“It was said that I would be the only priest of my race in America and would not be likely to succeed. All at once Cardinal Simoni, said, America has been called the most enlightened nation; we will see if it deserves that honor. If America has never seen a black priest, it has to see one now.” Recently we found this coffee mug in a thrift store. Having not heard of Father Augustine (Augustus) Tolton, we bought the mug, did some research and found he was the first black priest in the United States. Having been born a slave, Augustus left Quincy on Feb. 15, 1880. In his pocket was the $50 he received from the bishop and the $10 that the students at St. Francis College had collected for him. He arrived in New Jersey two days later and remained there until his ship, Westlicher, set sail for France. He arrived in La Havre March 4 and from there he took a train to Rome.... Here is a website where you can read more about his life, just keep clicking the next page tabs at bottom. dio.org/tolton/about-father-tolton/the-tolton-family.html
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 14:17:12 +0000
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