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Venerable Augustus Tolton. / Credit: Public domain
CNA Staff, Jun 19, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
On June 19, the United States commemorates the anniversary of the 1865 order that gave freedom to enslaved African Americans in Texas, issued two months after the Civil War ended. More commonly known as “Juneteenth,” it became a federal holiday in 2021 and serves as a fitting day to remember the first Black Catholic priest in the U.S. whose cause has been opened for canonization — Venerable Augustus Tolton.
Tolton was born into slavery in Brush Creek, Ralls County, Missouri, on April 1, 1854, to Catholic parents Peter Paul Tolton and Martha Jane Chisley.
Peter Paul escaped shortly after the beginning of the Civil War and joined the Union Army, dying shortly thereafter. In 1862, Augustus Tolton, along with his mother and two siblings, escaped by crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois.
“John, boy, you’re free. Never forget the goodness of the Lord,” Tolton’s mother reportedly told him after the crossing.
トルトンは、ピーター・マクギル神父の助けのおかげで、イリノイ州クインシーにある白人専用の小教区学校、聖ペトロ・カトリック学校に通い始めた。神父はその後、トルトンに洗礼を授け、初聖体の指導を行い、司祭職への召命を奨励した。
人種を理由にアメリカのどの神学校もトルトンを受け入れなかったため、彼はローマで司祭になるための勉強をし、1886年に31歳で叙階され、アフリカ系アメリカ人として初めて司祭に叙階された。
トルトンは米国に戻り、クインシーの小教区で3年間奉仕した。その後シカゴへ行き、黒人カトリック信者のための小教区、聖モニカ小教区を立ち上げた。彼は1897年に黙想会中に予期せず亡くなるまでそこに留まった。わずか43歳だった。
During his short but impactful life, Tolton learned to speak fluent English, German, Italian, Latin, Greek, and African dialects. He was also a talented musician with a beautiful voice. He helped the poor and sick, fed the hungry, and helped many discover the faith. He was lovingly known as “Good Father Gus.”
Tolton’s cause was opened by the Archdiocese of Chicago on Feb. 24, 2011, making him a servant of God, and then on June 12, 2019, Pope Francis declared him venerable, which is the second step toward canonization.
Addressing the committee who was to decide where Tolton would be sent after his ordination in 1886 and who overruled the previous decision to send him to Africa, Cardinal Giovanni Simeoni reportedly said the following: “America has been called the most enlightened nation in the world. We shall see whether it deserves that honor. If the United States has never before seen a Black priest, it must see one now.”
Despite President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation going into effect on Jan. 1, 1863, it could not be implemented in states still under Confederate control, and enforcement of the proclamation relied upon the advance of Union troops. It wasn’t until Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans were freed by executive decree.
This story was first published on June 19, 2024, and has been updated.