St. Peter Claver, Slave of Slaves
Among the Saints honored in September is Saint Peter Claver (1580-1654). In the United States this is an obligatory memorial. Saint Peter Claver was from Catalonia in Spain. He became a member of the Society of Jesus, popularly known as the Jesuits, and served in the Missions of Colombia for 38 years.
Saint Peter Claver’s ministry was to the slaves brought in chains from Africa to work in Colombia. He dedicated himself to caring for them in Cartegena, Colombia’s chief slave port, and baptized over 300,000 slaves. He called himself “The slave of slaves forever.” The Church declared him a saint in 1888, and in 1896 he was named the patron of all missions to Black people.
In the United States Saint Peter Claver has long been held in esteem by African Americans. This esteem led to the founding of the Knights of Saint Peter Claver in 1909 in Mobile, Alabama.
Seven men founded the Order, four priests of St. Joseph’s Society of the Sacred Heart, known as the Josephites, and three African American laymen. The priests, whose Order was founded for evangelization among African Americans, included Father John Harry Dorsey, one of the first African American priests in modern times, Father Conrad Rebesher, Father Samuel J. Kelly and Father Joseph P. Van Baar. The lay founders were citizens of Mobile: The Honorable Frank Collins, The Honorable Gilbert Faustina and The Honorable Frank Trenier.
Three years ago the Knights became part of the Diocese of Raleigh, and the Knights and Ladies of St. Peter Claver are now a growing group within the Diocese. Race is not a criterion for membership; the group at the Cathedral, for example, is composed of more than African Americans. The Council at Sacred Heart Cathedral meets monthly. Part of their work is to “turn out” in proper regalia on important occasions in the Cathedral. I feel especially honored that the Council at the Cathedral is named “The Monsignor Thomas P. Hadden Council.”
Msgr. Thomas P. Hadden