US diocese to build shrine for Venerable Fr. Tolton, first US Black priest
By Isabella H. de Carvalho
Venerable Father Augustine Tolton—the first publicly recognized Black priest in the United States—surmounted racial tensions and divisions that marked the country in the 19th century and lived a full life serving the Church and its faithful, while being loved by many.
Now his life story and witness are set to reach many more people as the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, where he grew up and ministered, announced on April 29 that they plan to build a shrine in his honor at St. Boniface Church, in the city of Quincy.
Father Augustine Tolton “overcame all the divisions of his time and he did so with peace, hope and love,” said Father Steven Arisman, Chairman of the Committee for The Shrine for Father Augustine Tolton and pastor of St. Francis Solanus Parish in Quincy, in an interview with Vatican News.
“His story teaches us how to do the same in our own time, with the divisions we see in our world today.”
Fr. Tolton’s cause for canonization was formally opened in 2010, and in 2019 he was recognized as a Venerable—the second of the four steps towards sainthood—by Pope Francis. If a miracle is attributed to his intercession, he can then be recognized as Blessed, and if then a second miracle is confirmed then he can be declared a Saint.
An example of perseverance in the face of adversity
Fr. Tolton was born into slavery in 1854 in Missouri. When he was still a child he escaped with his mother and siblings to Illinois and settled in Quincy. Although slavery was officially abolished in 1865, African Americans continued facing a lot of discrimination and even in Quincy Fr. Tolton had to change schools twice to be able to pursue an education.
He was also confronted with religious divisions, as when he was 24-years-old he opened the first school for Black children in Quincy but was met with opposition from African American Protestants who refused to send their children there as he was Catholic.
Fr. Arisman highlighted how Venerable Tolton didn’t let this be a source of tension or “something that brought him down,” but rather he used it “as an opportunity to continue to reach across and welcome all peoples to show them the gift of education in the life of the faith.”
As he grew older, Fr. Tolton discerned a call to the priesthood but no American seminary would accept him as a Black man. He was thus admitted in 1880 to the Pontifical Urban University in Rome as a seminarian for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fidei), the entity of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and which today has become the Dicastery for Evangelization.
He was ordained on April 24, 1886, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome and sent back to his home diocese to serve the faithful there. He became known for his zealous preaching, his humility and his attention to the poorest and marginalized.
For Fr. Arisman, what we can learn from Fr. Tolton’s story today is his “perseverance in the face of great trial, perseverance in great difficulty, and perseverance in that hope that Jesus is the one who saves us.”
His is a story of “unity with Christ, who is our Salvation, but also of how to live in harmony with one another, how to find a way to overcome divisions and tensions so that we can find a common ground.”
Overcoming difficulties with peace
Additionally, Venerable Tolton “not only experienced a great difficulty with racial division, but also with priestly jealousy,” Fr. Arisman explained.
“He was so loved as a preacher and pastor in this area. There were many priests that did not particularly like the fact that he was loved above them.”
In this regard, Fr. Tolton faced harassment and discrimination from a German priest from a nearby parish. This situation led to Tolton being moved to Chicago, where he served the city’s Black Catholics until his death from a heat stroke in 1897. He was then buried in Quincy.
“He dealt with every kind of division and every kind of difficulty in his life with such peace, tranquility, and perseverance. That really teaches us how to look to Christ as the foundation of what we're doing and who we are,” Fr. Arisman said.
A Shrine that brings people together
Today, Fr. Tolton's story and witness continue to bring people together. At the launch event for the shrine in Quincy there were people from all walks of life, including local politicians and Protestant and Catholic representatives.
Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois blessed a commemorative plaque during the event. Bishop Joseph Perry, retired auxiliary bishop of Chicago, and diocesan postulator of Fr. Tolton's cause, was also present.
Fr. Arisman underlined how Fr. Tolton “really teaches us to come together” and noted that even the committee to build the shrine is very diverse. “We have people of other faith backgrounds. We have some people who are not of any faith at all, but they love Tolton’s story.”
“Throughout the world, but also in the United States, to have a story like Tolton’s that can unite us in speaking of Christ, really helps reach out to people who I think would otherwise not be involved,” he emphasized.
“The most important thing is to tell the story of Jesus Christ, because Tolton lived his entire life for Him.”
The Shrine will be located at the site where Fr. Tolton offered his first public Mass in Quincy and where later St. Boniface Church was built. The church was closed in 2020 and has since fallen into disrepair. The launch event was also to begin raising funds, as it is estimated that the cost to renovate the space will be over $5 million.
Fr. Arisman also pointed out the importance of having the Shrine in Quincy, which is where he says Venerable Tolton’s heart was, as it represented for him a “place of freedom” and “of welcome and hospitality.”
Get to know Father “Gus”
For Fr. Arisman the construction of the Shrine is an opportunity for Venerable Tolton’s story to go beyond Quincy and the United States and encourage more people to get to know him and turn to him in prayer.
“One thing I tell people all the time is, get to know good Father “Gus”, as he was called. You will have a good friend for the rest of your life,” he said.
“He's such a wonderful friend and confidant, somebody you can turn to for intercession, guidance and inspiration in his story.”
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