The Seven Future Black Saints

Servant of God Friar Martin de Porres Maria Ward, born Matthias DeWitte Ward, was a man committed to the faith. This was reflected in his practice of the virtues of simplicity, joy, poverty, and humility, especially in his interactions with the poor. Born to a bi-racial family, Friar Martin began his journey toward Franciscan life with a heartfelt letter to the vocation director. In it, he mentioned that he was “colored.” The director responded, indicating that they had not previously considered the acceptance of colored applicants, as none had applied before. Friar Martin became the first African American Conventual Franciscan in North America. Shortly after his ordination to the priesthood on June 4, 1955, he volunteered for missions in Brazil. Friar Martin was a devoted Franciscan friar and priest with a profound devotion to the Eucharist. The cause for Friar Martin was begun in 2020 by the Diocese of São João del-Rei. The cause for his canonization is being promoted by the Order's Curia in Rome as of the summer of 2022. View his Cause here.

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Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman left an indelible mark on her community and on the Church. She lovingly taught young people about the joy of being Christian, she challenged her church to accept her as “fully black and fully Catholic,” she embraced her suffering with a willing spirit and she called all to a living faith. .. about the life of the granddaughter of enslaved persons who converted to Catholicism and later joined the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. Redemptorist Father Maurice J. Nutt, the Diocesan Liaison of the Cause for Canonization of Sister Thea for the Diocese of Jackson, captured Sister Thea as she was: an unapologetically Black woman, a religious sister who deeply loved God and the people to whom she ministered through teaching, preaching, and singing, all while embracing the blessing of her ancestry, the wisdom of the “old folks,” and a passion for justice and equality for all God’s children. View her Cause here.

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Venerable Henriette Delille devoted her life's work untiringly to the religious instruction of the people of New Orleans, principally the slaves. Her love for Jesus Christ showed no boundaries, she became a humble and devout servant of the slaves. Henriette founded the Society of the Holy Family, responding to the need for treatment for the enslaved, elderly, and sick, and care and education for the poor. Archbishop Philip M. Hannan began the canonization process for Henriette DeLille in 1988. A special commission in Rome gave approval in 1988 after a review process. As of this time, an alleged miracle attributed to Henriette is being tried in a Catholic Tribunal, and the decree of judicial validity was issued in the investigation of her life, virtues, and reputation of sanctity. Henriette was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. View her Cause here.

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Venerable Pierre Toussaint was intelligent and learned quickly how to support himself and those around him. Toussaint's reputation as an exceptionally devout and charitable person within the Catholic community was well known. Toussaint donated to various charities, generously assisting blacks and whites in need. He and his wife opened their home to orphans and educated them. The couple also nursed abandoned people who were suffering from yellow fever. In recognition of Pierre Toussaint’s virtuous life, the late Cardinal Terence Cooke introduced Pierre’s cause for canonization at the Vatican in 1968. In December 1989, the late Cardinal O’Connor had the remains of Pierre Toussaint transferred from Lower Manhattan to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan where he is currently buried as the only lay person alongside the former cardinal archbishops of New York City. On December 17, 1997, he was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II. View his Cause here.

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Venerable Mother Mary Lange who also was known as Elizabeth Lange, was a courageous, loving, and deeply spiritual woman. She received an excellent education and in the early 1800s left Cuba and settled in the United States in Baltimore. There was no free public education for African American children in Maryland until 1868, so she responded to that need by opening a school for the children in her home in the Fells Point area of the city. Elizabeth and three other women professed their vows and became the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first congregation of African American women religious in the history of the Catholic Church. Elizabeth, the foundress and first superior general, took the religious name, Mary. William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore, opened a formal investigation into Mother Lange’s life and works of charity in 1991. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine for the Causes of Saints approved the cause of her sainthood in 2004, Pope Francis named her as Venerable on June 22, 2023. View her Cause here.

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Venerable Father Augustus Tolton from a young age was enriched with the Catholic Faith. Due to the tension of the Civil War, his family was looked down upon by other families which led to the Sisters of Notre Dame deciding to tutor the Tolton children privately. As Augustus grew older he began to display an interest in the priesthood. Even when there was no success entering diocesan seminaries, his parish priests decided to begin Augustus’ education in theology themselves. Finally, in 1878, the Franciscan College in Quincy accepted Augustus and later was enrolled at the College of the Propaganda Fidei in Rome. Father Tolton's second parish assignment on the south side of the city, Saint Augustine, would be Fr. Tolton’s parish for life. It was at St. Augustine that he would minister to all the Black Catholics of Chicago. He addressed the First Catholic Colored Congress in Washington DC in 1889. The cause for Fr. Tolton’s canonization was begun in 2010. In 2015, the cause received affirmation of the juridical validity of the Archdiocesan inquiry into his life and virtues by the Congregation for Causes of Saints. Pope Francis advanced his cause for sainthood and named him Venerable in 2019. View his Cause here.

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Servant of God Julia Greeley was a devout Catholic, with a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She was an active promoter of the faith, making monthly visits to the Denver fire station to deliver literature of the Sacred Heart League. Her faith drove her to spend whatever she could spare to assist poor families in her neighborhood. When her own resources were inadequate, she begged for food, fuel, and clothing for the needy. She received the name "Denver's Angel of Charity." She joined the Secular Franciscan Order in 1901 and was active in it until her death in 1918. The request to open her cause for canonization was finally granted in the Fall of 2016. As part of the Cause for Canonization, Julia’s mortal remains were transferred to Denver’s Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception on June 7, 2017. View her Cause here.