RALEIGH, N.C. — The Diocese of Raleigh’s Racial Justice and Reconciliation Ministry hosted the St. Peter Claver Mass on his feast day, Sept. 9, at Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral.
Monsignor John Wall offered the homily and celebrated Mass with the congregation and fellow members of clergy: Monsignor David Brockman, rector and pastor of the cathedral, Father Chris Koehn, Father Daniel Oschwald, Deacon Luis Royo, Deacon Josh Klickman and Deacon Michael Brown.
After Mass, presentations were given and a reception was held in the cathedral’s parish center.
According to Deacon Josh, the event officially launched the Racial Justice and Reconciliation Collaborative, which recognizes and provides “resources to the projects and ministries that have existed since the evangelization of North Carolina that promote the dignity of every human life.”
In his homily, Monsignor Wall, 91, recalled his childhood living in Greensboro, North Carolina and the “horrors of separation” he observed on public transportation, in theaters, in restaurants and at water fountains. He also recounted the ministry of Bishop Vincent Waters, Raleigh’s third bishop, who, he said, “made a great effort to recruit African American students to the priesthood” and integrated diocesan parishes and schools in the 1950s.
Monsignor Wall discussed the life of St. Peter Claver, the patron saint of African Americans and enslaved people, who died in 1654 and was canonized in 1888. A Jesuit priest who served and ministered to enslaved Africans in Colombia for 38 years, St. Peter Claver baptized over 300,000 people and called himself "the slave of the slaves forever".
According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “the memorial of St. Peter Claver is an occasion for heightened prayer and action to strive for peace in our communities.”
For Monsignor Wall, the life of St. Peter Claver gave him insight to understand the needs of people and how those should be honored.
“We will be using this feast day in the future to pray for racial reconciliation and to gather in fellowship to provide a collaborative and informative space,” said Deacon Josh.
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