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Black priest a model for racial healing in church, society, says pastor
Father Augustine Tolton, also known as Augustus, is pictured in a photo from an undated portrait card. Born into slavery in Missouri, he was ordained a priest and is now on the path to sainthood. (CNS photo/courtesy of Archdiocese of Chicago Archives and Records Center)
By Gina Christian • Posted February 14, 2021
A Black priest on the path to sainthood is a model for racial healing in the Catholic Church and American society, said a Philadelphia pastor and educator.
In a Feb. 10 webinar, Father Stephen Thorne of St. Martin de Porres Parish surveyed the life and legacy of Father Augustus Tolton, the first African American priest to be ordained in the United States. Chicago Cardinal Francis George (now deceased) announced the cause for Father Tolton’s canonization in 2010; nine years later, Pope Francis declared Father Tolton “Venerable.”