Black Catholic Messenger

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.

The Jesuit Antiracism Sodality will hold a retreat, "The God of Us All: Praying with Black Spirituality," this summer in Illinois, part of an effort to respond to African American issues within the Society of Jesus.

More than 100 Catholics and allies attended a gathering at "Women & Synodality: Where Do We Go From Here?", held at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University from May 3-4.

The founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, Venerable Mary Lange, was raised in Cuba before coming to America. A 2021 film explores the Oblates' work there after Lange's death. 

The nation's highest civilian honor, bestowed by President Joe Biden, went to the 93-year-old activist, former attorney, and businessman on May 3.

Firebrand conservative commentator Candace Owens has announced her conversion to Catholicism, describing it on social media April 22 as a "decision to go home."

Louisiana's extension of the statute of limitations for child sex abuse has been ruled unconstitutional in a split decision hinging on the due process clause of the state's constitution. 

Sr. Mary Roger Thibodeaux, a veteran member of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and a leading Catholic light of the 20th-century Black freedom struggle, has died in Pennsylvania. 

The 100-year-old school is one of several small, significantly Black Catholic colleges to announce closure recently due to long-term financial struggles.

Tevin Williams writes about his hope that this Lenten season, "Black Catholics will recognize that in spite of the injustices and odds against us and the standard of perfection often required of us, we will prevail just as Jesus did."

This book contributes a thoughtfully and collectively crafted starting point for the importance of preaching racial justice, moving toward how the church might begin to respond — by speaking directly to its people. 

For years, a Baltimore group has been petitioning the pope to make a move regarding the first six African American Catholics on the path to sainthood. In October, they finally received a meeting with the Vatican's saint-making office.

If we want to have serious discourse about being pro-life, it's imperative that we as church put the issue of Black maternal health at the forefront of the movement, and address structural racism in our medical system.

Briana Jansky of Tyler, Texas, explains how Bishop Joseph Strickland — removed from his post this month by the Vatican — led her flock astray and nearly sabotaged her faith.

Catholic Religious Organizations Studying Slavery (CROSS) met in St. Louis recently for two days of presentations, prayer and possibilities at the intersection of Catholic archives and the nation's original sin.