Celebrating the Saintly Seven

Are you aware that there are seven African American candidates for canonization? The lives of these holy men and women span the nearly the entire existence of the United States as an independent nation—from Pierre Toussaint, born in 1766, through Fr. Martin de Porres Maria Ward, who died in 1999. It will be a truly thrilling day when we celebrate the canonization of the first African American saint!

To grow awareness of the lives of the Saintly Seven over the coming months, the Archdiocesan Anti-Racism Task Force is organizing seven sessions to talk about their lives, their causes for canonization, and the experience of Black Catholics in this nation. The sessions will be in-person and live-streamed so that everyone can join in the conversation and reflection. In conjunction with the presentations, each candidate will be featured in the Catholic Telegraph as well. The series begins this month – April 23^rd at 7:00pm at St. Susanna – and will conclude in November, Black Catholic History Month—reminding us that a single month is not sufficient to honor the contributions that Black Catholics have made to our Church and our nation since before its founding.

In partnership with the African American Pastoral Office, the Sisters of Charity Cincinnati, the Precious Blood Sisters, and the Notre Dame de Namur Sisters, the Catholic Social Action office will bring history and stories about each of these amazing folks – Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Venerable Mother Mary Lange, Venerable Fr. Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Sr. Thea Bowman, Servant of God Julia Greeley, Venerable Sr. Henriette Delille, and Servant of God Fr. Martin de Porres Maria Ward – to seven locations around the archdiocese, including Cincinnati, Dayton, and Sidney. Everyone is of course encouraged to attend all seven of the sessions, but they aren’t connected so you feel confident attending whichever sessions you are able to join.

For more information on the series, go to www.tinyurl.com/SaintlySevenAOC2026. You can also learn more about them at https://www.usccb.org/saintly-seven.