The history of the Church is full of many Black / African Catholic saints, who received recognition for great deeds or meritorious conduct. Many lost their lives in defense of the faith. Many were also honored for their contributions to the Church and their community. There are 937 Black / African Saints.
Black Catholic history can be traced to the Acts of the Apostles (8:26-40) when St. Philip the Deacon converted the Ethiopian eunuch – one of the first moves the Apostles made to evangelize outside Jerusalem and thus sow the seeds for the universal Church.
Christianity spread throughout North Africa, and the region featured prominently in the early Church as the birthplace of saints, popes and Western monasticism.
The Church records tell us there were potentially three Black popes in Catholic history, all were born in North Africa:
— Pope Saint Victor I (189-198 or 199): He was the first pope to celebrate the liturgy and write Church documents in Latin rather than Greek. He is most famous for decreeing that Easter be universally celebrated on a Sunday, a practice already common in the West, but not so in the East. His feast day is July 28.
— Pope Saint Miltiades (also called St. Melchiades) (311-314): He was pope when Constantine the Great defeated his enemies and assumed control over Rome, paving the way to the end of persecution of Christians. Constantine gave the pope the Lateran palace (now known as the Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran), which became the papal residence and seat of Christian governance. He was the last pope to be buried in a catacomb. His feast day is Dec. 10.
— Pope Saint Gelasius I (492-496): The first pope to be called the Vicar of Christ, he is most famous for affirming the primacy of the papacy based on Jesus’ command naming Peter the “rock of the Church.” He promoted a type of “separation of Church and State” but emphasized that Church authority is always superior to civil law. He ordered reception of the Eucharist under both species, and he used his own funds and the papal lands to feed the poor of Rome during a severe famine. His feast day is Nov. 21.
SAINT BENEDICT THE BLACK
There is a saint called Benedict the Black or Benedict the Moor. He was born a slave near Messina, Italy. He was freed by his master and became a solitary, eventually settling with other hermits at Montepellegrino. He was made superior of the community, but when he was about thirty-eight, Pope Pius IV disbanded communities of solitaries and he became a Franciscan lay brother and the cook at St. Mary’s convent near Palermo. He was appointed, against his will, superior of the convent when it opted for the reform, though he could neither read nor write. After serving as superior, he became novice master but asked to be relieved of this post and return to his former position of cook. His holiness, reputation for miracles, and his fame as a confessor brought hordes of visitors to see the obscure and humble cook. He died at the convent, was canonized in 1807, and is the patron of Blacks in the United States. The surname “the Moor” is a misnomer originating from the Italian il moro (the black). His feast day is April 4th.
THE SCILLITAN MARTYRS
The Scillitan Martyrs were the first documented African martyrs. The 12 Christians, seven men and five women, were martyred in 180 in Scillium (in what is present-day Algeria and Tunisia) for refusing to call the Roman emperor their god. Unlike other Christians, they were not tortured but put on trial and offered 30 days to change their minds. When they still refused to recant their faith, they were put to death by the sword.
“The Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs,” a contemporaneous account of their trial and execution, is considered to be among the earliest documents of the Church in Africa and also the earliest example of Christian Latin.
Their feast day is July 17.
ST. PERPETUA AND ST. FELICITY
Just after the death of Pope St. Victor I, St. Perpetua and St. Felicity underwent their martyrdom in Carthage, around 203.
St. Perpetua was a young, well-educated noblewoman and mother living in Carthage in North Africa. Her mother was a Christian and her father was a pagan. Perpetua followed the faith of her mother. Despite the pleas of her father to deny her faith, Perpetua fearlessly proclaimed it. At the age of 22, she was jailed for her faith. While in prison she continued to care for her infant child and put up with tortures designed to make her renounce her faith. Perpetua remained steadfast until the end. St. Perpetua was sacrificed at the games as a public spectacle.
St. Felicity was a pregnant slave girl who was imprisoned with her. Little is known about her life because, unlike Perpetua, she did not keep a diary. After imprisonment and torture, Felicity was also condemned to die at the games. Only a few days before her execution, Felicity gave birth to a daughter, who was secretly taken away to be cared for by some of the faithful.
They share the feast day of March 7, and their names are forever mentioned together in the Roman Canon of the Mass.
ST. CYPRIAN
St. Cyprian of Carthage is second in importance only to St. Augustine as a figure and Father of the African Church.
He was born to wealthy pagans around the year 190, and was educated in the classics. Like St. Augustine after him, he questioned what truth was and searched for it in practicing law and rhetoric. He was curious about Christianity, and after much study he converted at the age of 56. He sold all of his property and was ordained a priest a year later, and bishop two years after that.
His writings are of great importance, especially his treatise on “The Unity of the Catholic Church,” in which he argues that unity is grounded in the authority of the bishop, and among the bishops, in the primacy of the See of Rome. In it, he wrote, “You cannot have God for your Father if you do not have the Church for your mother…. God is one and Christ is one, and His Church is one; one is the faith, and one is the people cemented together by harmony into the strong unity of a body…. If we are the heirs of Christ, let us abide in the peace of Christ; if we are the sons of God, let us be lovers of peace.”
He was martyred on Sept. 14, 258.
ST. ZENO
St. Zeno was born in north Africa, in what is present-day Morocco and Algeria. He received an excellent classical education and in 362 was named bishop of Verona, Italy. He was active in missionary work, converted many, and fought the heresy of Arianism, which denied Christ’s divinity. He built a basilica at Verona, founded a convent that he directed, encouraged charities in his people, and wrote widely on a ecclesiastical subjects, particularly the virgin birth of Christ. He died in 371.
Either because of his well-known hobby to fish in the Adige River in Verona, or because of his success in baptizing people in the faith, he is known as the patron of fishermen, and he is often depicted with a fish hanging from his crozier. His feast day is April 12.
ST. ANTHONY OF EGYPT
St. Anthony of Egypt is also known as St. Anthony the Abbot, St. Anthony the Great and the “Father of All Monks.”
His life is similar to that of St. Francis of Assisi. At 20, he was so moved by the Gospel message, “Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor” (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of his life was spent in solitude. He saw the world completely covered with snares, and gave the Church and the world the witness of solitary asceticism, great personal mortification and prayer. But no saint is antisocial, and Anthony drew many people to himself for spiritual healing and guidance.
At 54, he responded to many requests and founded a sort of monastery of scattered cells. While he was not the first desert monk or hermit, the biography of his life by St. Athanasius of Alexandria later helped to spread the concept of monasticism, particularly in Western Europe through Latin translations.
At 60, he hoped to be a martyr in the renewed Roman persecution of 311, fearlessly exposing himself to danger while giving moral and material support to those in prison. At 88, he also fought against the heresy of Arianism.
He is often depicted with a Tau-shaped cross, a pig and a bell. In the Middle Ages the belief arose that praying to St. Anthony would effect a cure for ergotism, a type of skin inflammation now also called “St. Anthony’s fire.” An order devoted to caring for those afflicted with the disease, the Order of Hospitallers of St. Anthony of Egypt, wore the Tau cross and rang bells to beg for alms, and pigs belonging to the order were allowed to roam the streets freely.
He died in 356 in solitude at the age of 105, and his feast day is Jan. 17.
ST. MOSES THE BLACK
St. Moses the Black was a thief, murderer and adulterer who through the grace of conversion was transformed into a pacifist, priest and martyr.
Born in 330, he was a slave of a government official in Egypt who dismissed him for theft and suspected murder. A large, imposing figure, he became the leader of a gang of bandits who roamed the Nile Valley spreading terror and violence. Attempting to hide from authorities, he took shelter with some monks in the desert near Alexandria. The dedication of their lives, as well as their peace and contentment, deeply influenced him. He gave up his sinful ways and joined the community. While he struggled a long time with monastic discipline, he became renowned for his mercy and zealous love of God and neighbor.
At some point, he was ordained a priest and became the leader of a colony of desert hermits. At about age 75, about the year 407, word came that a group of renegades planned to attack the colony. The brothers wanted to defend themselves, but Moses forbade it. He told them to retreat, rather than take up weapons. He and seven others remained behind and greeted the invaders with open arms. All eight were martyred by the bandits.
His feast day is Aug. 28.
ST. MAURICE
St. Maurice was a member of the Theban Legion, a Roman legion said to have been constituted by Christian soldiers from Africa, which was called to put down a revolt in Aaunum, located in modern-day Switzerland, in 287.
Two legends exist about the martyrdom of St. Maurice and his companions. According to the legends, the legion’s soldiers were either ordered to take part in pagan sacrifices, or ordered to harass and kill some local Christians. In either event, the 6,600 men of Maurice’s legion refused. In punishment for their disobedience, every 10th man in the legion was killed. When the remaining soldiers, fortified by St. Maurice, still refused, other legions were called in to force them to follow their orders. Persisting in their refusal, they were all massacred.
His feast day is Sept. 22.
ST. MARTIN DE PORRES
The only black saint from the Western Hemisphere so far, St. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. His mother was a freed slave from Panama, and his father was a Spanish gentleman who did not want him. Early in his life, he demonstrated humility, charity for the poor and a love for animals, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the age of 11, he took a job as a servant in the Dominican friary in Lima and performed the work with such devotion that he was called “the saint of the broom.”
He spent the rest of his life in the friary – as a barber, farm laborer, almoner (church worker in charge of distributing money to the poor) and infirmarian (person who nurses the sick in a monastery), among other tasks. As almoner he routinely begged more than $2,000 a week from the rich, which was turned into food, clothing and medicine for the poor of the city.
Martin had a great desire to go off to some foreign mission and thus earn martyrdom. However, because this was not possible, he made a martyr out of his body, devoting himself to ceaseless and severe penances. In turn, God endowed him with many graces and gifts, such as aerial flights and bilocation.
St. Martin’s love was all-embracing, shown equally to humans and to animals, even vermin, and he maintained a shelter for stray dogs and cats.
In recognition of his devotion, his superiors dropped the stipulation that “no black person may be received to the holy habit or profession of our order” and Martin was vested in the full habit and professed solemn vows as a Dominican brother. Afterwards, he became more devout and more desirous to be of service, establishing an orphanage and a children’s hospital.
A close friend of St. Rose of Lima, he died on Nov. 3, 1639, and was canonized on May 6, 1962. His feast day is Nov. 3.
ST. CHARLES LWANGA AND COMPANIONS
The Society of Missionaries of Africa (known as the White Fathers) had been in Uganda for only six years but had built up a community of converts who were soon gaining new converts themselves. Many of these converts lived and taught at the royal court, where the violent ruler and pedophile King Mwanga routinely forced himself on the young boys and men who served him as pages and attendants. Led by the king’s chief steward, 25-year-old Joseph Mkasa, the Christians among the king’s court tried to protect the younger boys.
When the king killed a Protestant missionary and his companions, Mkasa confronted Mwanga. The king struck him with a spear and ordered him killed. When the executioners tried to tie his hands, he told them, “A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die.” He forgave Mwanga before being beheaded and then burned on Nov. 15, 1885.
After other Christians were martyred by the king, Charles Lwanga took over instructing the young Christian community – and the charge of keeping the boys and men away from the king. When the king learned that another page was being taught the faith, he thrust a spear through the young man’s throat and sealed the royal compound. Knowing what was coming, Lwanga baptized four catechumens that night. The next morning Mwanga separated the Christians from the rest, saying, “Those who do not pray stand by me, those who do pray stand over there.” He demanded of the 15 boys and young men (all under 25) if they were Christians and intended to remain Christians. When they answered “yes,” he condemned them to death. They were marched 37 miles to Namugongo, where those who were not killed along the way were burned to death on June 3, 1886.
The White Fathers were expelled from Uganda, but when they returned after Mwanga’s death, they found 500 Christians and 1,000 catechumens waiting for them.
ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA
Josephine Bakhita, born in 1869, was a Sudanese-born former slave who became a Canossian nun in Italy, living and working there for 45 years.
She was known for her smile, gentleness and holiness. She even once said, “If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today.”
She died in 1947, and in 2000, she was the first African woman to be canonized in modern times. She is the first person to be canonized from Sudan and is the patron saint of the country.
Her feast day is Feb. 8.