ST PETER CLAVER, PRIEST -SEPTEMBER 9
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1. "Slavery presented a new challenge to the Church. Paul III had condemned slavery and Urban VIII issued a decree prohibiting it, but it made ruthless men fortunes."
Born in Catalonia in 1581, St Peter Claver
#StPeterClaver #Sep9
2. studied at the University of Barcelona, and wrote in his notebook: 'I must dedicate myself to the service of God until death, on the understanding that I am a slave.'
Although slavery is as old as history, the trade between the Americas and Africa brought it to new levels.
3. 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.
Joining the Jesuits at the age of 20, he arrived in
what is now Venezuela and Colombia, he saw the inhumanity of
4. the slave trade. He would arrive at the ships as soon as they reached the port, providing the slaves with medicine, food and brandy.
During his 40 years of ministry he baptised many slaves and did his best to ensure their dignity as Christians was respected.
#Christians
5. Travelling from town to town, he avoided the hospitality of slavers and would instead stay with slaves.
Eventually the pressure began to tell. By the time he died, on September 8 1654, treatment of the slaves had improved #slavery
6. [but it was not yet abolished, as he had hoped]. Today the Knights of Peter Claver is a large society in the United States.
(Excerpts from "Saint of the Week", "The Catholic Herald" issue Sep6 2013 - photo c/o CNA)
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