NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A delegation of Black Catholics from the Diocese of Charlotte was among an estimated 3,000 attendees from 80 U.S. dioceses at the 13th National Black Catholic Congress held July 20-23.
The four-day event 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.
In addition, Charlotte diocese seminarian James Johnson IV was named president of the National Black Catholic Seminarians Association, which was also represented at the national gathering.
Johnson carried the processional cross during the congress’s opening Mass offered by Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The first National Black Catholic Congress was convened in 1889 under the leadership of Black Catholic journalist Daniel Rudd.
— Catholic News Herald. Photos provided.
Read more about the National Black Catholic Congress
James Johnson IV carried the processional cross during the congress’s opening Mass