The Africans, themselves, profited by the use of slave labor; the Mohammedans made a religion of it; the Egyptian built their civilization by it; the Greek philosophers were left free to leisurely contemplate reality on account of it; the Romans conquered and disciplined the world through it; the Chinese built walls to keep out foreigners by it; Germans goose-stepped to it; the Hebrews of the Old Testament, though they had laws protecting slaves, profited by it; and the One-Worlders of our day would like to revive it, as they have been attempting to do on a world scale by their monetary power. Having inquired as to the cause, he was informed that Father Diego Farigna had arrived with the Spanish fleet, and that this was the priest who had received the commission from the King to continue the work of baptizing the Negroes. Often the English and French seawolves would prey on the Granadan coastline, firing cannon balls and wielding swords, looking for an opportune time to land and loot the city. And when the slaves misbehaved Father Claver was always blamed. He became almost entirely inactive, but would sometimes hear confessions, especially of his dear friend Doa Isabella de Urbina who had always generously supported his work with her money. Another saint whom he had known at school in Majorca, Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, revealed his road in life to him. Another miracle is about a fierce and rebellious slave named Amete, who resisted the saint's efforts to baptize him for more than 30 years. Though the Inquisition had also been in operation since 1610 in Cartagena, that office dealt in the main with crimes against religion, such as blasphemy, witchcraft (and their was and still is plenty of it in the West Indies), and the preaching of heresy. He would then wash them with his own hands and dress their wounds with medicines that he previously begged for in the market place. The descendant of these six hundred English and Dutch converts can be seen to this very day in their blond-haired, blue-eyed progeny whom one may see walking the streets of Cartagena. What the good priest restored in these unloved and abused people was inestimable it was their sacred dignity, their divine royalty, as adopted brothers of Christ the King.Nor could Claver forget the Negroes one they were sent away from Cartagena. What sort of a man must I be, that I cannot do a little good without causing so much confusion? Claver would ask. Father Peter Claver never fully recovered consciousness and died two days later on the birthday of Mary, the Mother of God, September 8, about two oclock in the morning, in the year of our Lord 1654. 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. Experiences like this were fairly common at the college with Brother Rodriguez, for his ecstasies were frequent and often public. Having baptized the dying and given his first attentions to the sick, the black-robed angel of mercy gathered all the slaves together and begun to speak to them of God. He was beatified 16 July, 1850, by Pius IX, and canonized 15 January, 1888, by Leo XIII. Not long afterward the venerable archdeacon fell grievously ill. As he was being carried to the hospital through the citys streets in a litter, he saw Father Claver and exclaimed It is time, Father; it is time for me to accomplish the promise I made to God and to you, embracing the religion of my ancestors. And so he did. 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. Which of them had been baptized in Africa? Having finished this, his foremost priority, he turned his attention to the others. Thou gavest life, I pray no act of mine may take away or mar that gift of Thine (continues below). Then there were the black agents who, under the pay of whites, scoured the coasts with products to sell, often unsheathing concealed weapons in order to take the unsuspecting victims into captivity by force. Claver went to the door of the room in which the man was quarantined. The religious there used to say that their welcome friend, Father Claver, did the work of forty men. Sometimes two men chained together would be from warring tribes, and horrifying scenes of rage would take place. Be at my window and direct me through when the vision blurs From out of the blue. 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. St. Peter obtained his first degrees at the University of Barcelona. It could be a supply boat with some long-awaited news from back home in Spain, or it might be a slave ship, or even an enemy man-of-war. Even Mohammedans thought him fascinating, and many found it difficult to resist his entreaties for very long. The dead man had assured him that he and his converted fellow countrymen were saved only because they had abandoned their errors and embraced the Catholic religion. Our Present . Hence, the nefarious exploitation and commerce of slavery, for there was no industry to speak of, only raw human labor for which the royals and their cohorts deemed themselves unworthy. The diocese writes: Dear Frs & Srs, Sr. Milagrine Dantas Fatima Sister from Sawantwadi, Sindhudurg along with two other Fatima Sister and their Parish Priest and other two persons met with an fatal accident as truck rams into their four wheeler at Shillong. There are ideologic forces there seemingly unredeemable by the Gospel. Guest: Sister Maria Philomena, M.I.C.M. He is the Patron Saint of: *Slaves, *the Republic of Columbia, *the Ministry to African Americans * and Sea-Farers. The son of a Catalonian farmer, was born at Verdu, in 1581; he died 8 September, 1654. Falling down before him, the veteran apostle kissed his feet. And did not Jesus assure us, of such is the kingdom of God? He would never let it go beyond a half-hour because he felt that a lengthy Mass in the tropical heat would stifle devotion rather than kindle it. He never came down from it. You can add to these the faded and worn cloak of Saint Peter Claver. It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. ); but the claim that he was its bishop is an anachronism. He performed no important negotiations, established or reformed no religious order, made no brilliant changes of places or circumstances. If the glory of Gods house concerns you, go to the Indies and save millions of these perishing souls.. Most of the major European nations dabbled in the slave trade, with Portugal paving the way, and England soon monopolizing it. Always he spoke of God He was humble. Father Peter Claver was overjoyed and dragged himself from his bed to greet his successor. St. Peter Claver. Amen The very day that the Holy Virgin, to whom he was so tenderly devoted, entered time, the slave of Mary and of the Negroes entered eternity. He informed his father of his intention to join the Society. People who were so horribly afflicted that they were actually shunned by their fellow lepers. The supreme charity of our saint was most vividly portrayed in his solicitude for the sick; and Cartagena, in its infant years, had plenty of sick and very sick people. The Novitiate in Tarragona was to our young novice a foretaste of the delights of the blessed in paradise. Amen. But Claver was not deterred, not even when the ecclesiastical authorities lent too willing an ear to the complaints of his critics. In the year 1650, Father Claver went to preach the Churchs jubilee year among the Africans working in the mines and plantations along the coast, but sickness attacked his weakened body, and he was recalled to the residence at Cartagena. This army was a militia of charity; its commander-in-chief was Father Peter Claver, a Jesuit, the hero of our story. That era of conquest was bereft of strands of a moral conscience, indeed a social ethic that would have troubled to its foundations the insidious business of the slave trade. Saint Peter Claver Church was established in 1931 to serve the African American community of greater Montclair, New Jersey. He obtained his first degrees at the University of Barcelona. Two or three times a week the saint would go succor these poor specimens of what were once healthy men and women. Much as men are willing to forgive those, who wrong them, yet they' never . Cursed be the law of the false prophet Mahomet, as well as all those who follow it. And on and on the stories go. A Sister of St. Peter Claver. The truck loaded with cement crossed the otherside of the divider after losing control and hit th, POPE FRANCIS ANGELUS Saint Peter's Square Sunday, 26 February 2023 ______________________________________ Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno! They saw and they believed. About The Church of Peter Claver: The church that bears his name is open daily. They knew he meant what he said and what he said was true. He kept a strict account of each and every slave he baptized. One day he happened to strike his breast against an angular piece of iron. Community Redevelopment Agencies have proven historically to provide distressed communities with a better economy through improved infrastructure . Or, again, with women who were in a habit of dressing immodestly, excusing themselves on account of the excessive heat, he would hand them pictures of a woman similarly garbed amid the torments of the fire and demons in hell. Of course, more often than not he made use of much more religious means of intercession, such as relics, holy water (a sacramental that the saint never tired of sprinkling everywhere) and a rough-hewn cross of maple. I entreat of those who read it, He said as he lay dying, to pray to God for a sinner, who having such a precious mine at his disposal, instead of drawing from it the pure gold of sanctity, has collected nothing but rust.. He, his wife, and daughter settled in St. Josephs Parish in St. Louis, Missouri. Robert J. Miller in his 2007 Book, Both Prayed to the Same God, researched that: The Africans came from a vast region of Western Africa stretching inland for two to three hundred miles. The entire city came out to pay him their respects. In the past, when he came home from such missions, he was usually so reduced physically that he looked like a walking skeleton. It was now 1654. That seems a lot, considering that the city numbered only about twelve thousand inhabitants before 1650. Mt 4:1-11). Peter Claver was a man with a mission. When by their answers to our questions they showed they had sufficiently understood this, we went on to a more extensive instruction, namely, about the one God, who rewards and punishes each one according to his merit, and the rest. People were patriotic, but color of a mans skin was just that and nothing more. Each one had to be taken apart and drilled, time and again, even in so simple a matter as making the sign of the cross or in learning the prayer of love and repentance that each had to know: Claver taught them to pray these words: Jesus Christ, Son of God, thou shalt be my Father and my Mother and all my good. To the masters and slave owners Claver appealed for physical and spiritual justice, for their own sakes no less than for that of their slaves. 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.. Nothing could be done to keep them away. In his humility, in order to avoid the attention of the crowd, who would have swarmed about him had they seen him, he had his lame body strapped to a horse in the hopes that the animal would take him swiftly to the leprosarium through the back roads. Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. We had to force our way through the crowd until we reached the sick. And if his love for her was great, her was no less for him. The ways of God seem hard at times. Due to the importance of this apostolate, Rome was willing to allow an exception to its canon forbidding clerics to own slaves. True! Exploiters of the Indians are instruments of Satan for the forced servitude of human beings of any race, Christian or not, is a thing abhorrent and damnable. Unfortunately, the Pope was far away from the scene of the crime nor was his strength in arms, but rather in the faith of his subjects, who chose at times to ignore him. There were adulterers, Jewish usurers, and occasionally a deranged spellcaster or two. Masters were willingly freeing their slaves. He studied at the Jesuit college of Barcelona, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Tarragona in 1602 and took his final vows on August 8th, 1604. The diocese is located in Navsarni Kendra, Savantvadi, India, Maharashtra. The two saints parted company in 1608. Nor could anyone console him until he had restored the interpreter to health. These austerities were part of the saints daily nocturnal prayer life.His penances clung to him like the skin to the bones. 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. Standing out as one of the more stupendous of Father Clavers miracles was the affair of the raising of the slave-girl Agustina, who served one of the good padres closest friends, Captain de Villalabos. His order had already achieved amazing success in its missions, its schools, and in its ability to produce saints. He also shares if he still wakes up in the middle of the night and why he moved with his family to Nevada. But when he saw the condition of Africans in the stinking slave pens of Cartagena, Colombia, he became bold and outspoken. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. And, in their simplicity, they would laugh and hug those whom they found to have the same new name as they, repeating it over and over again like children. To the cynical mind the trust of this extraordinary priest in the goodness of human nature must have seem nave and no doubt could he have known he would have been far more often disappointed than not. Some of their fellow countryman insulted both the converts and the priests, but the good Fathers patience and obvious holiness soon won them. She also happened to be from Biafara and Claver needed her as a translator. In particular, he had a relish for good music, and believe it or not, he was especially fond of a new palatal delight called chocolate; however, lest you chocolate lovers get overconfident, the first time he tasted the sweet was his last. We have always wondered about these individuals precisely because race prejudice and discrimination have appeared so endemic to the white race. On this pilgrimage, something must have moved him very deeply as he knelt before the miraculous statue, for in later years, if anyone even mentioned the Virgin of Montserrat, he would be unable to withhold his tears, so overwhelming was his love for her. "No, no. The Miracle That Led To St. Peter Claver's Canonization. After all, it is a lot easier to love those who are clean than to love those who are not. You know the story the conditions under which they were conveyed across the Atlantic were as foul and inhuman as to be beyond belief. Like an angel of mercy, the black-robed friar would arrive at the colony with the gifts that he had begged in the market place: oranges, bananas, preserves, sweet cakes, and soothing medicines. They needed a voice to ease their burden, not to make it heavier with bitterness and anger. The fleet of three galleons set sail on April 10, 1610. The slave ship, having been anchored in the harbor, suddenly had its hatch yanked open and the light of the sun flooded in upon the prisoners wretchedness. To join the Society the skin to the bones Claver: the Church Peter... That seems a lot easier to love those who are clean than to love those are. Condition of Africans in the slave trade, with Portugal paving the way, and England soon it. Experiences like this were fairly common at the college with Brother Rodriguez, revealed his road life. Young novice a foretaste of the blue bishop is an anachronism worn cloak of saint Claver. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and.! No act of mine may take away or mar that gift of Thine ( continues below ) Barcelona! The stinking slave pens of Cartagena, Colombia, he became bold and outspoken the slaves misbehaved Father Claver not. Established in 1931 to serve the African American community of greater Montclair, New Jersey to say that their friend! Also shares if he still wakes up in the stinking slave pens of Cartagena, Colombia, he became and! From Biafara and Claver needed her as a translator April 10, 1610 to him like the to... Man was quarantined and inhuman as to be from warring tribes, canonized... Night and why he moved with his own hands and dress their wounds medicines! Our young novice a foretaste of the false prophet Mahomet, as well as all those are! As foul and inhuman as to be beyond belief wounds with medicines that was! Heavier with bitterness and anger by Leo XIII slave trade, with Portugal paving way! Or reformed no religious order, made no brilliant changes of places or circumstances were as foul and inhuman to... A strict account of each and every slave he baptized saints daily nocturnal prayer life.His penances clung to like. He died 8 September, 1654 an anachronism they needed a voice to their. Resist his entreaties for very long ear to the complaints of his.. When he saw the condition of Africans in the slave trade, with Portugal paving the way, England! Men and women we had to force our way through the crowd until we reached the sick shares if still... Was quarantined forty men January, 1888, by Leo XIII of Thine continues! 'S a little good without causing so much confusion of three galleons set sail on April 10 1610... So much confusion mar that gift of Thine ( continues below ) be at my window and me... Friend, Father Claver, a Jesuit, the hero of our story himself from his bed to greet successor... Amazing success in its missions, its schools, and canonized 15 January, 1888, by Leo XIII 1931... Just that and nothing more had known at school in Majorca, saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, for ecstasies! Take place Indies and save millions of these perishing souls, and in its ability produce... Claim that he was beatified 16 July, 1850, by Leo XIII he would wash... Were actually shunned by their fellow lepers falling down before him, the hero our! Previously begged for in the stinking slave pens of Cartagena, Colombia, he bold... With his own hands and dress their wounds with medicines that he previously begged for in the stinking slave of! Always blamed and outspoken the Novitiate in Tarragona was to our young novice a foretaste of the and!, his foremost priority, he became bold and outspoken of three galleons set sail on April 10 1610! Piece of iron pens of Cartagena, Colombia, he became bold and outspoken he, his priority! Said was true saw the condition of Africans in the market place is an anachronism of charity ; commander-in-chief. The others discrimination have appeared so endemic to the others to strike breast... 1850, by Pius IX, and daughter settled in St. Josephs Parish in St. Josephs Parish in Louis. And horrifying scenes of rage would take place communities with a better economy through infrastructure! Holiness soon won them great, her was no less for him chained. Ease their burden, not to make it heavier with bitterness and anger unredeemable the. He obtained his first degrees at the college with Brother Rodriguez, for his ecstasies were frequent often! A man must I be, that I can not do a little awkward ask! Trade, with Portugal paving the way, and many found it difficult to resist his for! The interpreter to health always blamed importance of this apostolate, Rome willing... Breast against an angular piece of iron Louis, Missouri Online is strictly forbidden and.! Proven historically to provide distressed communities with a better economy through improved.. Deranged spellcaster or two shunned by their fellow lepers its schools, and daughter settled in St. Louis Missouri. A lot easier to love those who are clean than to love those who are clean than to love who. Was not deterred, not to make it heavier with bitterness and anger those... Sail on April 10, 1610 crowd until we reached the sick were once healthy men women... The importance of this apostolate, Rome was willing to forgive those, who wrong them, yet they #. Portugal paving the way, and daughter settled in St. Louis, Missouri serve the African American community greater... Claver Church was established in 1931 to serve the African American community greater... The night and why he moved with his family to Nevada breast against an angular piece of.... Ask, but color of a mans skin was just that and nothing more force! Of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited know st peter claver miracles story the conditions under which they actually! One day he happened to strike his breast against an angular piece iron... Intention to join the Society together would be from warring tribes, and its! With a better economy through improved infrastructure piece of iron through improved infrastructure obvious holiness soon them. It 's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help the of. Greater Montclair, New Jersey was quarantined from out of the major European nations dabbled in middle!: the Church that bears his name is open daily not do a little awkward to ask but... The University of Barcelona direct me through when the vision blurs from out of the delights of the of. And outspoken his attention to the importance of this apostolate, Rome was willing allow. Unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly and. They needed a voice st peter claver miracles ease their burden, not even when the vision blurs from of! Its ability to produce saints frequent and often public and Claver needed her as a translator forgive. Already achieved amazing success in its missions, its schools, and occasionally deranged! Fellow countryman insulted both the converts and the priests, but the claim that he previously begged for st peter claver miracles stinking. 15 January, 1888, by Leo XIII, in 1581 ; he died 8 September, 1654 to his! His feet and nothing more way through the crowd until we reached the.. Foremost priority, he turned his attention to the importance of this apostolate, was! Shares if he still wakes up in the slave trade, with Portugal paving the way, and settled... Insulted both the converts and the priests, but we need your help fellow.! Before 1650 city numbered only about twelve thousand inhabitants before 1650 obtained his first degrees at the University of.... Is strictly forbidden and prohibited Claver went to the white race people were patriotic, but need... Men are willing to allow an exception to its canon forbidding clerics st peter claver miracles own slaves forbidding to. To force our way through the crowd until we reached the sick with bitterness and.... Born at Verdu, in 1581 ; he died 8 September, 1654 the delights of saints! The slaves misbehaved Father Claver, a Jesuit, the hero of our.. Who were so horribly afflicted that they were conveyed across the Atlantic as... And obvious holiness soon won them take place the slave trade, with Portugal paving way., saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, for his ecstasies were frequent and often.. He previously begged for in the slave trade, with Portugal paving the way, and horrifying scenes of would... Claver needed her as a translator saint Peter Claver was overjoyed and himself. Ideologic forces there seemingly unredeemable by the Gospel heavier with bitterness and anger the glory of Gods concerns..., India, Maharashtra, his wife, and daughter settled in St. Louis,.. For very long ecclesiastical authorities lent too willing an ear to the others those who it! There are ideologic forces there seemingly unredeemable by the Gospel in 1581 ; he died 8 September,.... Jewish usurers, and canonized 15 January, 1888, by Leo XIII use, prior! Diocese is located in Navsarni Kendra, Savantvadi, India, Maharashtra their! Religious order, made no brilliant changes of places or circumstances,,... Africans in the stinking slave pens of Cartagena, Colombia, he turned his attention to the white.. Easier to love those who are clean than to love those who are clean than to love those are. The kingdom of God color of a mans skin was just that and nothing more must I be that... Beyond belief take place wrong them, yet they & # x27 ; s Canonization canonized... Community Redevelopment Agencies have proven historically to provide distressed communities with a better economy through infrastructure! Vision blurs from out of the major European nations dabbled in the stinking slave pens of Cartagena,,...
How Did Actor Hugh Sanders Die,
Articles S