Last weekend I drove to Quincy, IL to visit the grave of Fr. Augustine Tolton, the first publicly recognized Black priest in the United States. I often make these pilgrimages, driving many hours to find a saintly person’s grave. 1/9

In deserted cemeteries, I contemplate their life and ask for their intercession. These are holy journeys. Something about touching the gravestone and standing above the bones of saints changes me, changes us. It’s a holy meeting. 2/9

When I visited Augustine, I thought about the obstacles and the racism he encountered as he struggled to follow God’s call. As someone born into slavery, he nevertheless had a strong sense of his dignity and God’s power. 3/9

Despite opposition and continual rejection and disappointment, Augustine believed in his priestly vocation. After receiving help from several priests, Augustine ended up studying for the priesthood in Rome because no seminary in the US would take him. 4/9

Augustine was to be sent to Africa as a missionary after ordination. But at the last minute, Cardinal Simeoni sent him back to the United States declaring, “America has been called the most enlightened nation in the world. We shall see whether it deserves that honor... 5/9

... If the United States has never before seen a black priest, it must see one now.“ This was a blow for Augustine as he knew what this would mean for him. And Augustine did indeed encounter much resistance and racism when he returned. 6/9

One priest used racial slurs and attacked Augustine when white faithful began leaving their parishes to hear him preach. The priest even eventually convinced the local bishop to ban Augustine from ministering to whites. 7/9

As he became renowned for his holiness, Augustine only experienced increased racism—eventually having to move to a parish in Chicago. Then, on July 9, 1897, at the young age 43, Augustine, or Fr. Gus as he was known to his parishioners, died of a heat stroke. 8/9

Only a priest for eleven short years, Augustine Tolton's life and example of holiness would have an impact for many more years to come. May he intercede for each of us—that we may know our own dignity and worth and that of every human being. 9/9