Black Catholics light the way through 150 years of Diocese

As the Albany Diocese celebrates its Sesquicentennial, any stroll through history must celebrate the contributions of African-American Catholics to the Church over the past 150 years. The Evangelist chose a few highlights from the century-and-a-half of Black Catholic history in the Diocese:

* Among the earliest prominent Black Catholics in the Albany Diocese was Rev. Alexander Sherwood Healy, a Georgia native who briefly taught moral theology at St. Joseph's Seminary in Troy during the 19th century.

The son of an Irish Catholic and a slave, Father Healy came from a famous family. One of his brothers became a bishop of Maine; at one time, Father Healy served as his secretary. Another brother, Patrick, later became the head of Georgetown University.

* When the Diocese's first parish, St. Mary's, was formed in 1796, a few African-Americans numbered among those who attended Mass each week. By 1929, the Black population of Albany reached 5,000, most of whom were unaffiliated with any religious denomination. St. Philip's Church in Albany was founded as a mission of St. Mary's parish specifically for Black Catholics, in the hope of evangelizing them.

A 1932 history of St. Mary's describes St. Philip's as "a very compact little church, seating about four hundred, built of tapestry brick, Indiana limestone foundation and trimmings, tile roof, and tower with bell."

Inside the church were a main altar, two side altars, a set of Stations of the Cross, a large pipe organ, and statues of the Sacred Heart, Blessed Virgin, Little Flower and St. Joseph. "In the porch to the right as you enter," said the history, "is a small Chapel, baptistry, and an imposing statue of St. Philip the Apostle." It was hoped that since the newly formed church would be so small, other Catholics of the Diocese would support it financially.

The opening of the church was described in The Evangelist as "an indication that the problem" of ministering to African-Americans in the Diocese "is at least recognized."

"It would be too absurd to think that Providence has divinely withheld the gift of faith from upwards of 12 million people" [the U.S. Black Catholic population in 1931], the editorial stated. "A study of the needs, aspirations and accomplishments of our colored population is the logical first step in gaining an appreciation of the importance and magnitude of the problem."

Along with St. Philip's church, an accompanying school run by the Sisters of the Holy Ghost and Mary Immaculate from San Antonio, Texas, was opened. Just three teachers and 40 students comprised its first population, but St. Mary's parish history book assured readers that "the future prospect of this work [with the church and school] is encouraging," and that "the children are waking up the population of their homes and neighborhood" to the possibility of registering for school there.

St. Philip's closed in 1971, the victim of a dwindling population. Some of its small parish community had changed their parish affiliation to St. Mary's; others had chosen to send their children to St. Joseph's School and attended Mass there. Briefly a daycare center run by the LaSallette sisters, the building closed permanently and was sold a few years later.

* During the 1960s, interfaith programs to serve the African-American community at large began springing up in the Diocese. In Albany, ministers from Black Protestant churches and Jewish synagogues joined Catholics from such parishes as St. Joseph's in going door-to-door, taking census data on the needs of African-Americans.

As a result, efforts like St. Joseph's after-school program began. When public school students were released early from school, they would go to St. Joseph's once a week for religious instruction. The program was open to more than just Catholic students, of whom there were few.

St. Joseph's also offered after-school tutoring, began a softball league and opened its basketball court to local children. By the time the school closed in 1973, nearly the entire population was African-American. Former faculty remember local residents as thinking of St. Joseph's not as a diocesan school, but "OUR school."

* In 1968, the Diocese began a Commission for Racial Justice in an effort to find solutions for racial inequality locally. Then-Auxiliary Bishop Edward Maginn was concerned that with the change by many African-Americans from rural areas to cities, economic and racial problems would become more pronounced.

"Racial injustice and its fruits are here, in our own neighborhoods, our own places of business and employment," he stated. "We must, as far as we can, understand them here and find remedies for them here."

* Today, the vitality of the African-American community in the Albany Diocese is expressed through the Black Apostolate, which makes its home at St. George's Church in Albany. The popular Apostolate, known for its energetic and music-filled liturgies, was founded in 1984 to highlight African-American culture through liturgies and other activities.

Over the years, the Black Apostolate has participated in activities like SHARE, a food-distribution program that required community service of its recipients; and sent delegates to national Black Catholic leadership conferences. The Apostolate has sponsored such nationally recognized guest speakers as Rev. George Stallings, a controversial Washington, D.C., priest who later left the Church to begin his own church for Black Catholics; Auxiliary Bishop Moses Anderson of the Archdiocese of Detroit; and Sister Marie de Porres Taylor, SNJM, president of the National Black Sisters Conference.

(08-07-97) [[In-content Ad]]