The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary is an international Catholic
fraternal service order. Founded in 1909 by the
Josephites and parishioners from
Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church
Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church is a Catholic church in Mobile, Alabama administered by the Josephites. The Knights of Peter Claver, the largest and oldest Black Catholic organization in the United States, was founded by congregants and ...
in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
, it is the largest and oldest
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
-led organization still in existence.
History
Founding
The organization was founded in 1909 by a group including
Josephite father
Conrad Friedrich Rebesher, a native of
Kłodawa
Kłodawa is a town in central Poland with 6,699 inhabitants (2014). It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been in Konin Voivodeship (1975–1998).
Kłodawa lies on the Rgilewka (a tributary of the Wa ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and pastor of
Most Pure Heart of Mary Parish; 3 other Josephite priests: Father Samuel Joseph Kelly, Father Joseph Peter Van Baast, and Father
John Henry Dorsey; and 3 Black laymen: Gilbert Faustina, Francis Xavier "Frank" Collins, and Francis "Frank" Trenier. Their initiation ceremony was attended by their bishop,
Edward Patrick Allen
Edward Patrick Allen (March 17, 1853 – October 21, 1926) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Mobile from 1897 until his death in 1926.
Biography
Edward Allen was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to John ...
.
The organization's model was based on other Catholic fraternal orders such as the
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
, who at the time did not allow Black members in all of their councils. This reality illustrated the need for a Black Catholic fraternal order.
Early years
The Sublimed and Meritorious Fourth Degree was organized in 1917.
["History", Knights of Peter Claver](_blank)
/ref> This division is open to Knights who after two years of continual membership have proven themselves to be active workers in the Church, the community, and the Noble Order.
A program for Junior Knights existed from the Order's earliest days. The constitution of the Junior Knights Division was adopted in 1917 and the division formally recognized in 1935.
In 1922, a Ladies Auxiliary was formed to provide the same opportunities for Catholic action to African American lay women. The Auxiliary was officially recognized as a division of the Order in 1926. The Junior Daughters division was officially recognized in 1930.
Conflict
During the 1920s, Thomas Wyatt Turner
Thomas Wyatt Turner (March 16, 1877 – April 21, 1978) was an American civil rights activist, biologist and educator. He was the first Black American to receive a PhD in Botany, and helped found both the NAACP and the Federated Colored Catho ...
's Federated Colored Catholics The Federated Colored Catholics (FCC), originally the Committee against the Extension of Race Prejudice in the Church, then the Committee for the Advancement of Colored Catholics, was a Black Catholic organization founded in 1925 by Thomas Wyatt T ...
locked horns with the KPC over their reticence to speak out on racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
and segregation Segregation may refer to:
Separation of people
* Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space
* School segregation
* Housing segregation
* Racial segregation, separation of humans ...
.
The conflict eventually resulted in the expulsion of Bro. Marcellus Dorsey, the brother of KPC co-founder Fr Dorsey (a member of the Josephites, which then restricted Black applicants). This was mainly due to Marcellus criticizing the Josephites in the press.
The order would come to oppose segregation openly beginning in 1939.
Modern era
In more recent years, order has responded to the charitable appeals of many national and international organizations such as the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
, the United Negro College Fund
UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...
, Catholic elementary and secondary schools, Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU ...
, the National Urban League
The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...
, the Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation, The Sister Thea Bowman Black Catholic Educational Foundation
A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...
, the International Alliance of Catholic Knights, the National Black Catholic Congress
The National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) is a Black Catholic advocacy group and quinquennial conference in the United States. It is a spiritual successor to Daniel Rudd's Colored Catholic Congress movement of the late 19th and early 20th centur ...
, the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus
The National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus (NBCCC) is an organization of African-American clergy, religious, and seminarians within the Catholic Church.
History
The group was founded in April 1968, shortly after the assassination of Martin Luthe ...
, the National Black Sisters Conference
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, and the National Council of Negro Women
The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1935 with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their families, and communities. Mary McLeod Bethune, the f ...
.
A Fourth Degree for the Auxiliary, the Ladies of Grace, was established for members of the Ladies Auxiliary in 1979.
In 2006, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...
renewed a grant to the organization to continue the National Environmental Health and Justice Literacy Project, a program designed to educate citizens of poor communities about environmental health hazards. Recently, the organization has provided disaster relief support on several occasions and has adopted numerous social justice causes as its mantra. Most notably, the Junior Division (youth) are promoting clean water initiatives and sufficient housing for the world's underserved in addition to their efforts to eradicate diabetes in the black community.
The order established their first and only collegiate units in 2018, at Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU ...
.
Name
The order is named after St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
priest from Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
who ministered to Africans enslaved in Cartagena, Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
, in the 17th century. Peter Claver is said to have converted more than 300,000 of them to Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Organization
The organization is active in the United States of America and South America. It has over 400 Councils (men) and Courts (ladies) throughout the U.S. and on San Andres Island in Colombia. For youths between the ages of 7 and 18 years old, the organization has Junior Councils (young men) and Junior Courts (young ladies).
Members of the Fourth Degree Knights are addressed as "Sir Knight," and members of the Fourth Degree Ladies of Grace are addressed as "Gracious Lady."
The Knights are member of the worldwide International Alliance of Catholic Knights
The International Alliance of Catholic Knights (IACK) is a non-governmental organization made up of fifteen Roman Catholic fraternal orders from 27 countries on six continents. The IACK was founded in Glasgow on 12 October 1979 at a meeting ...
.
Activities
Purposes
* To support a local pastor, parish and bishop.
* To become active, as a group, in a Knights respective community.
* To instill civic pride & action.
* To engage Knights in opportunities that will allow them to demonstrate their Catholicism.
* To allow for social interaction by creating gatherings that might foster a sense of community.
* To provide for the awarding of scholarships.
* To develop the character of youth.
* To provide social and intellectual stimulation for its members
Ethos
The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary provides opportunities for all Catholics to be actively involved in their faith by living the Gospel message. The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary engages in a variety of church and community service projects.
Supreme Knights and Supreme Ladies
Supreme Knights
The following is a list of the Most Worthy Supreme Knights who have served as chief executive officers of the Knights of Peter Claver (and their terms of service):
# Gilbert Faustina † (1909–1926)
# Louis Israel † (1926–1940)
# Alphonse Pierre Auguste Alphonse may refer to:
* Alphonse (given name)
* Alphonse (surname)
* Alphonse Atoll, one of two atolls in the Seychelles' Alphonse Group
See also
*Alphons
*Alfonso (disambiguation) Alfonso (and variants Alphonso, Afonso, Alphons, and Alphonse) is ...
† (1941)
# John Henry Clouser † (1941–1946)
# Joseph Roland Prejean
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
† (1946–1952)
# Beverly Victor Baranco Jr., KSG † (1952–1958)
# Eugene Boone Perry † (1958–1964)
# Shields Gilbert Gilmore † (1964–1970)
# Ernest Granger Sr., KSG
Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
*Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
*Ernest, M ...
† (1970–1976)
# Murry J. Frank † (1976–1982)
# Chester J. Jones, KSG (1982–1988)
# Paul Camille Condoll
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
† (1988–1994)
# Andrew Jackie Elly (1994–2000)
# Arthur Cecil McFarland, Esq. (2000–2006)
# Gene Anthony Phillips Sr., KHS (2006–2010)
# Fredron DeKarlos Blackmon, OblSB, KHS (2010–2016)
# James Kenneth Ellis (2016–2022)
# Christopher Pichon (2022-)
Supreme Ladies
The following is a list of the Most Esteemed Supreme Ladies who have served the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary (and their terms of service):
# Mary Lula Figaro Lunnon
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
† (1926–1928)
# Alfaretta Ruth O'Ferrall Aubry † (1928–1952)
# Lucy Elizabeth Huff Jones † (1952–1958)
# Inez Young Bowman
Inez is a feminine given name. It is the English spelling of the Spanish and Portuguese name Inés/Inês/Inez, the forms of the given name " Agnes". The name is pronounced as , , or .
Agnes is a woman's given name, which derives from the Greek w ...
† (1958–1964)
# Thelma Perrault Lombard † (1964–1970)
# Florence Madeleine Woodfork Lee (1970–1976)
# Elise LeNoir Morris (1976–1982)
# Consuella Broussard † (1982–1988)
# Dorothy B. Henderson † (1988–1994)
# Leodia Gooch (1994–2000)
# Mary Louise Briers (2000–2006)
# Geralyn Carmouche Shelvin (2006–2012)
# Vertelle Amos Kenion (2012–2018)
# Micaela J. A. LeBlanc (2018–)
Buildings
* The Peter Claver Building
The Peter Claver Building, previously the French Hospital, was a historic building in New Orleans, Louisiana. It occupied the square bounded by Orleans, Derbigny, Ann Street, and Roman Streets, just back from Claiborne Avenue.
History
Hospi ...
, a historic building in served as national headquarters of the organization during 1951 to 1974, when a new, adjacent building was constructed. The KPC headquarters also served as the office space for the attorney A. P. Tureaud, Sr. during his crusade against legalized segregation.
Notable members
* Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, first-ever African-American cardinal
* Archbishop Shelton Fabre, past national chaplain
* Bishop Martin Holley
Martin David Holley (born December 31, 1954) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, from 2016 to 2018, when he was removed by Pope Francis for financial mismanagement of the dio ...
, current National Chaplain
* A. P. Tureaud, Sr, famed black attorney who helped desegregate US schools
* Bishop Harold R. Perry, one of the first black bishops in the US and the first Black clergyman to open Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
with a prayer
* Bishop J. Terry Steib, SVD
* Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry
Joseph Nathaniel Perry (born April 18, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago since 1998
Perry is a past vice-president of the board of the Natio ...
* Ralph Metcalfe
Ralph Harold Metcalfe Sr. (May 29, 1910 – October 10, 1978) was an American track and field sprinter and politician. He jointly held the world record in the 100-meter dash and placed second in that event in two Olympics, first to Eddie Tola ...
, Olympic athlete and politician
* Ernest "Dutch" Morial, first Black mayor of New Orleans
* Sylvester O. Rhem
Sylvester O'Neal Rhem (November 19, 1929 – June 14, 2007) was an African-American police officer and politician.
Rhem was born in Chicago, Illinois and went to the Chicago public schools. He graduated from Englewood High School in 1948. He ...
, Chicago politician
* Bishop Kevin Vann
Kevin William Vann (born May 10, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was named bishop of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California by Pope Benedict XVI, succeeding the retiring bishop, Tod Brown, on September 21, ...
* Bishop David Talley
David Prescott Talley (born September 11, 1950) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee since 2019.
Talley previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Alexandria in ...
* Cardinal Raymond Burke
* Archbishop Allen Vigneron
Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands, serving since 2009. Vi ...
* Bishop Robert Finn
* Bishop Charles Michael Jarrell
Charles Michael Jarrell (May 15, 1940) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana from 2002 to 2016. Jarrell served as bishop of the Diocese of Houma–Thibodaux in Louisia ...
* Auxiliary Bishop David G. O'Connell
David Gerard O'Connell, (born August 16, 1953 in Cork (city), Cork, Ireland) is an Irish-born prelate of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, serving since 2015 as an auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Arc ...
* Bishop Paul Loverde
Paul Stephen Loverde (born September 3, 1940) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Loverde served as bishop of the Diocese of Arlington in Northern Virginia from 1998 to 2016.
Loverde previously served as bishop of the Diocese ...
* Bishop Eduardo Nevares
* Bishop David Toups
David Leon Toups (born 26 March 1971) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as Bishop of Beaumont since 2020. He was previously rector of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary.
Biography
Early life
David Toups was bo ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
African-American history in New Orleans
Christianity in New Orleans
Christian organizations established in 1909
Organizations based in New Orleans
Knights of Peter Claver & Ladies Auxiliary
Catholic advocacy groups