Member Highlights Across the Diocese of Richmond
Black Saints and Legacy
Holy Rosary in Richmond and Church of the Holy Redeemer in Mechanicsville collaborated on a presentation Black Saints and Legacy by Father Tochi Iwuji.
Six Black American Catholics on the Road to Sainthood
Our Lady of Nazareth in Roanoke also focused on the six Black American Catholics on the Road to Sainthood with Posters as a rotating display in the narthex and information in the bulletin, weekly newsletter and website. Resources from USCCB, JustFaith Racial Justice Modules and the Josephite 2024 calendar were also on display. The group that meets for the rosary daily also included praying the Black Catholic rosary on a rotating basis.
Answering the Call to Thrive: The Legacy of The National Black Catholic Congress
Saint Edward the Confessor in Richmond showed and discussed the video: Answering the Call to Thrive: The Legacy Of The National Black Catholic Congress.
Virginia’s Black Catholic History | A Meeting with Fr. Tochi and NBCC Attendees
Parishioner and historian, Karen Page Womack, displayed decades of Virginia’s rich Black Catholic History and the history of the Basilica each week in the parish’s activity hall.
For Veteran’s Day Weekend, the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception invited Fr. Tochi Iwuji, Director of the Office for Black Catholics to celebrate weekend Masses while Fr. Jim Curran, rector of the Basilica, celebrated weekend Masses at Holy Rosary in Richmond. On Sunday, November 12th, Fr. Tochi met with attendees of the Thirteenth National Black Catholic Congress to discuss his two year plan for the OBC and listen to attendees,.
Did you know….the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception is the only African American Basilica in the United States? Click here to view the video of The Untold Stories of Saint Mary’s featuring Karen Page Womack during Black Catholic History Month 2021.
A Place at the Table
Church of Saint Therese in Chesapeake during Black Catholic History Month led the Stations of the Cross on Overcoming Racism from the USCCB (stations-of-the-cross-overcoming-racism.pdf (usccb.org)), offered a showing of A Place at the Table: African-Americans on the Path to Sainthood followed by discussion, and distributed prayer cards for each of the six candidates for canonization.
Church of the Holy Family’s JustFaith and Racial Unity Ministry read the book The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother His White Mother by James McBride. One of the goals of the ministry is to support Black-owned restaurants and businesses so they gathered on November 17th at Montego Island Grill to discuss the book. The Color of Water is also VCRJ’s December 2023 Book of the Month.
Special Election for the First Black Catholic Saint in the U.S.
Immaculate Conception in Hampton focused primarily on the six Black American Catholics on the Road to Sainthood by including them in the Prayers of the Faithful, displaying them on Posters in Worship Space, hosting a movie matinee of A Place at the Table andpraying the Black Catholic History Rosary.
In a special event, six parishioners brought the six Black American “Saints in Waiting” alive during coffee and donuts after both Sunday Masses. The Special Election forthe First Black Catholic Saint in the US was an all-ages interactive event where the 6 “campaigned” to be the first Black Catholic Saint in the United States. Those attending learned about how a saint is made and how to support their cause for canonization. They also shared their insights into how we can follow their examples of holiness and signed 70 letters asking the Holy Father for his intercession in canonizing the six on the road to sainthood.
Virginia Catholics for Racial Justice 
