Black Saints Celebration: To be saints we must know, love and serve God!

Above: Youngsters bearing posters of holy men and women on the road to sainthood line up at the Sisters of the Holy Family Motherhouse for the Nov. 4 Parade of Black Saints. More photos of the 2023 Black Saints Celebration can be found on the Clarion Herald’s Facebook page. (Photo by Beth Donze, Clarion Herald)

By BETH DONZE
Clarion Herald

At the Nov. 4 prayer service marking the 2023 Black Saints Celebration at St. Paul the Apostle Church in New Orleans, Deacon Jesse Watley encouraged attendees to not only “look back” in awe on the lives of Black men and women on the road to sainthood, but to also “look forward to who we will be” – the saints of the future.

“Those we know as saints are saints not because of their perfection, but because of their persistence!” observed Deacon Watley, a permanent deacon who serves at Blessed Francis Seelos Parish in New Orleans.

Deacon Watley said that all too often, Catholics consider “holiness” to be unattainable and therefore put the saints on a pedestal. Yet, the definition of a “holy” person is actually quite simple and straightforward, he said; a holy person is “someone who belongs to, is dedicated to, or is associated with the divine.”

“So, we are holy! We become saints by the way that we live! We can be in that number!” Deacon Watley said, noting that to be a saint, we must tell God each day that we want to be one, and then act on it by loving God and our neighbor.

To gain clarity on how to be a saint, Deacon Watley said Catholics need look no further than the Baltimore Catechism. Saintly guidelines are spelled out in the answer to the question “Why did God make you?”

The answer: “God made me to know him, to love him and to serve him in this world, and to be happy with him forever in heaven.”

“It’s time to call God up and tell him what you want to be, but you have to do your part,” Deacon Watley said. “You have to know him, love him and serve him! Every day of your life, do something that defines you as someone who (belongs to) God.”

Mother Henriette’s tenacity recalled 

At the prayer service, fittingly called “Journey to Sainthood,” Sister Alicia Costa, the congregational leader of the Sisters of the Holy Family, gave an update on the status of the canonization of Venerable Mother Henriette Delille, the free woman of color who founded the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1842 in New Orleans to teach and care for the enslaved, the poor and the elderly.

“She was brave enough to start her own religious order in this city, among her own people, long before the Emancipation Proclamation that was passed in January of 1863,” Sister Alicia said, noting that French-speaking “Mѐre Henriette” taught the enslaved and prepared them for the sacraments “at a time when it was illegal to teach our people to read.”

Sister Alicia said Mother Henriette’s cause for canonization stretches back to 1988, when Pope John Paul II declared her a “Servant of God.” Mother Delille was declared “Venerable” by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

Two more steps are required in the journey to formal sainthood: beatification – being declared “Blessed” – a hoped-for occasion that will take place in Mother Henriette’s native city of New Orleans; and finally, canonization as a saint in Rome. If her cause is successful, Venerable Henriette Delille will be the first American-born woman of African descent to be declared a saint, Sister Alicia said.

“It has been a very lengthy process as well as an expensive one,” she said.

To move forward, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints will have to certify to the pope that a miraculous healing had occurred through Mother Henriette’s intercession. Sister Alicia said the  tribunal of the Diocese of Little Rock is investigating a medically unexplained healing of a young woman who was seriously ill in 2018. Venerable Henriette’s cause for canonization is being presented to Vatican officials by her procurator, Dr. Waldery Hilgeman. 

“We still stand on the shoulders of our foundress and her companions,” Sister Alicia said. “We continue to serve the poor, to take care of the elderly – we have the oldest Catholic nursing facility in the entire country, which is over 183 years old!

“We anxiously await the day that we will be able to have Mother Henriette recognized for her sanctity and declared ‘St. Henriette Delille’ in St. Peter’s Square!”

Young musicians lead the way

Before the prayer service, the traditional Parade of Black Saints lined up at the Sisters of the Holy Family Motherhouse, processed through the surrounding neighborhood and circled back to the motherhouse to perform for the Sisters gathered at the front of their residence.

Lending their musical talents were three Catholic high school bands – those from the host campus of St. Mary’s Academy, St. Katharine Drexel Prep and St. Augustine. Also performing at the parade were dancers from Mademoiselle Dwyn’s School of Dance in New Orleans.

The day of celebration concluded with an award ceremony recognizing more than 50 “servant-leader” recipients of the 2023 Mrs. Sophie Aramburo Awards, named for the late associate director of the Office for Black Catholic Ministries. A reception followed in the motherhouse.

Music at the prayer service was provided by the Archdiocesan Mass Gospel Choir. Dr. Ansel Augustine, director of the sponsoring Office for Black Catholic Ministries, announced that the choir would present its Christmas concert Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. at Corpus Christi-Epiphany Church, 2022 St. Bernard Ave., New Orleans.

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