October 31, 2026

Dear Friends in Christ,

One of the most beautiful elements about our Church is the diversity of races and ethnicities represented in it. On November 1, our Catholic Church in the United States will commemorate National Black Catholic History Month, a month-long celebration to honor the contributions of Black Catholics in the life of our Church. Established in 1990 by the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, the month connects with several key dates, such as All Saints’ Day on November 1, All Souls Day on November 2, the feast of St. Martin de Porres on November 3, and the birthday of St. Augustine of Hippo on November 13.

In their pastoral letter “What We Have Seen and Heard: A Pastoral Letter on Evangelization from the Black Bishops of the United States,” the nation’s 10 black bishops spelled out in 1984 their hopes that the spiritual gifts of Black Catholics might be fully embraced by the Church and that their people might feel a fullness of communion within it. It aimed to educate all Catholics on the unshakeable faith Black Catholics possess despite their unreconciled history in this country; to inspire Black Catholics into a spirit of evangelization by entering the priesthood, diaconate, and lay ecclesial ministry; and to infuse liturgy with their spirituality, music, and voices. In the ensuing years, some hopes have come into fruition, including the rich contributions Black Catholics have made in lay ministry across the archdiocese, the first African-American bishop appointed to the College of Cardinals (Washington Archbishop Emeritus Wilton D. Gregory), and the recent ordination of Washington Auxiliary Bishop Robert Boxie III, a former parochial vicar here.

In our own parish, our parish’s Ad-hoc Committee on Anti-Racim has discerned over the past couple of months how to celebrate the achievements of Black Catholics and help educate our parish on the beauty and gifts they bring to our parish life. Over the next few weeks, we will commemorate the gifts of Black Catholics at our parish in the following ways: 

• Through our liturgical music, which will feature African spirituals and piano pieces composed by Florence Price, the first African-American composer to have a symphony performed by a major U.S. orchestra
• Through our Prayers of the Faithful  
• Through a special section of our bulletin, titled, ‘Acting in Solidarity’ 
• In our Religious Education program, where our elementary school-aged children will reflect on belonging, and our middle-school aged children will be introduced to the six African-Americans who are in the queue to sainthood. 

Today, I’d like to invite you to a speaker event, taking place at 6:30 pm next Saturday, November 7, in the church. Ali Mumbach, a research assistant at Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, will speak on the history of African-American bishops in the U.S. Church – including information on Bishop Boxie. We hope you’ll join us for Ms. Mumbach’s talk and the reception afterward. Please RSVP here or below.

This month, please join us in celebrating the achievements of Black Catholics to our Body of Christ. I wish you a blessed and wonderful week and a Happy Halloween to all our young people tonight! Don’t forget to roll your clocks back one hour at 2 am tomorrow, November 1, as we return to standard time.  

Yours in Christ,
Fr. John 

Parish Resources:

• See the bulletin for November 1. 
• See the most recent issue of the Catholic Standard. 
• See the October issue of Our Parish Times.