Black American Catholics on the Path to Sainthood

While February is recognized as Black History Month, November is specifically Black CATHOLIC History Month. It's a perfect time to learn the stories of Black Catholics from around the world, including the six Black Americans on the road to Sainthood.

Servant God Thea Bowman, Venerable Augustus Tolton, Servant of God Mother Mary Lange, Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Servant of God Julia Greely, and Venerable Mother Henriette DeLille all led remarkable lives centered on love of Christ and neighbor. To help my students get to know them better, I used this Black American Catholics Research Page to help them learn a few basics about their lives. 

I also printed the photos found here 

and used these awesome coloring pages from artist Fabiola Garza here.

And I pulled out these books in my classroom (Amazon affiliate links):

Fr. Augustus Tolton- Liturgical Training Press
Julia Greely- Secret Angel to the Poor, Maura Roan McKeegan
Black Catholics on the Road to Sainthood, Michael Heinlein
Thea Bowman: We are Beloved, Karianna Frey
From Slave to Priest: The Inspirational Story of Fr. Augustus Tolton, Hemesath
Abba Moses, Andrew Votipka

My students used all of these tools, books, and online research to create posters about these six holy men and women. They each chose one person to create a mini poster about, highlighting key info from their lives, and then sharing with their classmates. It was a quick but effective project that you are welcome to try in your own classroom!

You might also like:

Black Saint Litany*

Ven. Augustus Tolton: Eucharistic Witnesses*