The History of Black Catholics in the United States

by Cyprian Davis

Overview

This book makes an extremely valuable contribution to our understanding of African-American religious life by presenting the first full-length treatment of the Black Catholic experience. It should be read by all interested in the history and culture of Black Americans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780824514952
Publisher:	Crossroad Publishing Company
Publication date:	03/28/1995
Pages:	366
Sales rank:	455,142
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.99(d)

About the Author

Cyprian Davis was a Benedictine monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey and professor of church history at St. Meinrad School of Theology. He was a founding member of the National Black Clergy Caucus and author of articles on Black Catholic history and black spirituality, and of a high school textbook on church history.

Editorial Reviews

``The story of the black Catholic community in the United States begins with the story of the Catholic church in Africa.'' With this historical overview, Davis, professor at Indiana's St. Meinrad School of Theology, begins his task--``to retrieve a mislaid memory'' of the black Catholic presence in the United States for the last 300 years. The issue of slavery--including the uneasy responses of America's first bishop, John Carroll, in the late 18th century, and the pro-slavery views of John Hughes, outspoken archbishop of New York during the Civil War--is positioned within the political and social fabric of those centuries. Yet, as shown in this masterfully concise history, the faith flourished among such black Catholics as Pierre Toussaint, the 19th-century New Yorker now proposed for sainthood. Studded with personal stories, this is a chronicle both sad and inspiring. Davis's groundbreaking research should pave the way for further exploration of the growing black Catholic community. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly