lord," the cardinal said, calling it a "treasure that we must share with all men and women."
Washington's archbishop said that perhaps the most important contemporary visionary for people of color is civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who offered a vision and a dream that still resonates.
"Dr. King has been referred to as our nation's only modern-day founding father, so vital was his vision for this country and indeed for the entire world. His vision challenges everyone in the United States to dream of a better world, a more perfect union, and a society truly free from hatred and fear," the cardinal said.
Cardinal Gregory -- who in 2020 was named a cardinal by Pope Francis, becoming the first African American cardinal in the church's history -- also paid tribute to the six U.S. Black Catholic candidates for sainthood, saying, "Their progress in the sainthood trek must inspire us all to follow their courageous examples."
They include Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, who in 1829 in Baltimore founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first religious congregation of African American women in the history of the Catholic Church. On June 22, Pope Francis declared her to be venerable, a key step on the path to sainthood.
Two of those sainthood candidates have a special connection to the National Black Catholic Congress and to Washington.
St. Augustine Parish in Washington -- the mother church for Black Catholics in the nation's capital, founded by free men and women of color in 1858 -- hosted the inaugural congress gathering, which opened on New Year's Day 1889 and included a Mass celebrated by Father Augustus Tolton, the first U.S. Catholic priest publicly known to be Black and whose cause for sainthood is now being considered.
Five of those congresses were held before the turn of that century, and then that movement was revived with National Black Catholic Congress VI held in 1987 on the campus of The Catholic University of America in Washington, where the speakers included Sister Thea Bowman, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and dynamic evangelist who died of cancer in 1990, and whose cause for canonization is also underway.
The three other U.S. Black Catholics being considered for sainthood include Pierre Toussaint, a philanthropist and founder of many Catholic charitable works in New York who died in 1853; Henriette Delille of New Orleans, who founded the Sisters of the Holy Family and who died in 1862; and Julia Greeley, who was born into slavery and after her emancipation later moved to Denver, where she became Catholic and was known for her devout faith. She died in 1918.
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory also honored the legacy of Father Clarence Rivers, an African American priest in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati who was a renowned artist and musical composer, and a pioneer in Black Catholic liturgical music. He died in 2004.
"He is but one of those Black Catholics whose legacy and memory should remain a source of hope and courage for the current generation," the cardinal said, adding, "In many respects, Clarence was the father of African-American liturgical inculturation."
Cardinal Gregory also noted how Pope Francis in his 2020 encyclical "Fratelli Tutti" reflected Jesus' "vision of universal harmony and friendship." That message, he said, invites people into "a genuine friendship with God and deeper unity among ourselves and all other people."
The cardinal praised Pope Francis as "a visionary for human solidarity," adding, "He invites all of humanity to share that vision that will bring true healing and lasting peace to our worldwide family."
— Mark Zimmermann, OSV News
