WASHINGTON — Fr Everett Pearson, a veteran African-American Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Washington, passed away on August 23 in Northern Virginia after an extended illness. He was 61 years old. The news was first announced by his parish, Mount Calvary Catholic Church in Forestville, Maryland, and nearby Bishop McNamara High School, where Pearson also served. “We all wanted Father Everett to be released from pain and suffering,” the parish posted on social media. “Even though it’s not the outcome we may have hoped for, God knew what was best and called him home.” It is with a heavy ..read more

Should the United States change the way George Washington is perceived by transforming the majority of his images into that of a Black man? No, because it would be historically inaccurate, and change his identity as well as America’s. By the same token, all denominations of Christianity should cease portraying Jesus Christ as a White man, because it is historically inaccurate, gives the idea that the church is exclusive, and perpetuates White Supremacy. The reason why Jesus is shown as a White man is a result of White Supremacy. This damages the Church’s image because it gives off the idea th ..read more

Last year, I wrote a piece that got the attention of Bishop Robert Barron, then an auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles, concerning his erasure of the role of Catholics in Black activism for social justice. Therein, I asked: “Will Bishop Barron wake up and strengthen the prophetic witness of the Church in the work of racial justice? Or will he spend this critical time helping others sleep through this Great Revolution of racial justice and—like Rip Van Winkle—find that he is out of step with the Church as it works to build the kingdom in the 21st century?” If the past week is any indication, we ca ..read more

WASHINGTON — More than $36,000 has been raised for a Black Catholic school in DC, following vandalism and a break-in just ahead of the first day of classes in its 100th year. Demitrius Hansford, 32, was arrested and charged on August 17 with theft and destruction of property. He is believed to have broken into St Anthony Catholic School, in the city’s Brookland neighborhood, on the preceding weekend before stealing $1,400 as well as various school equipment. He is also believed to have been behind a separate incident at the school on August 11, wherein a bench was uprooted and a statue of the ..read more

On Saturday, Pope Francis will hold the first of three consecutive consistories at the Vatican and create 21 new cardinals. Five of the cardinals are over the age of 80, while 16 are not—making them eligible to vote in the next papal conclave. The cardinals-elect come from diverse regions around the world, including Nigeria, India, Mongolia, and Singapore. For several such nations, it will be their first time being represented among the cardinals. As Pope Francis campaigns for his advisors to proportionally reflect the Church universal, a new poll shed some light on the demographics of the ca ..read more

“Adjuvante deo non timendum.” The Latin phrase rang out in Xavier University of Louisiana’s Convocation Center earlier this month in New Orleans, during the Orientation Mass for new students at the nation’s Catholic HBCU. The speaker, celebrant Fr Victor Laroche, OP was reciting the school motto—in English, “With God, there is nothing to fear”—during his first official liturgy as XULA’s new chaplain. He is succeeding the Josephites’ Fr Etido Jerome, SSJ, who completed his tenure last spring. “From what I’ve observed so far, we are already witnessing the faith in so many ways,” Laroche added ..read more

Thursday, August 25, will mark the 115th anniversary of the death of Mother Mary Margaret Healy Murphy, SHSp, a largely muted figure of American (and Black) Catholic history. An immigrant widow-turned-nun, she and the religious order she founded are known for starting San Antonio’s first free private Black school, and the city’s first Black Catholic parish. What’s more, she might soon become the nation’s latest candidate for sainthood. Born in 1833 in Kerry, Ireland, Murphy immigrated to the United States in 1845 with her father, first settling in what would soon become West Virginia. There ..read more

The eye-popping foundation formed by the Jesuits to address their infamous Georgetown slave sale has raised less than $200,000 since its creation last March, according to a new report in the New York Times. Joseph Stewart, president of the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation and himself a descendant of the 272 African Americans sold by the order in 1838, has called the paltry sum a result of reticence from those he says feel they “never enslaved anyone and thus do not ‘owe’ anyone anything.” “It is becoming obvious to all who look beyond words that Jesuits are not delivering in ..read more

WASHINGTON — The 25th-anniversary celebration for the Our Mother of Africa Chapel at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is scheduled for next month in DC, and is expected to bring Catholics from around the country to the nation’s largest Black Catholic monument. Scheduled for Saturday, September 17, the event is being sponsored by the National Black Catholic Congress, which organized fundraising and construction of the chapel via its founding director, Bishop Emeritus John Ricard, SSJ of Pensacola-Tallahassee. It was dedicated during the quinquennial NBCC nationa ..read more

WASHINGTON — Cardinal Wilton Gregory has been named an honoree for this year’s Justice Reimagined Awards from Catholic Mobilizing Network, celebrating anti-death penalty advocacy. The event, scheduled for October 10 at the Vatican embassy in Washington DC, was announced earlier this month. “Join CMN on World Day Against the Death Penalty 2022 at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, DC as we honor anti-death penalty advocates and celebrate this growing movement to build a culture of life,” the organization said in an announcement. SAVE THE DATE! Mark your calendars for October 10, World D ..read more