African American Catholic Ministries

Mission Statement
To evangelize, catechize, educate, inform, and empower the African American Catholic community to celebrate the contributions and the gifts of African American Catholics with the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Responsibilities
Implement National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) Pastoral Plan of Action.
Form Diocesan African American Catholic Leadership Team.
Study and implement Open Wide Our Hearts the enduring call to Love (pastoral letter against racism)
Provide workshops addressing ethnicity/cultural and racial harmony. (Racial Sobriety)
To locate African American Catholics in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux
Organize formation programs for lay leaders and those who minster to, with, for, and among the African American Catholic Community for outreach and evangelization.


Programs
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.                                        
Kujenga Youth Retreats                                       
Kwanzaa                                                                      
Mass for Black Catholics
Days of Reflection
Juneteenth


African American Catholic Organizations
National Black Clergy Caucus                                         
National Black Sisters Conference                                
National Association of Black Catholic Administrator     
Catholic Charities                                                         
Institute for Black Catholics                                          
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops                
National Black Catholic Seminarians Associations
National Black Lay Catholic Caucus
Black Catholic Theological Symposium
Knights of St. Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary
National Black Catholic Congress
USCCB Cultural Diversity


On The Road to Sainthood
Venerable Pierre Toussaint (1776-1853)                       
Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange (1784-1882)
Venerable Henriette Delille (1813-1862)                       
Julia Greely (1833 and 1848-1918)
Father August Tolton (1854-1897)                                
Sister Thea Bowman, FSPA (1937-1990)

Cardinal Wilton Daniel Gregory (First African American Cardinal)


Black Catholic Bishops in the United States (active)
Most Rev. Roy Edward Campbell, Jr.                             
Most Rev. Fernand J. Cheri III, O.F. M.
Most Rev. Shelton J. Fabre                                           
Most Rev. Joseph N. Perry


Black Catholic Bishops in the United States (retired)
Most Rev. Gordon D. Bennet, S. J.                                
Most Rev. Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Most Rev. Edward Curtis Guillory, S.V.D.                       
Most Rev. Martin Holley
Most Rev. John H. Ricard, S.S. J.                                   
Most Rev. Guy Sansaricq
Most Rev. Terry Steib, S.V.D.


Prayer for the African American and African Families
God of Mercy and Love we place our African American and African Families before you today. May we be proud of our history and never forget those who paid a great price for our liberation. Bless us one by one and keep our hearts and minds fixed on higher ground. Help us to live for you and not for ourselves, and may we cherish and proclaim the gifts of life. Bless our parents, guardians and grandparents, relatives and friends. Give us the amazing grace to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Help us, as Your children, to live in such a way that the beauty and greatness of authentic love is reflected in all that we say and do. Give a healing anointing to those less fortunate, especially the motherless, the fatherless, the broken, the sick and the lonely. Bless our departed family members and friends. May they be led into the light of Your dwelling place where we never grow old, where we share the fullness of redemption and shout the victory for all eternity. This we ask in the Precious Name of Jesus, our Savior and Blessed Assurance. Amen. Holy Mary, Mother of Our Families, pray for us.
Prayer composed by Fr. JIM GOODE, OFM, who in 1989 founded the National Day of Prayer for the African American and African Families.


Pastoral Statements from 1958-2018 - Read statements issued/approved by USCCB and its predecessors about the sin of racism:

• Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love Pastoral Letter Against Racism-November 2018

• Discrimination & Christian Conscience-November 14, 1958

• On Racial Harmony-August 23, 1963

• Pastoral Statement on Race Relations & Poverty-November 19, 1966

• Statement on National Race Crisis-April 25, 1968

Find more information and resources regarding the issue of racism on USCCB's Combatting Racism webpage.

 For news, current events, and resources on the culture of African American Catholics, please visit The National Black Catholic Congress.