AAMEN ESSAY WINNER: Yara Kozhaya
The African Ancestry Ministry and Evangelization Network (AAMEN) invites you to join us in celebration of National Black Catholic History Month (NBCHM). In 1990, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus designated November as NBCHM. The National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus chose Notre Dame University’s Theodore Hesburgh Library to entrust the archives. These historical documents contain information about African-American Catholic priests, sisters, brothers, deacons, seminarians and lay people. November also marks a time, when in loving remembrance, the church prays for all saints and souls, as well as a time to recall the saints and souls of Africa and African diaspora.
To celebrate NBCHM, St. Michael Chapter of AAMEN worked with St. Michael School to introduce the Middle School students to Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman, an African American convert to Catholicism. She was a Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. The students studied the life of Sr. Thea, her contributions to the Catholic Church, and were invited to write an essay. The winning essays will be featured in the bulletins though-out the month of November. Please take time to reflect on Sr. Thea Bowman as she awaits our church’s recognition as a Saint.
Sixth Grade – Yara Kozhaya
Saints come from different places with different backgrounds. Not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up in a bubble protected from the outside world. Pierre wasn’t. He was born into slavery, persevered through many hardships, and became a free man only in his forties. Toussaint focused his life on loving and caring for others. He proves to us that it doesn’t matter your race or your background, but what you make of yourself.
Pierre didn’t have the same opportunities as others because he was Black. He was born into slavery in Haiti, but taken to New York (“Black Catholics See Continued Progress on the Road to Canonization for ‘Saintly Six”‘). He gained his freedom in 1807 from his owner just before she passed away. Toussaint became a free man in his early forties; however, his whole childhood was gone. Still, he always kept a positive attitude and looked for the good in everything. After arriving in New York, his owner secured him an apprenticeship with a hairdresser. Through this work, Pierre was able to pick up some skills. He became a great hairdresser where he earned a good salary. With his earnings, he freed his sister, Rosalie, his future wife, Juliette, and many enslaved others. Pierre and Juliette were not able to have children of their own, so they adopted many orphans, including Pierre’s niece, Euphemie (“Venerable Pierre Toussaint I LA Catholics”).
Pierre was a loving person. He didn’t have to do what he did. He didn’t have to free others from slavery. He didn’t have to help the sick and suffering during the Yellow Fever epidemic when many leaders fled to safer places. Pierre stayed through it all. He was a wealthy entrepreneur who didn’t even need to work as much as he did. Pierre Toussaint worked hard for others, not himself. Toussaint said, “I have enough for myself, but if I stop work, I have not enough for others” (“Pierre Toussaint Quotes”). This led him to be established as a man full of integrity and kindness, and rightly so. Aside from freeing others, he also funded orphanages, helped the unemployed develop skills and find work, established hostels for priests and refugees, and supported ecclesial institutions. He was a rich, self-made man, and never hesitated to share his belongings with others (“LA Catholics”). I think we can all see why Toussaint was loved by many, including Revolutionary War leader, General Philip Schuyler. The General had this to say about Pierre: “I have known Christians who were not gentlemen or gentlemen who were not Christians–but one man I know who is both–and that man is Black” (“MAAP I Place Detail: Pierre Toussaint”). Pierre Toussaint died in 1853 but wasn’t declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II until 1996. He had his remains transferred from Lower Manhattan to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan where he is buried as the only lay person. He is on the road to becoming North America’s first black saint (“Venerable Pierre Toussaint” [Archdiocese of New York}).
Pierre Toussaint exemplifies the truth that it doesn’t matter who you’re born as, but who you die as. He shows us that there is no excuse to stop loving others and praying to God. Yes, he was born a slave, but he died as so much more than that. He’s commemorated as a benevolent and generous person. There are many things that Pierre did in his lifetime to not only be remembered as a man full of integrity, but also to take the title Venerable. From freeing other slaves to taking in orphans to donating to the less fortunate, Toussaint embodies how God wants us to treat his creation. But that’s not the biggest impact that he made. Pierre Toussaint proved that you can accomplish great things and love others no matter where you come from. Coming from slavery, Pierre was still able to amaze all of us with his works of mercy and love for others. “I have never felt I am a slave to any man or woman but I am a servant of Almighty God who made us all. When one of His children is in need, I am glad to be His slave” (“Venerable Pierre Toussaint” [Knights of Peter Claver}). This is the attitude that Pierre had, it’s the attitude that got him on the path to sainthood, and it’s the attitude that we should all follow.
Works Cited
“Black Catholics Sec Continued Progress on the Road to Canonization for ‘Saintly Six.”‘
Today’s Catholic, 3 June 2021,
https://satodayscatholic.org/black-catholics-see-continued-progress-on-the-road-to-canoni zation-for-saintly-six/. Accessed 2 October 2023.
“MAAP I Place Detail: Pierre Toussaint.” MAAP I J\1apping the African American Past,
https://maap.colurnbia.edu/place/13.html. Accessed 8 October 2023.
“Pierre Toussaint Quotes.” Lib Quotes, https://libquotes.com/pierre-toussaint. Accessed 8 October 2023.
“Venerable Pierre Toussaint.” Archdiocese of New York,
https://archny.org/ministries-and-offices/cultural-diversi ty-apostolate/black-ministry/vene rable-pierre-toussaint/. Accessed 2 October 2023.
“Venerable Pierre Toussaint.” Knights of Peter Claver, https://www.kofpc.org/legacy/venerable_pierre_toussaint.php. Accessed 11 October 2023.
“Venerable Pierre Toussaint I LA Catholics.” Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 9 November 2022, https://lacatholics.org/2022/11/09/venerable-pierre-toussaint/. Accessed 2 October 2023.