But the criminals came from all over. For sure, the last thing anyone would do to avoid a disease would be to kiss the contagious sores, suck out poison and vermin from them, and wash the infections with ones own handkerchiefs. In gratitude for the Fayette parish's support, the Voices of Peter Claver is opening the January concert to the public. Moved by the spirit of these encouragements and a missionary fervor, Peter Claver approached his provincial superior, offering himself for the West Indies and was told that his vocation would be decided in due course --by his superiors. But his main purpose of helping out at the hospital, which he did once a week, was to win sinners back to God. Heartfelt Condolences to Fatima Sister Fr. It didnt come quickly. He obtained his first degrees at the University of Barcelona. (Fakhri B. Maluf, Ph.D.), RIP Prior: Brother Andr Marie, M.I.C.M. The beauty that attracted this apostle was one far superior to that of pretty faces and balanced proportions; it was his God and Savior, Jesus Christ, whom he saw in the most abandoned and the most loathsome. 10 Old Ipswich Road. It was there, at Seville, while waiting to leave for New Granada, that the soon-to-be apostle of the Negroes first laid his compassionate eyes upon the suffering slaves. Because, he continued, your sufferings have opened for you the gates of Paradise. He turned their inevitable suffering into a cause for joy. Fr. On Ash Wednesday, which begins the 40 day period of lent, a time of prayer and fasting, Wahlberg encouraged viewers to take up a lenten penance. Why? The rumor of his approaching death spread around the city like wildfire, everyone suddenly remembered the saintly priest again, and numbers came to kiss his hands before it was too late; his room was stripped of everything that could be carried off as relics. Thus the ordeal of being captured by another tribe, sold to European merchants, transported through a horrendous middle passage and ultimately enslaved as a marketable object in the New World -- these were events that were a radical rupture of ones entire spirit, soul and universe. How many souls in America might be sent to heaven by priests who are idle in Europe?. It seemed that the blacks under Father Claver were destined to keep the straight and narrow. The riches of those countries are prized whilst the peoples are despised. Under the chaplaincy of this unique man, whose astounding charity to the slaves had been talked of even behind cell walls, the prisons were transformed into virtual monasteries. He also shares if he still wakes up in the middle of the night and why he moved with his family to Nevada. Book a Tour Virtual Tour Ways to Give Online Donations In the forty years of Saint Peter Clavers labor, this ecclesiastical office only sentenced two men to death, and sad to say, only one of these incorrigibles died repentant; the other departed the world uttering vicious blasphemies. The angel said, This one is for thy disciple, Claver; it is the recompense of his virtues and of the great number of souls he will gain to God in the West Indies.. The science of the school of Peter Claver was the art of dealing with pain, and of knowing its worth. His Mass, which followed, was deliberately short. To feel the bite of chains clasped upon them and to be shoved into the dark belly of a floating monster, not knowing what fate awaited them. Ad Rem A Fortnightly Email Message from the Prior, Saint David is the patron of Wales, where thousands and thousands of noble Catholics have lived and where many saints have been given to God., He was a Frenchman and the son of a nobleman. As he was being carried back to his room he said to one of the brothers, I am going to die; what do you desire of me in the next life? That you recommend this city and house to God, answered the brother. A galleon would contain, besides new immigrants, badly needed supplies and medicines, and of course, news and mail. Health Four years is a long time to be laid up. Photo by Sid Hastings Sid Hastings A relic of St. Peter Claver in a. So repulsive was his sickness that no one dares to go near him, lest they contract the infection. The other priests would then carry him to his cell where, when he revived, the saint would refresh himself with a good scourging and some mental prayer. To care for the slaves he must totally subject his own flesh and subdue it. Claver showed them that they were loved even more than they were abused, and that divine love must not be outraged by evil ways, by cruelty and lust. Quote: "We must speak to them with our hands before we speak to them with our lips." Related Links Saint Peter Claver Video introduction to the life of St. Peter Claver, produced by the Apostleship of Prayer. But the conclusion cannot be avoided that only the worst of the Spanish masters can be compared with, say, the English slave-owners of Jamaica in the 17th to 18th centuries, whose physical cruelty was no less than fiendish and diabolical by report. After receiving this wonderful grace, he spoke these remarkable words: There is no other law than that of Jesus Christ, in which I purpose to live and die. Built between 1580 and 1654, the structure features an imposing stone facade, yet the interior glows with the rich colors filtered through its stained glass windows. At three oclock in the morning he entered the church. He stayed there, except to attend to the missions nearby, like Our Lady on Calvarys hill. He was canonized at the same time as his friend St. Alphonsus Rodriguez in 1888 and he was declared by Pope Leo XIII patron of all missionary enterprises among blacks in whatever part of the world. Somehow Claver managed to get out of bed and don a cassock, and the next minute his frail and bent figure, with cane in hand, shuffled up to his successor. Finally, the happy convert related a vision he had had of the deceased Dutchman, whom the good Father had just buried, with great ceremony. In 1537, when the enslaving of the Indians was still more common than that of the blacks, this Pontiff thundered out in indignation. He found employment in a local soap factory. The Catholic Church venerates St. Peter Claver as the patron saint of African Americans and slaves, but Claver himself was neither. She stared at Claver and sighed, Jesus, Jesus how tired I am. Then, pressed by the others to relate what she has seen, she said that as she walked down a long beautiful road, a white man of great beauty stopped her and told her to return, for she could go no further. Agustinus Seran, SVD - Pastor 1203 North Nebraska Ave., Tampa, FL 33602 Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Mass Times Weekend Masses: Saturday Vigil - 4:00 pm Sunday Morning - 10:00 am *Haitian Creole Mass - 1:00 pm Daily Masses Wednesday - 9:00 am Friday - 8:00 am Confession Schedule Two years later there was another miracle at the church, and then another, and another. As one of Clavers biographers put it: In an age where man could become so subhuman, others were needed who were superhuman.. The dignity of man as redeemed and one with Christ, indeed a member of His Mystical Body, tended to stigmatize the institution as unworthy of a Christian. About The Church of Peter Claver: The church that bears his name is open daily. Many of these castaways seemed to be miraculously sustained while waiting for Father Claver to find them, and baptize or confess them before they should die. The priests carried Father Claver in his coffin from the Jesuit house to their main church. He felt he had no grace to encourage someone else to carry a cross that he himself wasnt carrying. The major contagion was smallpox; but others. Oddly enough, these men whom Claver used as interpreters were his own slaves. With the help of a tile we pulled some live coals together and placed them in the middle near the dying men. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. O, holy brother of my soul, what a field lies here opened to your zeal! Claver means keeper of the keys. The holy brother of Montesion kept the keys of the college, for he served as the porter. Suddenly the bearded padre would appear like an avenging angel, whip in hand (the same one he applied unmercifully to himself), and he descended on the wicked party with wrath, terrifying the guilty, and carrying off the devils spoils- i.e., drums or other instruments. St Peter Claver worked for decades to help enslaved people. On September sixth, two Negroes carried Father Claver to the chapel where he received Holy Communion with the devotion of a seraph. He became the prophet and miracle worker of New Granada, the oracle of Cartagena, and all were convinced that often God would not have spared the city save for him. Ignatius Strecker came to America from Germany in 1853. Despite all Clavers exhorting, the archdeacon would only respond by requesting the prayers of the priest, and with many signs of mutual affection the two parted company. He was sent to study at the University of Barcelona. Which of them had been baptized in Africa? In every possible was he tried to help them, whether by procuring them good lawyers, or even by speaking to judges, in order to win them lighter sentences. He was unable to take a step. Wahlberg who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, is a practicing Catholic. Yet he seemed destined to drink the chalice of Christs Passion to the bitter end. Claver couldnt remove the cross but he could make it sweet. Despite Father Clavers agonizing condition, the brutal attendant, when he had to dress him for a visit to the chapel, would shove him around with no sense of delicacy, yanking the aching victim here and there in frustration, as he clumsily clothed him. It was not until the advent of Christianity that slavery received a deathblow. I am sorry for having sinned against thee. This, then was their couch, a very uncomfortable one not only for that reason, but especially because they were naked, without any clothing to protect them. One might call him, though I dont like the term, an ordinary boy- quite above the ordinary intellectually- a little below average personality-wise, though very likable and modest. Take a tour of the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis.Learn More, Receive the sacrament of marriage at St. Joseph.Learn More, See opening hours and get directions.Learn More, 2023 Shrine of St. Joseph | 1220 North 11th Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63106 | info@shrineofstjoseph.org | (314) 231-9407. Lord, I love thee much, much, much.. Learn interesting facts and tidbits about the beloved St. Patrick. So filthy did the cloak become that, in a days labor, it would have to be washed seven times. The Africans and Indians arranged for a Mass of their own to which the Spanish authorities were invited; the church was ablaze with lights, a special choir sang and an oration was delivered by the treasurer of the church of Popayan, where the diaries say of the speaker no other preacher was more diffuse on the virtues, holiness, heroism and stupendous miracles of Father Claver.. That entire day our young hero was unable to shake off the experience and walked about as if he were not on earth. The final emergence was on behalf of the lepers at Saint Lazarus. It behooves me, Claver once wrote, always to imitate the example of the ass. Clavers reputation for enduring the unendurable prompted many a curious admire to accompany him on his visitations to see for themselves if what they had heard of him was true. Sinners were afraid to walk the streets lest they should encounter the saint in the market place, for they knew he had the gift of reading souls. The order for departure read Make haste. This the jubilant young Jesuit took very literally; so literally in fact, that in imitation of Francis Xavier, he did not even say goodbye to his family, thought the road that led to the port of Seville passed, at one point, within two miles of his home. St. Peter obtained his first degrees at the University of Barcelona. Peter Claver Catholic Church was born. We asked them to make an act of contrition and to manifest their detestation of their sins. To Cartagena, flatteringly known as the Pearl of the Indies, all kinds of adventurers found their way. Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. He was received into the novitiate of Tarragona at the age of 20 and was sent to the college of Montesione at Palma in Majorca, Spain. So also, must Gods servant be ut iumentum factus sum apud te.. He felt it was too delicate a flavor for a religious. Sometimes the Mother of God herself appeared to certain of the infidels to rebuke them for not listening to Father Claver. A witness testified to the Office of Inquisition in Cartagena that, on one occasion, he had seen several Negroes floating naked around the ceiling in a house at night after dabbling in this witchcraft. Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver of North America At the Service of the Missionary Church AN INTERNATIONAL CONGREGATION OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS Our Spirituality The most divine of divine things is to cooperate in the salvation of souls. As the affable Jesuit ate and drank nd conversed with the delighted crew, the Englishmen, somewhat won over already by his manners, so contrary to what they had heard of Jesuits, requested that the priest meet their venerable archdeacon, who happened to have been captured along with them. Returning from the pilgrimage, Peter took his first vows in the Society and was inspired to write the following prophetic act of oblation: I shall consider the great oblation assumed by one who has made the consecration of himself to God I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death, on the understanding that I am like a slave, wholly occupied in the service of his master. Home - Knights of Peter Claver Spreading FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE through Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity Our Faith What you Need to Know Online Store Register Now! Whether the saint could bilocate or not isnt known, but whenever the slaves got out of line in the city, the watchful shepherd inevitably showed up to put the fear of God back into them. This last mentioned convict was executed by strangulation. He never bothered philosophizing about the evils of a system, while planting class hatred and bitterness, as the Socialists of our day do. Many of the poor Negroes, having exaggerated fears of their approaching fate, took their own lives in despair. At that moment. The fact that Father Claver was able to open the kingdom of heaven to over three hundred thousand Negroes was due in no small degree to the help of his African co-workers. I love Thee very much, and he would have them repeat it many times over, I love Thee much, very, very much, while striking their breasts, his face and theirs bathed in tears. Fr John Asare-Dankwah, who was removed from ministry at St Peter Claver New Orleans in January following a child sex abuse allegation, has countersued his accuser for defamation. Six abandoned pagans from Biafara were lying in a shed, suffering from violent dysentery. He prayed, slept, walked, labored, and preached in them for forty long years. Sometimes a hasty unkind word or some latent jealousy was enough to change allies, friends, or even blood relatives into hateful enemies ready to do battle. He felt he could never advise another to bear a cross that he himself wasnt already bearing. Spain of the 17th century proceeded with an unscrupulous imperialism, taking to the treacherous seas to pursue conquest in land, gold, silver, jewels, spices, sugar and tobacco. Silently, with watery eyes, they picked up the saint and laid him to rest.Months later, a certain Mohammedan whom Father Claver had spent years trying to convert, walked into the Jesuit Church where the body of the saint lay in repose, and falling down before the Saints remains, shed tears of sorrow and promised to enter the true Church. His troops- eighteen Negro interpreters, a Jesuit brother, a pious woman or two, and usually some prominent Cartagenian official. Once the authorities woke up to this situation when a complaint was brought forward that Father Claver was in the habit of re-baptizing Negroes! St. Peter Claver's work came to an end with his death on September 8, 1654. The crude picture graphically portrayed the Crucified Christ with His Precious Blood pouring from His Wounds into a basin. Whenever the saintly doorkeeper heard someone knock, his face would light up and he would utter this holy ejaculation, Lord, I shall open the door to You for love of You. And, with an enthusiasm that could be no greater if it were Jesus Himself waiting, he would keep repeating as his lean and bent body strode down the corridor, I go, Lord, I go, Lord.. The family Rosary was an essential part of the typical sixteenth century pious Catalonian rearing in which Ana and Pedro Claver, our saints parents schooled their four children. You know the story the conditions under which they were conveyed across the Atlantic were as foul and inhuman as to be beyond belief. There were two hospitals in Cartagena, one for general cases, served by the Brothers of St. John of God; this was St. Sebastians hospital; and another, of St. Lazarus, for lepers and those suffering from sexually transmitted disease. He did not know the full story of the treatment meted out to the slaves till his own arrival here. Claver came from an ethic of religious consecration where missionaries dared death, hardship, sickness and every conceivable challenge to bring the gospel to foreign lands. The saint refused to rest until he had thoroughly expurgated these unholy interferences which, among the slaves, were always connected with the sin of drunkenness. St Peter is known as the "Apostle to the Slaves." Tellingly, she named it after the Jesuit who tried to alleviate the suffering of African slaves transported to South America in the early seventeenth century, is estimated to have personally baptised around 300,000 people, and became the patron saint of slaves and seafarers. 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