St. Rose Priory Church

November is Catholic Black History Month. For our edification, below you will find many Black Saints, Blesseds and Venerables.

Canonized Saints

St. Josephine Bakhita (c. 1869-1947). Born in Darfur, Sudan, she was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery several times. After being taken to Italy, she met the Canossian Sisters, was baptized in 1890, and spent decades as a sister in Schio. She was canonized in 2000 and is the patron of trafficking victims (feast: Feb. 8). St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639). Born in Lima, Peru, to a Spanish nobleman and a freed woman of African descent, he faced prejudice because of his mixed race. He became a Dominican lay brother known for caring for the sick and the poor, regardless of their background. He was canonized in 1962 (feast: Nov. 3). St. Benedict the Moor (1526-1589). Born in Sicily to enslaved African parents, he was freed and joined a group of Franciscan hermits. Though he never learned to read, he was chosen as their superior, and he later served as a cook in Palermo. He is a patron of African Americans. St. Moses the Black (4th century). Tradition says he was an Ethiopian slave who became a violent robber before converting and joining the desert monks of Egypt. He became known for humility, hospitality, and nonviolence. He was reportedly killed by raiders, whom he chose not to resist. St. Charles Lwanga and the Uganda Martyrs (d. 1886). Lwanga was a royal page in Uganda who protected younger pages from the king’s abuse. He and his companions were executed for refusing to renounce their faith, and many were burned alive. Twenty-two Catholic martyrs were canonized in 1964 (feast: June 3). St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430). Born in Thagaste in North Africa, he became bishop of Hippo and one of the Church’s greatest theologians, writing Confessions and City of God. His exact ancestry is debated, but he is commonly counted among African saints (feast: Aug. 28). St. Monica (c. 331-387). Augustine’s mother, from North Africa, spent years praying for her son’s conversion. She is a model of patient perseverance and a patron of mothers (feast: Aug. 27). Sts. Perpetua and Felicity (d. 203). These two young women were martyred in Carthage. Perpetua, a nursing mother of noble birth, kept a prison diary, and Felicity was an enslaved woman who gave birth shortly before their deaths (feast: March 7). St. Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258). Bishop of Carthage, he led his church through persecution and wrote on the unity of the Church. He was beheaded as a martyr (feast: Sept. 16). St. Athanasius (c. 296-373). Bishop of Alexandria, he defended the divinity of Christ against Arianism and was exiled several times for it. He is a Doctor of the Church (feast: May 2). St. Victor I (pope, c. 189-199). Often identified as the first pope from Africa, he led the Church in a dispute over the date of Easter. He is remembered as an early strong voice of Roman authority. St. Miltiades (pope, 311-314). An African-born pope, he led the Church as Roman persecution ended under Constantine. The Lateran property, which became the Church’s first great basilica, was given during his pontificate. St. Gelasius I (pope, 492-496). Described in early records as African-born, he was known for caring for the poor. He also wrote influentially on the distinct roles of Church and state.

Blesseds

Bl. Isidore Bakanja (c. 1885-1909). A Congolese catechist and laborer, he was brutally flogged by his employer for wearing a Catholic scapular and for sharing his faith. He forgave his persecutor before he died and was beatified in 1994. Bl. Clémentine Anuarite Nengapeta (1939-1964). A Congolese Sister of the Holy Family, she was killed during a rebellion after resisting a soldier’s assault. She was beatified in 1985. Bl. Victoire Rasoamanarivo (1848-1894). A Malagasy noblewoman, she kept the Catholic community together when missionaries were expelled from Madagascar. She was beatified in 1989. Bl. Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi (1903-1964). A Nigerian Igbo priest, he later became a Cistercian monk in England. He was beatified in 1998. Bl. Daudi Okelo and Bl. Jildo Irwa (d. 1918). These two Ugandan teenage catechists were killed for their faith in northern Uganda. They were beatified together in 2002. Bl. Floribert Bwana Chui (1981-2007). A young Congolese customs official, he refused a bribe to let spoiled food through, protecting the health of people in his community. He was killed for it and beatified in 2025.

Venerables and Servants of God

Venerable Henriette DeLille (1812-1862). A free woman of color in New Orleans, she founded the Sisters of the Holy Family. They served the poor, the elderly, and enslaved people. Servant of God Julia Greeley (c. 1848-1918). Born enslaved in Missouri, she settled in Denver, where she was known as the “Angel of Charity.” She secretly delivered food and goods to poor families at night. Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman (1937-1990). A Mississippi-born Franciscan sister, she taught and sang, and she spoke powerfully about the gifts of Black Catholic culture. She did this even while battling cancer. Venerable Mary Lange (c. 1784-1882). Born in the Caribbean, she founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore in 1829. It was the first successful Catholic religious order for women of African descent, and its sisters educated Black children. Venerable Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853). Born enslaved in Haiti, he became a hairdresser in New York and was later freed. He gave generously to the poor, orphans, and the Church, and is credited as an early founder of Catholic charity there. Venerable Augustus Tolton (1854-1897). Born enslaved in Missouri, his family escaped to Quincy, Illinois. He was refused by American seminaries and ordained in Rome in 1886, becoming the first publicly recognized Black Catholic priest in the U.S. He served in Quincy and Chicago and died at age 43.