AAMEN ESSAY CONTEST WINNER #3: JULIA BIERSACK
“We should welcome all people, not send them away.” (-Tolton) In 1854, Father Augustus Tolton was born into slavery. His life was filled with discrimination and neglect, but he never lost faith and he preached to many people about hope, forgiveness, and that the Church was open to all. Father Augustus had many obstacles that he had to face on the road to being the first African American priest.
Augustus Tolton was born into slavery then was baptized into the Church. Once the Civil War broke out, his father escaped to go fight for the Union. Augustus’ mother took him, and his siblings, across the Mississippi River into Quincy, Illinois. There he was rejected from schools, until Father Peter McGirr helped him to get into the parish school. Then he went to Quincy College, and after almost 7 years of trying to get into seminaries, he learned that no US seminaries would accept a black student. So, he went to Rome to study at a seminary. Afterwards, he was going to be sent as a missionary to Africa, but the Cardinal Prefect told Father Tolton that the US needed an African American priest.
Being the first African American priest was hard because not everyone wanted to listen to Father Augustus Tolton. He preached to many about hope and forgiveness. After many homilies, Father Tolton became very popular in Quincy, and then he went to Chicago. There he preached to many important figures. But, when exiting from a train after a priestly retreat, he collapsed and died from a heat stroke.
Father Augustus Tolton is now the Venerable Augustus Tolton, on his way to sainthood, because of his missionary work. Being the first African American priest in a time of discrimination and neglect was not an easy life. Father Tolton showed the world perseverance, hope, and compassion despite being turned away by others in his life because of the color of his skin.
Father Tolton persevered even though he did not get to go to school in America, and by doing missionary work in Quincy where people did not always listen to him. He knew that this was God’s plan and hoped that he would be able to share his words and God’s words to others. He showed compassion by speaking of forgiveness in his homilies. His compassion was so great that not only he was able to forgive those who turned him away but he was able to preach to those people about forgiveness, hope, and inclusion to all. He helped many people to have faith, or grow their faith, rather than turn away from the people who had disregarded him and his knowledge of God.
Father Augustus Tolton influenced the world through his kindness, love, and forgiveness. His life shows us how to keep loving God and to persevere through any troubles that might be thrown our way. We should all strive to live a life devoted to God the way that Fr. Tolton did, and never turned our backs on those who have wronged us. Rather, to teach them and help them to grow closer to God and to the faith, the way that Father Augustus Tolton did. As Father Tolton said, “We should welcome all people, not send them away.” We should not live lives of separation, instead live lives of love for God and others.