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Pope advances sainthood causes for Father Tolton, Spanish martyrs

By Carol Glatz | Catholic News Service
Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Father Tolton’s cause takes next step forward

Crews erected white tents over the burial site in preparation for the dig. (unknown/unknown)
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield leads an opening prayer service before the exhumation process. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Clockwise from left, medical examiner Nathaniel Patterson, forensic anthropologist Mark Johnsey and archeologist Deacon David Keene remove soil from the grave of Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton on Dec. 10 at St. Peter Cemetery in Quincy, Illinois. Verifying and securing the remains of the holy person is part of the steps leading to canonization. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Handles from the casket were recovered from the site. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Clockwise from left, forensic anthropologist Mark Johnsey, medical examiner Nathaniel Patterson and archeologist Deacon David Keene remove soil from the grave of Servant of God Father Augustus Tolton on Dec. 10 at St. Peter Cemetery in Quincy, Illinois. Verifying and securing the remains of the holy person is part of the steps leading to canonization. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Clergy from the Diocese of Springfield look down into the grave. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
One of the artifacts removed from the grave was a corpus to a crucifix. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Father Tolton's skull is uncovered. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Forensic anthropologist Mark Johnsey right reassembles the remains while funeral director P.J. Staab looks on. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Father Christopher House (right), chancellor of the Springfield Diocese, and funeral director P.J. Staab place vestments on the remains. The remains were vested with a white Roman chasuble and maniple, amice and cincture. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Father Tolton's remains were reinterred in a new casket bearing an identification plate. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Crews transport the remains of Father Tolton in a mortuary bag. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Bishop Joseph Perry (foreground) and Bishop Thomas Paprocki (background) seal the new casket bearing the remains of Father Tolton. The remains of Father Augustus Tolton were exhumed at St. Peters Cemetery in Quincy, Ill on Dec. 10. Tolton is a servant of God and the exhumation and reinterment are part of the canonization process. Tolton is the first identified black priest of African decent in the United States. He escaped slavery with his mother and siblings. He died in Chicago in 1897. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis advanced the sainthood cause of Father Augustus Tolton, who was the first African American diocesan priest in the United States and founder of the first black Catholic parish in Chicago.

Signing decrees issued by the Congregation for Saints' Causes June 11, Pope Francis also formally recognized the martyrdom of three Catholic laywomen who were nurses for the Red Cross and were killed during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War.

The decree for Father Tolton's cause makes him "venerable" and recognizes that he lived a life of heroic virtue.

“We welcome this news from the Holy Father on the advancement of Father Tolton’s cause for sainthood,” said Cardinal Cupich. “Father Tolton’s holiness comes from his patient suffering, his brave spirit and his pastoral heart for all who came to him. His struggles to become a priest and his remarkable service to God’s People are admirable examples, particularly in these times of the value and dignity of every person. I am grateful to Bishop Joseph N. Perry for his work as the diocesan postulator for the Tolton cause.” 

Once it is confirmed that one miracle has been granted by God through the intercession of Father Tolton, he will be declared “blessed.” A second miracle may be required for canonization.

Father Tolton was born into slavery in 1854 on a plantation near Brush Creek, Missouri.

After his father left to try to join the Union Army during the Civil War, his mother fled with her three children by rowing them across the Mississippi River and settling in Quincy in the free state of Illinois.

There, he was encouraged to discern his vocation to the priesthood by the diocesan and Franciscan priests in Quincy. However, he was denied access to seminaries in the United States after repeated requests, so he pursued his education in Rome at what is now the Pontifical Urbanian University.

He was ordained for the Propaganda Fidei Congregation in 1886, expecting to become a missionary in Africa. Instead, he was sent to be a missionary in his own country and returned to Quincy, where he served for three years before going to the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1889.

Despite rampant racism and discrimination, he became one of the city's most popular pastors, attracting members of both white and black Catholic communities. He spearheaded the building of St. Monica Church for black Catholics and worked tirelessly for his congregation in Chicago, even to the point of exhaustion. On July 9, 1897, he died of heatstroke on a Chicago street at the age of 43.

He was known for persevering against all odds in pursuit of his calling and quietly devoted himself to his people, despite great difficulties and setbacks.

Pope Francis also formally recognized the martyrdom of Maria Pilar Gullon Yturriaga, Octavia Iglesias Blanco and Olga Perez-Monteserin Nunez, members of Catholic Action who volunteered to serve wounded soldiers on the Asturian front in northern Spain.

The women refused to leave the wounded unattended even though the area was about to come under the control of populist fighters. All the patients, the doctor and chaplain were killed, and the three nurses were assaulted, raped and shot on Oct. 28, 1936. Gullon, Iglesias and Perez-Monteserin were 25, 41 and 23 years old, respectively.

The pope also signed decrees attesting to the heroic virtues lived by six servants of God -- three men and three women. Among them were:

-- Mother Rosario Arroyo, a distant relative of the former Filipino President Gloria Arroyo, lived from 1884 to 1957 and founded the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of the Philippines.

-- Felice Tantardini, known as "God's blacksmith," was an Italian lay missionary for the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions. Born in 1898, he spent 70 years serving in Myanmar, where he died in 1991 at the age of 93. He worked as a catechist and helped build churches, schools, parish houses, hospitals, seminaries, orphanages, convents and bridges.  

Topics:

  • pope francis
  • augustus tolton
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