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.. But it would be inaccurate to label Father Claver as some kind of humanitarian. [email protected] College Phone Numbers. 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. Enter your email address to receive notifications by email every time we post something to the site. 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. ST. PETER CLAVER CATHOLIC CHURCH Rev. For this poor sinner all Claver could do was to pray, for words were useless. Only three times in those four years of his last tribulation did he leave the monastery. Most of the soldiers went so far as to voluntarily enlist in the Spanish army, or in some other way subject themselves to the Spanish crown, rather than to return to their anti-Catholic homelands. The religious there used to say that their welcome friend, Father Claver, did the work of forty men. St. Peter Claver Parish, which was founded in 1886 and administered by the Holy Ghost (Spiritan) Fathers, was Philadelphia's first designated African American parish. When he was only thirteen, his mother Ana died, and within the same month his twenty-year-old brother followed her to the grave. Through his prayer help us to see the true dignity of the human family, all children of one father and to spend ourselves for their salvation. Was Performed at the Shrine of St. Joseph in St. Louis, MO. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As the suffering Negroes, who looked more like black skeletons than men, strained their eyes, they could see the figure of a white man in a black robe smiling at them and descending into their midst to welcome them with an embrace. 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. The Story of Saint Peter Claver, Apostle of Slaves A disciple of Saint Alphonse Rodriguez, Peter Claver became a slave of the slaves in order to take them to heaven. While he preached, he suffered. The very sight of these adandoned lepers was enough to send chills up ones spine. When the Jesuits finally succeeded in establishing a proper place for the body in the church, the Augustinians came and took over the exhausting job of guarding the casket. . Permission was not at first granted and Claver was ordered instead to return to the college at Barcelona for more study in theology. In 1610, he landed at Cartagena (modern Colombia), the principle slave market of the New World, where a thousand slaves were landed every month. He loved to entertain. 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. After this we began an elementary instruction about baptism, that is, the wonderful effects of the sacrament on body and soul. Once, when commended for his apostolic zeal, he replied, It ought to be so but there is nothing but self indulgence in it; it is the result of my enthusiastic and impetuous temperament. Thou gavest life, I pray no act of mine may take away or mar that gift of Thine (continues below). When sailors sailed into town the vices and disorder of the port and other disturbances increased. The Knights of Peter Claver: St. Martin De Porres Council #297 and Ladies Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Francis Court #297 of The Archdiocese of Newark had a 3rd Degree Turnout on Sunday, August 11th, after 10:30 am Mass at Christ The King Church, Jersey City. When he viewed their deplorable condition and saw the fear in their faces, he broke down and cried. Every major feastday he would get together the great city band of Cartagena, and off they would go to perform for the lepers. Peter Claver was a man with a mission. M.J.K. Absentee Line: (07) 3810 5950 In Claver, however, was found a representation of the other side of the Spanish conscience, namely, an abiding affection for humanity especially Gods dark children whom he heard early on were ill-treated with this despicable trade. He prayed, slept, walked, labored, and preached in them for forty long years. The vicar general of the diocese officiated at the funeral. Though Father Sandoval, the founder of the slave apostolate, had only just initiated his new assistant in the care of the blacks, the veteran missioner was shortly thereafter recalled to Peru; consequently, he had to bestow the entire apostolate upon Father Claver. Here in the solitude of his confinement he suffered not only physically but also mentally. T he second miracle took place in St. Louis. Only death could drag hi away. What sort of a man must I be, that I cannot do a little good without causing so much confusion? Claver would ask. They had no charitable funds at their disposal, no plaudits from well-disposed audiences; they were hampered and discouraged by the owners and often rebuffed by the slaves themselves. Photo by Sid Hastings Sid Hastings A relic of St. Peter Claver in a. Some cases involved actual diabolic manifestations. One he always made use of was a very amateurish, one might even respectfully say ugly, representation of the Judgment. The animal took him swiftly all right when, for some strange reason (some witnesses felt the horse was temporarily bewitched), the gentle horse suddenly bolted, galloping wildly through the streets. It officially closed in. His loving solicitude for these co-laborers was so great that if any of them fell sick he would give them his own bed, while he slept on the floor next to the sick man, so that he might be able to wait on him continually. The piercing sunken eyes of the padre read instantly the news in the messengers excited face, Its a slave ship, Father! Suddenly the grave expression of the priest changed into joy His whole countenance beamed as if he had seen a vision. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud. The Catholic Church venerates St. Peter Claver as the patron saint of African Americans and slaves, but Claver himself was neither. In the history of God's Saints we read of heroic souls giving themselves as slaves in exchange for Christian captives. Lord, for love of you St. Peter Claver became the faithful servant of slaves. From 1198 to 1787 the former redeemed, from the Moors. Cajeten Pereira Bishop House In total six people were killed including the priest and three nuns killed in road accident at Sumer. He was a shining light in a dark time. In the past, when he came home from such missions, he was usually so reduced physically that he looked like a walking skeleton. The saint allowed it, provided it was decent, but quite often the temptation got the better of them to overdo it, and it more often than not led to promiscuity. If the glory of Gods house concerns you, go to the Indies and save millions of these perishing souls.. So horrible was the scene and revolting the conditions that a friend who came with Father Claver once could never face it again, and of Father de Sandoval himself it was written in one of the diary entries of his Jesuit province that, when he (Clavers friend) heard a vessel of Negroes was come into port he was at once covered with a cold sweat and death-like pallor at the recollection of the indescribable fatigue and unspeakable work on the previous like occasions. But his sullen-ness and even the sadness reflected from his deep-set eyes were not the result of his excessive mortification. (Fakhri B. Maluf, Ph.D.), RIP Prior: Brother Andr Marie, M.I.C.M. Then we sat, or rather knelt beside them and bathed their faces and bodies with wine. He informed his father of his intention to join the Society. 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. Claver treated their needy souls almost the same way he treated afflicted bodies. The crude picture graphically portrayed the Crucified Christ with His Precious Blood pouring from His Wounds into a basin. He had a steady confidence that God would care for them and, not his least worry were the slave owners whom he did not deem beyond the mercy of God. They provided no religious instruction or ministration for their slaves, no alleviation of their physical condition, so that the sacrament of baptism became to the slaves, unfortunately, a sign and symbol of their oppression and wretchedness instead of their salvation. Visit the website Show place on Google Maps. The driver of the vehicle and a teacher were also killed in the incident around 3 pm. For this extraordinary Jesuit, whose life we are about to study, the arrival of a slave ship was like the homecoming of a long lost son. One thing the Negroes had a craving for was dancing. For the infirm he would come out of his stuffy box and often set them on his knees so as to accommodate them more easily, and after he was through, he would invite them all for a little breakfast. Out from these massive bulwarks of stone peered formidable artillery batteries and sentinel boxes, where watchmen scoured the horizon for an enemy sail. Many of the lepers could not speak at all; they could only look at him, if they had eye, and touch the tears on his cheeks while they moaned some sort of guttural, Thank you.. When he is overloaded, he is dumb. The two men conversed at length, discussing the Catholic position as opposed to the Protestant. Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike License. He kept a strict account of each and every slave he baptized. Extra ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the Church there is no salvation). Claver was not always well received. Little is known of his early years. Until death, he was politely told. Give your warning sign if danger is near so that I may stop while the path is clear. And to save many souls.. The Negroes were especially affected; Peter Claver had been a real father to them. Your captains and mates must neither have dainty fingers nor dainty noses,few men are fit for these voyages but them that are bred up to it. Here he met Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, the man who was to thoroughly inspire him and send him on his lifes mission. The U.S. bishops have invited Catholics to observe the day with fasting and prayer for an end to racism in the United States. From a letter written by Peter Claver, priest, to his superiors, written in the Spanish language, 31 May, 1627. epist. They thought that their blood was going to be used to dye the ships sails, and that their fat to grease her keel. Four years is a long time to be laid up. 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. September 9 marked the Feast of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who ministered to African slaves in Colombia in the 17th century. There were fugitives of all sorts, despairing failures of fortune, pirates, bigamists who had abandoned wife and home, money-hungry merchants, retired soldiers, heretics, Mohammedans, all varieties of Europeans, Jews, Greeks, and of course, native Indians, mestizos, mulattos, and last and saddest of all, the black slaves. One day close to his very last, as he lay in his cell, the saint heard a great deal of rejoicing in the residence. Late in 1861, a sharp piece of iron bruised his chest, resulting in . Through his prayer help us to see the true dignity of the human family, all children of one father and to spend ourselves for their salvation. So Claver gave it none- except what was absolutely necessary to sustain life. 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. It reminded me of the miracles attributed to Peter Claver. An epidemic had spread again, and the saint began to feel its bite in his own flesh as he returned from a mission to his slaves in one of the outlying villages. He embraced lepers, kissed cancerous lesions, sucked out poison from running ulcers, washed the unclean and dined in their unsightly hovels, nor did he refrain even from eating food some despairing suicidals had rejected from their own mouths, in his determination to gain their confidence. I love thee much. At that moment. The following incident illustrates the struggle of the saint to overcome nature. If a baby had the misfortune to be taken with its mother, or born during the voyage, it usually died of malnutrition. 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. At long last, the pilgrim came home to his city, Cartagena. The girls' school, called the St. Joseph's School For Girls (or the Spanish Indian Residential School for Girls), relocated to a 400-acre piece of land next to the St. Peter Claver School in Spanish, Ontario, in 1913; construction of St. Joseph's would not be completed until the following year, however.. He also shared a video on his Instagram, which is below the Today Show interview: WATCH the Inspiring Today Show Interview below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mark Wahlberg (@markwahlberg), Auxiliary Bishop David OConnell of Los Angeles, California, was killed on February 18th. 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