Black Catholic Messenger

A national listing of Church-relevant events honoring the life and legacy of the African-American martyr slain for the cause of civil rights.

Having led the Fighting Irish to victory in the Orange Bowl, Freeman will be the first Black head coach in the national championship game for Division I FBS football — an achievement more than 150 years in the making.

Tamika Royes of Black Catholic Messenger addresses the church's "Black exodus" and how to foster the welcome that all deserve in God's house.

Daryl Grigsby on the moral and ethical betrayal of Catholic social teaching and a church laity (and hierarchy) that seems to be nodding right along.

An October event in Rome stirred consciences and debate, while the few Black participants say they were inspired by a unique moment of synodality.

The secretive announcement followed an archdiocesan lawsuit against its insurer concerning civil claims filed under the New York Child Victims Act.

"Many Republicans have resorted to personal attacks and racist dog whistles to undermine Harris’ credibility as a challenger. Whether they are official party members or average American voters, many of these people are Catholics, and their assaults against Harris have rehashed deeply entrenched White stereotypes and caricatures of Black Americans," writes Efran Menny.

Dr. Ronald E. Smith on how to interpret Pope Francis' recent voting guidance for Catholics in the United States.

On Thursday, JD Vance published a swing-state op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette arguing that Harris has a long "record of bigotry" towards Catholics. Yet it was just this week that one of Trump’s own operatives falsely maligned a group of progressive nuns for voter fraud. Vance and Trump have also spent much of the past month vilifying and threatening Ohio’s Haitians, one of the most Catholic demographics in Black America.

Briana Jansky says the new Lee Daniels flick integrates the African-American experience with a positive view of Christianity that's all too rare.

Fr. Norman Fischer Jr., a veteran Lexington, Kentucky, priest and the president of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, died in Delaware July 14. He was 50 years old and had been on sabbatical. 

Martha Hennessy, Dorothy Day's granddaughter, will be "a voice crying out in the wilderness" with "a different message, a new commandment" at the National Eucharistic Conference, writes Nate Tinner-Williams.

One of the beauties of the Black Catholic experience here in America is that we can look at the past for a road map on how to impact our future in our increasingly inhospitable church.

The 96-page document covers several centuries and various episcopates in the diocese, which predates the United States.

The longtime administrator departed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in April as the highest-ranking lay African American in the Catholic Church.

Joe Mazzulla and Jason Kidd will lead their respective teams on basketball's biggest stage this month, starting Thursday night in Boston.

30 churches will shutter in the newly finalized plan, released on May 22 and sparking varied reactions from African Americans.

Ralph E. Moore Jr. says this year should be the start of a direct campaign for the sainthood of the first six African Americans up for canonization.

The veteran labor organizer succeeds a fellow Catholic in Mary Kay Henry as head of an international union boasting of nearly two million members.

Matthew Cressler's vision for an accessible throughway to the nation's thorny history of race and religion has resulted in a uniquely modern initiative.