Description:
'Black Catholics Concerned.' Washington, D.C. -- Black Roman Catholics across
the country -- about 1 million -- are being asked to contribute to a special
collection on Sunday, Oct. 8, as part of a "Black Catholics Concerned"
program sponsored by the National Office of Black Catholics (NOBC). The
campaign is seeking to support several major programs being developed by the
NOBC, including recruiting black vocations to religious life, developing
black Catholic lay leadership, underwriting continuing education for black
nuns, priests and Brothers, and the establishment of a national training
center for black priests. This panel illustrates the aims of the campaign.
Top left -- A black layman at prayer. One of the aims of the program is the
development of strong black Catholic lay leadership. Top center -- Brother
Anthony Clark, S.V.D. (center), tells two young men about the religious life
at the Society of the Divine Word's recruiting booth at Black Expo in
Chicago. A successful campaign will enable black Catholics, for the first
time, to develop their own direct effort to encourage more vocations from
among black Catholics. Top right -- Using a tiger pelt as an altar cloth,
Father Kenneth Brigham, Father George Clements and Father Dominic Caromon
(left to right) celebrate a "black unity Mass" at Holy Angels church in
Chicago. A goal of "Black Catholics Concerned" is to stimulate an authentic
black contribution to Catholic worship. Bottom left -- Father Ivan Hughes,
O.S.B., confers his first blessing after ordination to the priesthood at the
Benedictine St. Pius X Monastery in Pevely, Mo. Through the establishment of
a training center for priests, the program hopes to prepare black candidates
for the priesthood. Bottom center -- Auxiliary Bishop Harold Perry of New
Orleans (center), the nation's only black bishop, is principal celebrant at a
Mass during a meeting of the National Black Sisters Conference in Pittsburgh.
Black nuns bring the Offertory gifts to the altar. Continuing education
programs for black religious is another of the program's aims. Bottom right
-- Artists Eugene Edaw (left) and William Walker stand in front of the facade
of Detroit's St. Bernard church, which they designed. The work depicts the
struggle of blacks, including a painting showing a black Moses confronting a
black Pharaoh, demanding that he "let my people go." Black Catholics are
being urged to combine Afro-American cultural elements and their Catholic
heritage in worship and the arts.
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., Clark, Anthony., Brigham, Kenneth., Clements, George., Caromon, Dominic., Hughes, Ivan., Perry, Harold., Edaw, Eugene., Walker, William.
Topics:
African American Catholics., Race relations--Religious aspects--Christianity.
Geographic subjects:
Washington (D.C.), Chicago (Ill.), Pevely (Mo.), Pittsburgh (Pa.), Detroit (Mich.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:139022