ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER
Saints celebrated on the 9th of September
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SAINT PETER CLAVER, PRIEST
"Slavery presented a new challenge to the Church. Pope Paul III had condemned slavery and Pope Urban VIII issued a decree prohibiting it, but it made ruthless men fortunes."
Born in Catalonia in 1581, Saint Peter Claver would minister across the Americas and become the patron saint of slaves. He became known as Claver, ‘the key’, for his work unlocking the souls of the slaves he tended.
"THE KEY"
Born into a wealthy farming family about 50 miles from Barcelona, he was raised in a kingdom that was then the epicentre of the Atlantic slave trade. Although slavery is as old as history, the discovery of the Americas, and the triangular trade with Africa, brought it to new levels.
Slavery presented a new challenge to the Church. Paul III had condemned it and Urban VIII issued a decree prohibiting it, but it made ruthless men fortunes.
THEY DOMINATED HIS LIFE
The African slaves transported to the Americas, to do work that the dying Native Americans were unable to do, suffered appalling mistreatment. Their conditions and salvation would dominate Claver’s life.
Studying at the University of Barcelona, Peter was known for his piety and at one point wrote in his notebook: 'I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death, on the understanding that I am a slave.' He would keep the book with him his whole life.
"I AM A SLAVE"
Joining the Jesuits at the age of 20, he was sent to Mallorca, where he became friendly with Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez, who told Claver that he was to spend his life in the New World.
Arriving in New Granada, in what is now Venezuela and Colombia, he saw the brutality of the slave trade and the inhumanity with which slaves were treated… Claver was inspired by Jesuit Fr Alonso de Sandoval, who spent 40 years devoted to the slaves and brought back to Seville documents about the customs and beliefs of Africans.
HE WENT TO THE SHIPS AND COMFORTED THE PEOPLE
Claver would arrive at the ships as soon as they reached the port, boarding the filthy books where the terrified slaves were huddled… When slaves were sent to yards to be sold, Claver provided them with medicine, food and brandy. During his 40 years of ministry he baptised an estimated 300,000 slaves and did his best to ensure their dignity as Christians was respected.
Travelling from town to town, he avoided the hospitality of slavers and would instead stay with slaves, although he also ministered to wealthy members of society, as well as Muslims and Protestants.
HE AVOIDED THE HOSPITALITY OF SLAVE TRADERS
Eventually the pressure began to tell, but by the time he died, on September 8, 1654, treatment of the slaves had improved and the casual cruelty and barbarism had become far less acceptable. Today the Knights of Peter Claver is the largest African-American society in the United States, and there are numerous parishes across the Americas that bear his name.
This article entitled "Saint of the Week" was published in "The Catholic Herald", paper edition, issue September 6, 2013
PRAYER:
May the intercession of Saint Peter Claver commend us to you, so that through his merits we may obtain that which we cannot accomplish by our own. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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