Thousands pressed forward to touch their Rosaries, linens, and medals to his hands and to his feet, which were left uncovered. Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. But heaven could not resist the sighs of the saint as he stormed the throne of grace to melt their hearts. How difficult was his task in teaching is shown by the fact that at baptism each batch of ten catechumens was given the same name to help them to remember it. He kept a strict account of each and every slave he baptized. . Yes, Peter Claver intended to do just that, knowing as he did, that consciences speak more easily in time of sorrow than of joy. Clavers fame spread throughout the world. You know the story the conditions under which they were conveyed across the Atlantic were as foul and inhuman as to be beyond belief. We must speak to them with our hands before we speak to them with our lips.. . Like a mother, he would press their deformed frames to his, encouraging them to endure their purgatory here so that they might cross directly to heaven at death, for paradise was so close. 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. The faith was often perceived as a conduit of this evil. They were packed together like sardines in a can, left to wallow in their own sweat, vomit, urine and human waste. Many of these poor unfortunates had been torn from their families in their prime of life. This was his main thesis: the flesh could not rebel if the flesh knew only pain. 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. City magistrates ordered that he should be buried at public expense and with great pomp. First, the governor Don Pedro de Zapata came, and with him the magistrates. They were especially amazed at the devoutness of the Catholic soldiers. In fact, the Catholic Church, for so doing, granted them spiritual benefits. As the slaves were at length allotted and sent off to the mines and plantations, Claver could only appear to them for the last time with renewed earnestness, for he would be able to keep in touch with only very few of them. 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. In that way we covered a space to which we at last transferred the sick, by forcing a passage through bands of slaves. When he is evilly spoken of, he is dumb. 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. He gulped his final breath of air lying in the arms of his confessor. February 17th 1937 was a day upon which a miracle happened. The Negroes were especially affected; Peter Claver had been a real father to them. But the scanty amount of food proved a blessing to many, who, afflicted with disease, would have been consumed more rapidly if they had had a healthier diet. People were patriotic, but color of a mans skin was just that and nothing more. Large numbers of the sick were lying on the wet ground or rather in puddles of mud. Amen. It didnt come quickly. 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. Sometimes two men chained together would be from warring tribes, and horrifying scenes of rage would take place. He labored unceasingly for the salvation of the African slaves and the abolition of the Negro slave trade, and the love he lavished on them was something that transcended the natural order. Bot the saint knew it not. He did such things not once, not twice, as some saints have done, but nearly every day for forty long toilsome years.Claver took care of Negro slaves. The riches of those countries are prized whilst the peoples are despised. How many more miracles have taken place in connection with this church over the past 150 years, no one knows. 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. Upon his reception into the novitiate, Claver inscribed these words into his notebook as to the reason motivating him to a religious life, to become a saint, he wrote, and a very great saint. For two days the people marched past the sacred remains with great solemnity and emotion, kissing his hands and feet; first the nobles, and finally the Negroes. St. Peter Claver became the faithful servant of slaves. Never had any of them been loved as this man had loved them. Four years is a long time to be laid up. They then sent him to Barcelona for his theology studies and after two years were, at his further request, chosen to represent the province of Aragon at the mission of Spanish Jesuits being sent to New Granada. Some cases involved actual diabolic manifestations. St. Peter Claver Parish in Tyler hosted the second-annual procession ceremony for the Lord of Miracles on Tuesday night. Instantly his conscience accused him, and ashamed of his cowardice, he retired to a corner of the room and delivered himself a brutal scourging, confessing all the while his fault in not loving enough one who was redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ. Claver was not always well received. The experience and practice of years never accustomed him to it.. In the hospital of Saint Sebastian Claver was also able to convert back to the Faith many Dutchmen who had been badly wounded in battle. Her condition, thank God, suddenly improved and both she and the baby are well. Too bad todays social experts werent around in the seventeenth century to help the slaves. They knew he meant what he said and what he said was true. Facilitating this trafficking in human cargo was the reasoning that blacks were in most if not all instances culturally and essentially inferior. The two earlier coffins are preserved as relics in the Jesuit residence at Cartagena. 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. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. St. Peter Claver (1580-1654) was a Jesuit who, due to his life and work, became the patron saint of slaves, Colombia and African Americans. He immediately made inquiry. 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. Miracles of St. Peter Claver Ignatius Strecker came to America from Germany in 1853. top of page. Claver greeted sinners and even served them. 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. Category. Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It was an era of expansion. No sin, he assured them, was too great for Jesus to forgive in confession. So ugly was the business that eventually Englands conscience was so bothered by it that Great Britain abolished the slave trade in 1815 while America continued it for another fifty years, till Emancipation of the slaves by its 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. 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. Smallpox, scurvy, and other deadly plagues spread like wildfire below the deck, due to the lack of any sanitation. Lifting his hands, they watered them with tears, crying out that they had lost their greatest friend and protector. Clavers problem was that he was sensitive. A rich merchant once called him to his house to give the sacraments to a dying Negro who was one mass of ulcers. . The whites were also affected. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. The next time he left was to hear the confession of the holy laywoman, Dona Isabel who, sick and bedridden, was afraid that it might be her last opportunity to speak to the saint in this life. 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. Claver left Spain in April 1610 and never returned. At the end of the Masses, a group of distinguished men approached the casket. Until death, he was politely told. The vicar general of the diocese officiated at the funeral. According to the research of Hugh Thomas, an estimated eleven million blacks were brought to the Americas for uncompensated labor in the course of the period, 1440-1870. Near the confessional he also had holy books with pictures of the Passion, which he insisted that all the people ponder before they confessed. The tortured body of Father Claver, which the saint never ceased to submit to the hairshirt and discipline, could barely contain the ghost. Today one can visit the room and window from which Father Claver peered out to be ready once ships arrived with captured and bartered blacks. Episode 361: Whether God Exists? the Five Proofs, The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Outside the Church there is no Salvation (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus), Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire, Brother Francis, M.I.C.M. The fathers immediately took him to a more suitable room than his own cell to recuperate. But then, America did not give up on the idea. Strangely enough, when the man saw the saint he called out to him, Oh my Father! When this fact was safely determined, the Christians were separated from the pagans, and they received a Rosary and a medal to be put around their necks. Church of Saint Peter Claver is located in West Hartford Connecticut Not long afterwards, at two oclock, while the assembled community invoked the names of Jesus and Mary, he sweetly surrendered his faithful soul to God. As a dressing for the wounds of the whipping, he wore over them a soothing full-length hairshirt. 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. Food and water were given to each, and many had to be hand fed, so weak and sickly had they become. The trade had recently been given a considerable impetus, for the local Indians the natives- were deemed not physically fitted to work in the gold and silver mines and so there was this big demand for blacks from Angola and Congo. Dedicated to a South American human rights pioneer whose remains still rest there today, Sanctuary of Saint Peter Claver exudes a sense of tranquility. 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. The Negro nurse who was supposed to take care of him was a crude hard-hearted man who had no appreciation for what this great and burdensome invalid had done for his race. RIVERVIEW QLD 4303 Postal Address. They came from villages where agriculture, farming and nature were at the center of life, where spirits dwelt in each thing around them, and where isolation was unthinkable since the self was always in relationship to others. 36 St Peter Claver by Shining Light Dolls published on 2019-09-08T23:42:20Z. He felt he could never advise another to bear a cross that he himself wasnt already bearing. The soil of Clavers soul was fertile and moist. At night in death row, instead of cries of despair, was often heard the crack of a penitential scourge which the saint had left behind saying, Suffer now, my brother, and make the best of the brief time remaining you.. Copyright 2004-2020 Saint Benedict Center, Richmond, New Hampshire. Most of the major European nations dabbled in the slave trade, with Portugal paving the way, and England soon monopolizing it. 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. 2023 Knights of Peter Claver Having finished his first Novitiate, Claver was sent to study philosophy on the College of Montesion (Mount Sion) in the city of Palma on the island of Majorca. At fourteen, he left home to pursue his vocation at the college in Barcelona. But his sullen-ness and even the sadness reflected from his deep-set eyes were not the result of his excessive mortification. On one occasion, as out future apostle passed by his spiritual master with a fellow student on their way to recreation, Brother Alphonsus stopped them and said, Remember, the Three Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity go with you. Instantly the holy porter was seized by a heavenly rapture and he stood senseless as if in trance. Be at my window and direct me through when the vision blurs From out of the blue. Slavery is not the subject of this article; however, before going on, the reader should at least divest himself of any false notion liberals may have implanted in him that the system was localized in the Americas. Funk, Motown, Pop, Pop Soul, Quiet Storm, Soul, Southern Soul, R&B, Brill Building Pop, Rhythm And Blues, and Classic Soul. Claver means keeper of the keys. The holy brother of Montesion kept the keys of the college, for he served as the porter. Pope Leo XIII sent a golden coffin for his remains along with a pipe organ which sits in the choir loft of the Church to this day. 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. The devil, instead, does the opposite: he enters the scene to divide Jesus from the Father and to distra. Many of the poor Negroes, having exaggerated fears of their approaching fate, took their own lives in despair. 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. He brought them anything they desired: tobacco, sweets, good books, cakes, even paper and a pen to write letters with. At long last, the pilgrim came home to his city, Cartagena. But the criminals came from all over. After this we began an elementary instruction about baptism, that is, the wonderful effects of the sacrament on body and soul. He lived from 1581 to 1654. Its a filthy voyageas well as a laborious [one]., Sir Dalby Thomascommander of the Royal Africa Company at Cape Coast, the Gold Coast, c. 1700Hugh Thomas, The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870,Touchstone Books, 1997. Blacks were forced here, captured, bartered, and purchased from territories of the west coast of Africa what is today the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and other places deeper in the continent stretching as far as the Congo. Again at two oclock he would return after a scanty meal and a meditation. I am sorry for having offended Thee. After his ordination in 1616, he dedicated himself by special vow to the service of the Negro slaves-a work that was to last for thirty-three years. 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. The Jesuits -Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, Noel Chabanel and their companions have their blood soaked indelibly in American soil around the same time Claver was in Cartagena. Immediately he set out to help them, taking with him a free Negress named Magdalena, who used to collect alms in the city for the saint to distribute. In some cases, their terror was so grave that the victims hearts literally froze and they died from shock. The beauty of the world; that thus I may with joy and courtesy go on my way. 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. That; they had been brought across the ocean to be freed from their slavery to the devil, and to learn the way to everlasting happiness. But Claver was not deterred, not even when the ecclesiastical authorities lent too willing an ear to the complaints of his critics. to peoples judged, by the impoverished social consciousness of that time, substandard in their origin, purpose and development. Claver couldnt remove the cross but he could make it sweet. In all this he found more opportunity to suffer. This, of course, he had never done, except conditionally in cases of doubt, but he was nevertheless forbidden to baptize in the future. In gratitude for the Fayette parish's support, the Voices of Peter Claver is opening the January concert to the public. When he is starved, he is dumb. After receiving the last sacraments he recovered slightly but he was never the same. And in fact, convinced as they were that they had been brought here to be eaten, any other language would have proved utterly useless. He is the Patron Saint of: *Slaves, *the Republic of Columbia, *the Ministry to African Americans * and Sea-Farers. Much as men are willing to forgive those, who wrong them, yet they' never . His hands and clothing were instantly covered with infectious filth. 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. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. To cover the feverish and naked, to wash wounds, to shroud women penitents and to place upon it the abandoned sick, until he could procure them a mat for a bed. ". We are a Special Conference of the St Vincent DePaul Society serving Central Florida. 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. Taking his beloved pupil aside, the humble teacher of saints (many great missionaries were guided by Rodriguez) spoke with authority: I cannot express to you the sorrow that I feel at seeing that God is unknown to the greater part of the world. It was here at this holy sanctuary, high on a mountain in Catalonia that the founder of the Society of Jesus signified his complete conversion, by laying his soldiers sword down at the feet of the famous Madonna. Source: "Saint a Day" "St. Peter Claver (1581 A. D. - 1654 A. D.): by temperament, Father Peter Claver was shy. He, his wife, and daughter settled in St. Josephs Parish in St. Louis, Missouri. Africans at that time were abused because they were backward and exploitable, not because they were black. 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